History is so full of famous dynamic duos. However, none have captivated the imagination of the American public like Bonnie and Clyde. A pair of lovers on the other side of the law, they became practically legends when they went on a crime spree that terrorized the midwest. Their love for one another was as strong as their love for violence and mayhem. Despite their notoriety, very few photos of the couple have circulated since their deaths. Now, new pictures have emerged that show the couple’s other side. We know that not many people believe in fate, but forces were very much at play when Bonnie Parker met Clyde Barrow in 1930. It just so happened to be that a mutual friend of theirs had broken their arm, and the two visited them on the exact same day.
History Doesn’t Cover This Part Of Bonnie And Clyde’s Story
Instant Chemistry
They had instant chemistry, although it wasn’t a fairytale meeting. By this point, Clyde was already heavily involved in criminal activity and Bonnie, who’s on the left, was married to a different man at the time.
Instant Chemistry
Jail Time
As if things weren’t enough, just three months after Clyde had met Bonnie for the first time, he had gotten arrested for a series of robberies he’d committed. He spent a whole two years in jail and was released in 1932.
Jail Time
Waiting
As soon as he was released from prison, Bonnie was right there waiting for Clyde. The 22-year-old Texas girl had no previous criminal history. However, it was clear she was more than willing to go to any lengths for her lawbreaker love.
Waiting
Barrow Gang
The couple formed a gang named the “Barrow Gang”. It started off small at first, with their criminal activities focused on the small towns in north-central Texas. Together, Bonnie and Clyde robbed has stations, stole guns, and even tried to break their fellow gang members out of prison.
Barrow Gang
Robbery
Just a few weeks into their crime spree, Bonnie was arrested while trying to steal guns from a hardware store. While she only spent a few months in prison, she and her lover picked up right where they left off when she got out.
Robbery
Bold Crimes
Soon enough, the gang grew bolder in their crimes, even going as far as killing sheriffs and officers of the law. Even though Bonnie hadn’t been a criminal to start, by this point, she’d definitely acquired a taste for that type of life.
Bold Crimes
Beyond Texas
As with their various criminal activities, the gang expanded their area of operation as well. They began pushing beyond Texas and stirred up trouble in places like Missouri, Louisiana, and even as far as Minnesota.
Beyond Texas
Successful Gang
It didn’t take long for the gang to become so successful that even family members wanted to be part of it. Clyde’s brother, Buck, and his wife, Blanche, joined. This turned their robberies into one seriously dangerous double date.
Successful Gang
Hit A Snag
However, their good fortune hit somewhat of a snag when a police tip forced the gang to run away from their Joplin, Missouri hideout in 1933. Their possessions were left scattered all around the house. This included two rolls of film.
Hit A Snag
Photos
It wasn’t long before the photos started making the rounds in papers across the country. They added fuel to the already raging fire surrounding the gang and their crimes. Surprisingly, not every image painted Bonnie and Clyde as ruthless, bloodthirsty outlaws.
Photos
Playfulness
In some of the pictures, the gang’s playfulness and youth shone through. This obviously surprised a lot of people with how normal they appeared to be. Of course, Bonnie and Clyde generated the most attention.
Playfulness
Romanticized
One who was especially romanticized by the media was Bonnie. The pictures found showed her as a rough-and-tough southern gal who wasn’t afraid to run with the bad boys. This picture is one of the most iconic to this day.
Romanticized
Most Wanted
As the tale of Bonnie and Clyde made its way higher up through the headlines, so did the Barrow Gang up the “Most Wanted” list. Having all eyes peeled on the famous criminals’ next move, the gang found the high price of fame.
Most Wanted
Ambushed
As they were laying low near Platte City in Missouri, the Barrow Gang was ambushed by Highway Patrol officers in an armored car. While Bonnie and Clyde were able to escape the ambush, Buck was killed and Blanche, pictured bellow, was captured.
Ambushed
Public Opinion
Soon, public opinion toward the outlaw couple began to change after one of the members murdered two patrolmen near Grapevine in Texas. It was reported – falsely – that Bonnie had been responsible for those killings. As a result, a lot of people demanded the gang be executed.
