Bonnie & Clyde Study Guide

 
 
 

 
 

EDUCATIONAL GUIDE 
For Single & Group Tickets 
And Additional Information, Please Visit: 
www.BonnieAndClydeBroadway.com 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Dear Educator,  
 
One of the most compelling angles developed for advertising in the last 100 years is 
the disclaimer “Based on a True Story”.  Typically flashed on a television screen 
before a Movie of the Week, this disclaimer helps inform the viewers that, while 
content may be derived from truth, it has been slightly sensationalized to hold your 
attention.   
 
As is the case with the legacy of most historical folk heroes, much fact has been 
blended with fiction and much fiction has been solidified as fact that, in recounting 
the tempestuous spree of Bonnie & Clyde, the two are somewhat indiscernible.  
However, what we aim to present with our musical adaptation of this immensely 
popular title is the most historically accurate interpretation that has been seen to 
date.  While it is our goal to be factually accurate throughout the musical, we admit 
that some aggrandizing was necessary in order to make this story sing.  
 
With the usage of this tool, we hope to supply you and your students with the 
necessary facts to invite a classroom discussion comparing the differences between 
real and make‐believe.   
 
Thank you so much for taking the time to look into the Broadway production of 
BONNIE & CLYDE, the new musical.  We believe that what we offer is a compelling, 
educational, cultural and thoroughly entertaining experience.  We hope that you 
agree.   
 
Enjoy the show! 
 
Sincerely, 
The Producers of BONNIE & CLYDE 

BONNIE & CLYDE 
Educational Guide 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

 
THE PLAY 

‐ The Story 
‐ The Authors 
‐ Scenic Design 
‐ Costume Design 
‐ Creative Staff 

 
THE TRUE STORY OF BONNIE & CLYDE 

‐ Timeline 
‐ Familiar Faces 
‐ The Victims 
‐ Life Behind Bars 

 
CULTURAL CONTEXT 

‐ The Legacy 
‐ The Idols 
‐ The Great Depression 
‐ Comparison of Prices, 1930’s v. Today 
‐ Slang of the 1930’s 

 
CONTINUED ENRICHMENT 

THE STORY

In west Dallas, Texas during the Great Depression, recent prison escapee, Clyde
Barrow, is on the run from the law when he meets the ravishing Bonnie Parker.
Bonnie is terminally bored by her job as a waitress at the local greasy spoon and
dreams of becoming a movie star. She is instantly attracted to the excitement
that Clyde can offer and they set off to become partners- in life and in crime.

Rounding out the “Barrow Gang” is Clyde’s brother, Buck (a ne’er-do-well), and
his wife, Blanche (a preacher's daughter). Blanche sees Bonnie as a sinful harpy
who will only further corrupt the Barrow men. Despite the dissention in the
ranks, the “Barrow Gang” matures from petty thievery to bullet-laden bank
robberies. After several stand-offs with the law, the newspapers make headlines
of Bonnie & Clyde. The duo begins to achieve folk hero status among the
common man.

With the police always one step behind the most famous couple in America, the
gang finds shelter in a ramshackle hideaway where they plot their next moves.

While the gang accepts their fate, they revel in the fact that they have secured
their place in history. As was their goal, they will be remembered for better or
for worse. Filled with soaring themes by Composer Frank Wildhorn with lyrics
by Don Black and a book by Ivan Menchell, Bonnie & Clyde tells the human
story behind the notorious figures.







THE AUTHORS

IVAN MENCHELL
(Book)

Broadway: The Cemetery Club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (additional material). Off-Broadway: Smiling Through, We’ll
Meet Again. US and UK Tours: The Prince and the Pauper, The Surprise Party. Screen credits include: The Cemetery Club,
Napoleon (co-writer). Television credits include: writer/producer of JONAS, Phil of the Future, The Nanny, Time of Your
Life, Bedtime. Mr. Menchell is the recipient of a Fulbright fellowship for his playwriting and a graduate of the Yale
School of Drama.

DON BLACK
(Lyrics)

Don Black OBE is a highly-acclaimed, Oscar-winning lyricist. His works have included movie themes, hit songs, and
numerous musicals, including three with Andrew Lloyd Webber: Tell Me on a Sunday, Aspects of Love, and Sunset
Boulevard, for which he received two Tony Awards for Best Book and Lyrics, together with Christopher Hampton.
Mr. Black’s movie credits include themes for many James Bond films: Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, The Man with
the Golden Gun, “Surrender” from Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough. In collaboration with composer
John Barry, he wrote the title song for the 1966 film Born Free, which won the Oscar for Best Song. He also
collaborated with Barry on Out of Africa and Dances With Wolves. He has worked with Jule Styne, Henry Mancini,
Quincy Jones, Elmer Bernstein, Michael Legrand, Marvin Hamlisch, Charles Aznavour and has had two U.S. number
one hits: Michael Jackson’s “Ben” and Lulu’s “To Sir, With Love”. He was recently inducted into the Songwriters
Hall of Fame.

FRANK WILDHORN
(Composer)

In 1999, Frank became the first American composer in twenty-two years to have three shows running simultaneously
on Broadway: Jekyll & Hyde (written with Leslie Bricusse), which received two Tony nominations; The Scarlet Pimpernel
(written with Nan Knighton), which received four Tony nominations; and The Civil War (written with Jack Murphy &
Gregory Boyd), which received two Tony nominations. These shows continue to be seen in productions around the
country and throughout the world. Frank also wrote additional songs for Broadway's Victor/Victoria (written with
Leslie Bricusse) and was recently represented on Broadway by Dracula: The Musical (written with Don Black &
Christopher Hampton), which has also played in St. Gallen, Switzerland and Graz, Austria. There have been recent
American premieres of Camille Claudel (written with Nan Knighton) at Goodspeed Opera's Norma Terris Theatre in
Connecticut, which yielded the song "Gold," heard at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games;
and Waiting For The Moon (written with Jack Murphy), which is based on the lives of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.
Frank is an Associate Artist in Musical Theatre with an endowed chair at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas, where
he launched Jekyll & Hyde, Svengali, and The Civil War. He also wrote music for the Alley Theatre's staging of the plays
Cyrano de Bergerac and Arthur Kopit's The Road to Nirvana.

JEFF CALHOUN
(Direction and Musical Staging)

Broadway: Grey Gardens (musical staging), Deaf West’s Big River (director/choreographer: Tony and Drama Desk
Award nominations, Best Revival; Drama Desk nomination, Best Director of a Musical), Brooklyn
(producer/director/choreographer), Annie Get Your Gun (co-choreographer with Graciela Daniele: 1999 Tony Award,
Best Revival), Grease (director/ choreographer: 1994 Tony nomination, Best Choreography), Tommy Tune Tonight!
(directing debut), The Will Rogers Follies (associate choreographer: 1991 Tony Award, Best Musical and Best
Choreography), My One & Only (replaced the vacationing Tommy Tune for two weeks, thereby getting to marry
Twiggy and dance with Honey Coles 16 times). West End/International: Disney’s High School Musical 1 & 2: On Stage
(director). Regional/National Tour: Deaf West’s Pippin (director/choreographer), Mark Taper Forum; Disney’s High
School Musical: On Tour (director), Disney Theatricals; Himself and Nora (co-director with Joseph Hardy), Old Globe;
Shenandoah (director); The Civil War (director/choreographer), Ford’s Theatre. Associate Artist at Ford’s Theatre.

Tobin Ost
(Scenic and Costume Designer)

New York: Brooklyn (costume / associate set design), The Philanthropist and The
Overwhelming (Roundabout Theatre – costume / associate set design), Nightingale
(MTC – set design), Grace (MCC- set design), Zanna, Don’t! (co-set / costume
design), Almost Heaven (costume design) and Fighting Words (set design).
Selected Regional: Pippin (Mark Taper Forum), The Civil War and Shenandoah
(Ford’s Theater), Nightingale (Mark Taper Forum and Hartford Stage Company),
Sleeping Beauty Wakes (Kirk Douglas Theater), Elegies (Barrington Stage
Company), Himself and Nora (The Old Globe).