Public Opinion
Law Enforcement
As time went by, law enforcement officials were able to chart the gang’s regular movements around county lines, leading them to a rendezvous point that just so happened to be the home of one of the gang memeber’s family. Along Louisianan State Highway 154, the group of lawmen waited for Bonnie and Clyde to arrive.
Law Enforcement
May 23, 1934
On May 23, 1934, in the morning, the officers opened fire on Clyde’s stolen Ford V8. After completely emptying their ammunition on the fugitives, Bonnie and Clyde’s crime spree had finally come to an abrubt end.
May 23, 1934
The Aftermath
In the following years, Bonnie and Clyde’s story gradually faded away, becoming no more than another chapter of American outlaw history. However, in 1967, the criminal couple suddenly burst back into the public consciousness, thanks to Hollywood.
The Aftermath
Hollywood Version
Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway portrayed Bonnie and Clyde in such a way that they became absolutely iconic to this day. All the same, they wouldn’t have been able to reach this level of fame without those who set the stage before them.
Hollywood Version
Martha Jane Cannary
Martha Jane Cannary had published her own tell-all memoir. The Autobiography of Calamity Jane was released in 1896. However, according to various historians, the tales she tells in the book lean more towards fiction than facts.
Martha Jane Cannary
Incorrect Facts
Even a small fact like her birthdate seemed to be wrong in her book. She wrote her birthdate being in 1852, but in actuality, she was born in 1856. Robert and Charlotte, her parents, started their family in Missouri. They ignored the whisperings and mutterings of neighbors when they did. There was certainly a reason for the mutterings, though.
Incorrect Facts
Rumors
It was said that Robert, a gambler, found his wife when visiting a brothel. When the two had met, Robert intended to end that chapter of Charlotte’s life and transform her into a traditional bride. It’s safe to say they left for greener pastures.
Rumors
The Answer
The little family realized that gold was the answer to all their worries. And so, the Cannary family, aka Martha Jane, her two younger brothers, and three younger sisters, crammed into the back of a wagon. They and their parents left and made their way to Montana.
The Answer
Difficult Trip
Not everyone made it through the quest for gold and fortune. Charlotte got pneumonia once they got to Montana, leaving Robert to try and come up with another plan for their survival. He took the kids to Salt Lake City in Utah.
Difficult Trip
Tragedy
Not even a year after they arrived, Robert died, leaving his six orphaned children behind. The oldest of the children was 14-year-old Martha Jane. She worked with the grief and took on the role of the head of the household.
Tragedy
Following Their Footsteps
Following in her parents’ footsteps, Martha Jane packed all her siblings into a wagon and moved them to Wyoming. That’s where she showed off her wild side fully. “I was considered the most reckless and daring rider and one of the best shots in the western country,” she wrote.
Following Their Footsteps
The Truth
It turns out that the truth wasn’t as glamorous as it seemed, but it still paid the bills. Martha Jane did whatever job she could to support all her siblings. Whether it was washing dishes, doing laundry, and even two-stepping with lonely soldiers at a boarding house, she did it all.
Screenshot 28
General Custer
Martha Jane told the story as such: General Custer himself recruited her as a scout based in Fort Russel. She claimed to have run missions with the US Army, ones that stretch as far as Arizona. However, this is where her story fell apart. There are no records to prove any of it. Also, Custer never stepped foot in Arizona.
General Custer
Other Stories
Other stories swirled that Martha Jane spent a lot of time in this period of her life in the infamous hub of debauchery, Fort Laramie Three-Mile Hog Ranch. When finances were short, she joined ranks of other ladies of the night. But she never allowed others to write her story for her.
Other Stories
New Name
During the day, Martha Jane was busy creating her own brand new name. Her accounts of the early 1870s speak of a woman escaping gender standards and mastering all aspects of the rough and tumble western life.
New Name
Earned
According to her, Martha Jane had earned her name in the noblest way possible. In 1872, while ambushing Native Americans in Goose Creek, Wyoming, the leader of her brigade, Captain Egan, had taken a bullet.
Earned
Heroine
Martha Jane raced to save him from falling off his horse. She braved gunfire to pull the captain safely onto her saddle. He was so in awe of her nerve that the Captain croaked, “I name you Calamity Jane, the heroine of the plains.”