Michael Gilliam
(Lighting Designer)

Broadway: Brooklyn, Stand-Up Tragedy. West-End: George Gershwin Alone. Off-
Broadway: Blue, End of the World Party, Zooman and the Sign, Menopause the
Musical. National Tour: Guys and Dolls, Big River, as well as productions at many
of the country’s regional theatres. Awards: Los Angeles Ovation Awards,
Dramalogue Awards, Garland Awards and the 1999 Career Achievement Award
from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle.

John Shivers
(Sound Designer)

Sister Act, 9 to 5 (Drama Desk, Ovation nominations), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The
Little Mermaid, Tarzan, In My Life, and Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays. Associate
sound designer / production engineer for Broadway and worldwide: The Lion
King, Mary Poppins, The Producers, Hairspray, Aida, Titanic, How To Succeed…, Big,
The Who’s Tommy, Guys and Dolls, and The Buddy Holly Story. Other credits:
Emma, Leap of Faith, Robin and the 7 Hoods, Sammy, Ace, Savion Glover in concert
touring with Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach and Gregory Hines, and
recording engineering at Electric Lady Studios.

Aaron Rhyne
(Projection Designer)

Designs include Jerry Springer: The Opera (Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House),
The Civil War (Ford’s Theatre), Dutchman (Cherry Lane), The Last Five Years
(Asolo Rep), Circumsise Me (45 Bleecker), The JAP Show (Actors’ Temple), Topsy
Turvy Mouse (Cherry Lane), Flags (59E59). He has done extensive video work
with Big Art Group on The House of No More and Flicker. Mr. Rhyne directs music
videos, commercials, and performance projects for television.

TIMELINE

March 14, 1903 Marvin Ivan "Buck" Barrow is born in Jones Prairie, Texas.
March 24, 1910 Clyde Chestnut Barrow is born near Telico, Texas.
October 1, 1910 Bonnie Parker is born in Rowena, Texas.
January 1, 1911 Bennie Iva “Blanche” Barrow Frasure is born in Garvin, Oklahoma.
1921 The Barrows move to West Dallas, Texas.
October 24, 1929 "Black Thursday," the stock market crashes.
October 29, 1929
"Black Tuesday" brings a stock market crash even more devastating than that of
November 11, 1929 the previous week.
November 29, 1929 Buck Barrow and Blanche Caldwell Callaway meet.
Clyde and Buck Barrow and a third man burglarize the Mark Garage in Denton,
December 17, 1929 Texas. Buck is shot and captured. Clyde and the third man escape.
January 1930 Buck Barrow is sentenced to four years for burglary.
January 14, 1930 Bonnie and Clyde meet for the first time.
March 3, 1930 Buck Barrow is received at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville.
Clyde is sentenced to two years on each of seven counts of auto theft and
March 8, 1930 burglary in Waco, Texas.
March 11, 1930 Buck Barrow and another inmate escape from prison.
Clyde Barrow, using a gun smuggled to him by Bonnie Parker, escapes with two
March 17, 1930 others from the McClellan County jail.
Clyde Barrow and his fellow escapees are captured in Middleton, Ohio, and
April 21, 1930 returned to Texas.
Clyde Barrow is received at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville. Over the
July 3, 1931 next several weeks, he is transferred to various county jurisdictions.
October 29, 1931
December 27, 1931 Blanche Caldwell marries Buck Barrow.
January 6, 1933 Clyde Barrow kills Ed Crowder, an Eastham convict.
Buck voluntarily returns to prison to finish serving his term.
March 22, 1933 Clyde Barrow kills Tarrant County Deputy Sheriff Malcolm Davis in West
Dallas.
April 1, 1933 Buck Barrow is granted a full pardon from the State of Texas by Governor
Miriam Ferguson.
April 13, 1933 After first staying in a Joplin tourist court, Blanche Barrow, the Barrow brothers
and Parker rent a garage apartment.
April 14, 1933 Newton County (Missouri) Constable Wes Harryman and Joplin (Missouri) City
May 12, 1933 Motor Detective Harry McGinnis are killed trying to serve a warrant at the
Joplin garage apartment occupied by the Barrows. Buck and Clyde are wounded
during the gunfight.
Clyde and Buck Barrow rob a service station in Amarillo, Texas.
Buck and Clyde attempt a bank robbery in Lucerne, Indiana. They steal nothing
and have to shoot their way out of town.

May 14, 1933 Blanche takes a bus to Dallas to arrange a post-Mother's Day meeting for Bonnie,
May 19, 1933 Buck and Clyde, which takes place the following day.

June 6, 1933 Buck and Clyde rob a bank in Okabena, Minnesota, of approximately $2,500. The
bandits, including Bonnie Parker and Blanche Barrow, have to shoot their way
out of town.

Buck and Blanche Barrow visit Matt Caldwell, Blanche's father, in Oklahoma.

July 7, 1933 The Barrow brothers and gang member William Daniel Jones rob the National
Guard Armory in Enid, Oklahoma.

July 19, 1933 Buck and Blanche are wounded during a gunfight at a motor court outside of
Platte City, Missouri. Buck is shot in the head; Blanche is partially blinded by
July 24, 1933 flying glass. After a protracted flight from the area, the gang escapes into Iowa.
July 26, 1933
July 29, 1933 After a gunfight in an abandoned amusement park between Dexter and
Redfield, Iowa, Bonnie and Clyde are wounded but escape. Buck and Blanche
are captured.

Blanche Barrow is extradited to Missouri where she is charged with assault with
intent to kill.

Buck Barrow dies at King's Daughter's Hospital in Perry, Iowa.

August 5, 1933 Blanche Barrow appears at a preliminary hearing in Platte County, Missouri. Her
November 22, 1933 bail is set at $15,000.

Bonnie and Clyde are wounded in an ambush staged by the Dallas County
Sheriff's Department near Sowers, Texas, and escape. Dallas County Sheriff
Smoot Schmidt, organizer of the failed attempt, immediately assigns one of his
deputies to hunt Bonnie and Clyde full-time.

January 23, 1934 The Barrow gang robs a bank in Rembrandt, Iowa.
January 25, 1934 The Barrow gang robs a bank in Poteau, Oklahoma.
February 1, 1934 The Barrow gang robs a bank in Knierim, Iowa. Former Texas Ranger Captain
Frank Hamer is hired to hunt down Bonnie and Clyde.

February 27, 1934 Barrow gang robs the R.P. Henry & Sons Bank in Lancaster, Texas.
April 16, 1934
The Barrow gang robs a bank in Stuart, Iowa. The getaway car is spotted
speeding through Dexter, just five miles away.

May 3, 1934 The Barrow gang robs a bank in Everly, Iowa.
May 6, 1934 The last time that Emma Parker sees Bonnie alive.
May 23, 1934 Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed and killed eight miles south of Gibsland,
Louisiana.
March 24, 1939
Blanche Caldwell Barrow is released from the Missouri State Penitentiary.

December 24, 1988 Blanche Caldwell Frasure dies.

FAMILIAR FACES
The Characters of Bonnie & Clyde

Bonnie Elizabeth Parker
(October 1, 1910-May 23, 1934)

b. Rowena, TX

Although Bonnie Parker only dropped out of high school to marry
spent 4 years with Clyde Barrow, her her classmate, Roy Thornton. After
participation in the Barrow Gang Roy was arrested for burglary and
defined her short life. sentenced to jail, Bonnie dissolved
their marriage, although she never
After the death of her father officially filed for a divorce. (In fact,
when Bonnie was 4 years old, her at the time of her death, Bonnie was
mother, Emma Krause Parker, still wearing her wedding ring from
moved her family to an industrial Thornton.)
suburb of Dallas. Bonnie grew up to
be an attractive redhead with ringlet After her marriage to Roy
curls and climbed to the head of her ended, Bonnie took work as a
class at Cement City High School waitress at a local diner. As for how
having won prizes in spelling, she met Clyde Barrow, there are
writing and public speaking. several legends that exist, but the
However, at the age of 16, Bonnie one that most historians believe to be
true involves her caring for a friend
who had broken her arm after she
slipped on a patch of ice. Clyde paid
a visit to that same ailing girl and
was introduced to Bonnie when she
was making hot chocolate in the
kitchen. People say it was love at
first sight.