Heroine
Integrity
It’s really difficult to beat a story that heroic, not to mention, epic. Which is the exact reason it’s taken with a grain of salt. Jane wasn’t known for her integrity as much as her ferocity. The only other explanation was a phrase that seemed to follow her during her time, “to offend her was to court calamity.”
Integrity
Break
In 1876, Calamity decided to take a break from her scouting duties in For Laramie. She met a wagon train that was headed for Deadwood in South Dakota. She hitched a ride in the wagon of the sharply dressed Charlie Utter, the wild western figure.
Break
Claim To Fame
Charlie’s claim to fame was rather interesting. He was Wild Bill Hickok’s right-hand man. The professional gambler who could put away several drinks, Wild Bill immediately formed a friendship with Calamity Jane as their train moved forward.
Claim To Fame
Something Fishy
It was never clear if the duo was just friends. Calamity herself couldn’t keep her story straight. In her biography, she described Bill as a “friend”, but in 1902, she referred to him as her “affianced husband.”
Something Fishy
Final Hand
Seeing as Wild Bill played his final hand of cards just six weeks after he met Calamity, it seems their romance was more than likely just hot air. The famous gambler played the dead man’s hand of double aces and eights.
Final Hand
The Setting
The setting of Wild Bill’s death was Nuttal & Mann Salon No. 10. After suffering an embarrassing loss the day before, Jack McCall barged into the saloon and shot Wild Bill while he was sitting at the game table, playing poker.
The Setting
Justice Served
True to her name, Calamity Jane didn’t take the murder lightly. She had written that she chased Jack McCall with a meat cleaver seeing as she left her guns at home. At the end of the day, the justice system saw him hanged.
Justice Served
Tender Heart
For the remainder of her short life, Calamity Jane spent her time maintaining her foolhardy lifestyle. Till the age of 51, when she died, she drank and roughhoused it. All that aside, Calamity also happened to be remembered for her big tender heart.
Tender Heart
The Black Hills Daily Times
The Black Hills Daily Times, Deadwood’s newspaper, printed, “It didn’t matter to her whether a person was rich, poor, white, or black, or what their circumstances were, Calamity Jane was just the same to all.”
The Black Hills Daily Times
Complex Person
Some of the things that set Calamity apart were her stern exterior and sharpshooting skills. However, her willingness to help others is how her friends remembered her. It’s very fitting that Doris Day played her onscreen since she was also a woman more complex than she seemed.
Complex Person
Cookie-Cutter
To describe Doris Day’s reputation, cookie-cutter wouldn’t be anywhere near enough. The All American girl was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, non-threatening beauty. She was born April 3, 1992. Her father was a choirmaster and her mother was a homemaker. However, she had bigger dreams for herself.
Cookie-Cutter
Dancer
Doris’ dream was to make it as a dancer. In her hometown, Cincinnati, Ohio, she made a name for herself as a part of a dance dup with her partner, Jerry Doherty. However, before she could break out of her hometown, a tragic accident came in the way of her plans.
Dancer
Tragic Accident
Doris’s dreams were crushed before she had the chance to realize them. While cruising with friends, their car was hit twice by a train. Although she miraculously escaped with her life, Doris suffered a lasting leg injury that eliminated any dancing hopes of hers.
Tragic Accident
Singing
While she was in the hospital, Doris filled her dreary days in bed with singing along to the radio while waiting for her leg to heal. Making was should have been a rather sad time into a period of beauty, she realized her voice wasn’t all that bad.
Singing
Joining A Band
And so, at 15-years-old, Doris trudged onto the next thing she could. She joined Barney Rapp’s band. While singing in Cincinnati, Doris met a man who tried his very best to win her over and win her heart.
Joining A Band
Years Later
A few years later, in 1941, Doris married a fellow musician, trombonist Al Jorden. Unfortunately, their marriage wasn’t as harmonious as the music they made together. Just two days after they were married, Jorden becan physically abusing his wife, even while she was pregnant.
Years Later
Moving On
In her biography, Doris explained, “What had represented to me as love emerged as jealousy — pathologic jealousy.” Her marriage ended two years later, and Doris, now a mother to her only child, Terry, came out of her divorce, ready to break into the entertainment business.
Moving On