Soon after they met, Clyde
was arrested and sentenced to time
in a prison in Waco, Texas. Bonnie
helped him escape by supplying him
with a gun that was hidden in his
parent’s home. Taking part in such
criminal acts with Clyde was a

thrilling experience for Bonnie. She
often served as lookout and willing
accomplice for many of the sinister
deeds committed by the Barrow
Gang, but her innocence has been
maintained with police records
stating that it is impossible to prove
that she ever fired a single shot.

Clyde Chestnut Barrow
(March 24, 1909-May 23, 1934)

b. Telico, Texas

Clyde Chestnut Barrow was traceable by the law if they were to
born the fifth of seven children to frequently swap out the license
Cumie and Henry Barrow. In his plates of the cars that they stole. He
teenage years, Clyde dropped out of was right; a failure to do so after the
school so he could create his own robbery of a Baltimore & Ohio train
excitement stealing cars, jimmying depot resulted in his imminent
locks and breaking windows. His recapture.
group of delinquents (including
brother, Buck) quickly became He was then sentenced to 14
known around town as the “Terrible years of hard labor at the notoriously
Barrows”. Without any sense of violent Eastham Penitentiary where
remorse, Clyde would brag about his Clyde began to plan his next escape.
misdeeds to anyone willing to listen. The eyes of the law, although
By the time he met Bonnie Parker perpetually looming, seemed to look
around Christmas of 1929, he was the other way at the violent
already on the run from the law. misdoings of its inmates. One such
convict, Ed Crowder, spent so much
Soon after their introduction, effort harassing Clyde that he took
he was arrested (for the third time in Crowder’s life in a brutal stabbing
his young life) and asked his new (for which he was never charged).
sweetheart to help him smuggle in a This occasion marked a turning
gun so he would be able shoot his point for Clyde Barrow: this was the
way out of jail. Clyde, the ever- first time he had killed in cold blood
developing criminal mastermind, but it would certainly not be the last.
figured that he would be far less
Unaware that his mother,
Cumie Barrow, was petitioning for
Clyde’s early release, he bribed a
fellow inmate to cut off two of his
toes with an axe. Two days later, on
February 8, 1932, Cumie’s pleas had
been answered and Clyde was

released, hobbling on crutches, back

into the arms of his Bonnie Parker.
The duo stole a car and robbed a

grocery store to acquire funds, which
led to the accidental death of the

store’s owner, John Bucher. When

policeman Joe Johns recognized the

license plate on their getaway car, he
approached the vehicle with gun

outstretched. The group nabbed him
as a hostage and released him days

later with no more information than

their names: Bonnie and Clyde.

CLYDE BARROW CONT:
As the Barrow Gang grew in notoriety, their chance to evade the law

became less likely. Their every movement was being expertly tracked and,
thanks to the overwhelming media coverage, Bonnie and Clyde were becoming
recognizable. Clyde often had to shoot his way out of the traps set by the police
with his favorite new gun, the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) which eclipsed
the firing power of anything the law was able to carry or afford.

Ultimately, it was Clyde’s love and obligation to his family that put an
end to his spree. Secret rendezvous points were determined by the gang and
their families where they would meet in secrecy. The police had been keeping a
close watch on the Barrow family home and, knowing that Clyde would desire a
visit with his mother on her birthday, an ambush was planned. While picnicking
together on November 21, 1933, Bonnie and Clyde were wounded in a spray of
bullets and they barely escaped with their lives. The police had devised a new
plan: kill first and question later.

On May 23, 1934, Henry Methvin- a member of the Barrow Gang that
feared his life would be taken along with Bonnie and Clyde when they were
captured- notified the police of their whereabouts after being promised a
reduced jail sentence as a reward for his cooperation. With police hidden in the
cover of tall reeds, Detective Frank Hamer saw their car approaching and called
the order to, “shoot”. After a few rounds of ammunition were unloaded came a
deafening silence; the handsome Clyde Barrow and the ravishing Bonnie Parker
were no more.

MUGSHOT OF THE YOUNG CLYDE BARROW

Marvin Ivan “Buck” Barrow
(March 14, 1903 – July 29, 1933)

b. Jones Prairie, Texas

Brother of Clyde and husband Several days after his
of Blanche, “Buck” was so called that introduction to Blanche, Buck was
because, as a boy, an Aunt noticed shot during a burglary, was
how free he ran in the fields like a apprehended by the police and
horse. sentenced to four years in the
Ferguson Prison Farm. Buck served
At the age of 18, Buck left his a little over three months before
family to find work in Dallas stealing a guard’s car and driving to
repairing cars at the garage owned see his new love. After the couple
by a brother. The knowledge of married on July 3, 1931, Blanche
mechanics proved useful to Buck aimed to convince Buck that he
who, at the time, made ends meet by should return to prison and serve the
stealing cars and selling them to the rest of his sentence in order to make
unsuspecting several towns over. himself right with the law and “get it
Throughout his years in Dallas, Buck all behind”. He eventually agreed
married and divorced two times and and drove to the Huntsville
fathered three children before Penitentiary. After his release two
meeting Blanche Caldwell. years later, Buck and Blanche
headed towards Joplin, Missouri,
knowing that his brother, Clyde, was
conducting a series of armed
robberies there.

During his time with the
“Barrow Gang”, Buck was
personally responsible for the death
of two police officers and one
civilian. On July 24, 1933, five days
after being seriously wounded by a
gunshot to his head during a police

shootout in Platte City, Missouri,
Buck and Blanche were captured

near an abandoned amusement park

in Iowa.
He was taken to the hospital

where doctors examined his wounds
and noted that if the infection and

pending surgery wouldn’t take his

life, the pneumonia he was suffering

from surely would. He died 5 days
later.

Blanche Barrow
(January 1, 1911-December 24, 1988)

b. Garvin, Oklahoma

Blanche Barrow left behind That’s when she met Buck
most of the information that informs Barrow, a fugitive hiding from the
the “true story” of Bonnie and Clyde law, and married him thinking that
as we know it today in a memoir she she would be able to convince him to
authored while imprisoned at give up his life of crime and go to
Missouri State Penitentiary work on her father’s farm.
following the death of her husband
Buck. After her parents divorced, When she accompanied Buck
Blanche (born Bennie Iva Caldwell), to the Joplin, Missouri hideout of the
was raised by her father. 17 years Barrow Gang, she witnessed a
later, when her mother arranged for violent police raid. When the bullets
Blanche to marry a much older man,
she ran away. began to fly, Blanche threw up her
arms and began running from room
to room, screaming at the top of her
lungs with a puppy tucked into the

pocket of her apron. Blanche
maintains her innocence in her book,
which was not published until after
her death, that she never once fired a

gun in her time with the Barrow
Gang.

At the time of death, Blanche
was in poor physical condition,
having lost the vision in her left eye.
She was sentenced to 10 years in
prison for the attempted murder of
Sherrif Holt Coffey. After her
release, she remarried and adopted a

son.

Emma Krause Parker
(September 1886-1946)

After the death of her Bonnie’s numerous achievements in
husband left her with three children school. She was terribly upset when
to provide for (Hubert “Buster” Bonnie dropped out of school to
Parker, Bonnie Elizabeth Parker, and marry Roy Thornton and had no say
Billie Jean Parker), Emma packed up in the matter when Bonnie ran off
the family and moved them to an with Clyde Barrow. She lost track of
industrial suburb of Dallas where her daughter’s whereabouts but was
she found work as a seamstress. able to follow Bonnie’s path by
Emma would consistently boast of reading of the Barrow Gang’s
terrible misdeeds in the headlines of
every paper.

Occasionally, she was able to

arrange a visit with Bonnie in
inconspicuous locations. It is said
that she lived every waking day in
fear of having read that the law had
finally caught the Barrow Gang.

After Bonnie’s death, Emma released
the doggerel poetry scrawled in her
child’s hand as an attempt to
humanize the girl.

Very little is known of Emma
Parker after Bonnie’s death. She
preferred to live out the remainder
of her quiet days without drawing
any attention.

Deputy Sheriff Ted Hinton
(October 5, 1904 – October 27, 1977)

Before his days serving as Deputy Sheriff, Ted Hinton was known around
Dallas as a friendly neighborhood mailman. In those days, he was known to take
his lunch at the counter of Marco’s Café where his waitress was a young Bonnie
Parker. Following the election of Sheriff Richard “Smoot” Schmid, Hinton was
offered the position of Deputy. Hinton proved a particular asset after the orders
were given to “shoot to kill” the Barrow Gang, having also been familiar with the
Barrow family from growing up alongside them in the dusty fields of West
Dallas.

Later in life, Hinton became an accomplished pilot and a restaurateur. It
is noted in his biography, which was published after his death, that in the days
he spent lunching at Marco’s Café, he did indeed have eyes for Bonnie Parker.

Cumie Walker Barrow
(November 21, 1874-August 14 1942)

Married to Henry Basil
Barrow on December 4, 1891, Cumie
was most known for being the
mother of Clyde and Buck Barrow.
Rounding out her brood was Elvin,
Artie, Nellie, LC and Marie.

She was personally informed
by Sheriff Schmid of Buck’s terminal
injuries after the ambush at an
abandoned amusement park outside
of Iowa in July of 1933. Knowing
that Buck only had a few days left to
live, a deputy offered to pay the cost
of transportation for Cumie to be by
her son’s side. She drove 36 hours
from Texas (along with her son LC)
and was with Buck when he drew
his final breath. After Buck’s death,
Cumie postponed the purchase of a
gravestone knowing that Clyde was
soon to follow.

Henry Barrow
(January 10, 1874-June 19, 1957)

Husband to Cumie and father to Clyde, Buck, Elvin, Artie, Nellie, LC and
Marie. When presented with the opportunity to run the Star Gas Station on
Eagle Ford Road, Henry Barrow accepted without hesitation. At the station, the
entire family lived behind the counter of a converted one-room storage area.
This was a vast improvement over Henry’s days as an itinerant cotton picker. In
those days, his pay had been so modest that the Barrows had been seeking
refuge in a tent city under a viaduct. It was a proud moment when Henry could
come in from the labor of the fields and offer his family had a home.

Henry’s Fueling Station

Sheriff Richard “Smoot” Schmid

Elected Sheriff of Dallas County in 1932, he began a campaign to make
law-enforcement more effective and professional in the eyes of the public. A
particularly dynamic character, “Smoot” hired dozens of deputies whom he
knew would agree with his forceful nature. During the height of infamy for
Bonnie and Clyde, they were known to taunt the police in both word and deed.
The Sheriff vowed to bring them to justice. One of the most effective decisions
he made after this pledge was hiring a young Ted Hinton as deputy, knowing
that Hinton would be able to identify both outlaws onsite, having been familiar
with them from his youth.

Governor Miriam A. “Ma” Ferguson
(June 13, 1875-June 25, 1961)

After her husband’s impeachment, Miriam “Ma” Ferguson was elected as
the first female Governor of Texas on a platform speaking against alcohol and
the Ku Klux Klan. With her first term in office having been spotted with
accusations of having accepted bribes and kickbacks, she was no stranger to
controversy when her second term began when the problem of the Barrow Gang
was aimlessly taking the lives of her lawmen. It was her responsibility to put an
end to this embarrassing threat. Even though Frank Hamer was among the 40
Texas Rangers that had retired upon her re-election due to disagreement with
her policies, she knew he was the right man for the job.

Frank Hamer
(March 17, 1884-July 10, 1955)

Frank Hamer, although the subject of much lore throughout his career as a
Texas Ranger, is most famously known for putting an end to the Barrow Gang in
1934.

Although he retired from service in 1932, Hamer accepted a commission
offered by Governor Miriam Ferguson to apprehend Bonnie and Clyde. In total,
he was offered $180 a month, a good portion of the reward money being offered
and whatever he wanted of their personal belongings after they were slain.
Hamer meticulously tracked every movement of Bonnie and Clyde making note
of the goings-on at the Parker and Barrow family residences as well as key dates
for each family, including birthdays and anniversaries.

Eventually, contact was made with the father of Barrow Gang member,
Henry Methvin. Hamer offered Methvin a pardon for his participation in the
ambush that ultimately killed Bonnie and Clyde. In the end, Hamer had spent
102 days tracing their footsteps and he collected a whopping reward of $200.23.

THE VICTIMS

- John N. Bucher of Hillsboro, Texas: Died April 30, 1932
- Owner of a Filling Station and Pawn Shop

- Eugene Moore of Atoka, Oklahoma: Died August 5, 1932
- Deputy Sherrif

- Howard Hall of Sherman, Texas: Died October 11, 1932
- Owner of the “Little Grocery Store”

- Doyle Johnson of Temple, Texas: Died December 26, 1932
- Grocery Store Clerk

- Malcolm Davis of Dallas, Texas: Died January 6, 1933
- Sheriff’s Deputy

- Harry McGinnis of Joplin, Missouri: Died April 13, 1933
- Detective

- Wes Harryman of Joplin, Missouri: Died April 13, 1933
- Motor Detective

- Henry D. Humphrey of Alma, Arkansas: Died June 26, 1933
- Marshall

- Major Joe Crowson of Huntsville, Texas: Died January 16, 1934
- Police Officer

- E.B. Wheeler of Grapevine, Texas: Died April 1, 1934
- Highway Patrolman

- H.D. Murphy of Grapevine, Texas: Died April 1, 1934
- Highway Patrolman

- Cal Campbell of Commerce, Oklahoma: Died April 6, 1934
- Police Constable

LIFE BEHIND BARS

Built on the grounds of a plantation purchased from the Eastham family in
Houston County, Texas in 1891, the Eastham Penitentiary was constructed by the
Texas State Prison System as a prison farm that would use the labor of its
inmates to maintain crops of cotton and sugarcane.
By the time of Clyde Barrow’s imprisonment at the facility in 1931, its reputation
was notoriously unpleasant. Prisoners were often beaten by guards and were
often forced into small tin boxes as a form of punishment. Corruption reigned
supreme. Sometimes, guards would murder the inmates so they would be
eligible to collect a reward of $25 for the capture of an escaped man.
The time spent at Eastham was formative for Clyde. On October 29, 1931, after a
period of having been harassed by fellow inmate, Ed Crowder, Clyde murdered
the man in a late-night stabbing for which inmate Aubrey Scalley took the blame.
Never having been formally accused of the murder of Ed Crowder, Clyde was
released from the penitentiary in 1932 on a conditional pardon requested by his
mother. Still, he was unable to shake the atrocities he witnessed while
incarcerated there. He began work on what would become his obsession- a raid
on Eastham that would allow for the escape of several of the prison’s most brutal
of convicts. His plans were carried out on January 16, 1934.
That morning, key prisoners that Barrow had recruited shot a guard in the
stomach. Clyde then emerged from a nearby creek and fired a barrage of shots
into the sky causing chaos in the fields. Bonnie leaned on the horn of the
getaway car as a signal to the escaping men. In all, one guard was killed, one
guard was wounded and four men escaped.
While the Eastham Unit is still in operation today as an agricultural facility that
uses the forced labor of inmates, officials claim that, since the times of Clyde
Barrow, it has now shed its rugged reputation.

Eastham: As It Stands Today

THE LEGACY

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were among the first celebrity criminals of the
modern era. Catapulted to stardom by the media who consistently featured
them in the headlines as a diversion to the Great Depression, people began to
view their misdeeds in a strangely positive light. In a time when most working-
class citizens were heavy with contempt for the government’s response to
rampant unemployment, Bonnie and Clyde proved to be an embarrassing
blemish to the law by constantly evading capture. While people were aware of
just how devious the duo could be, they were, in part, living out the fantasy of
the common man. This elevated the lovers to folk hero status where they remain
to this day.
Through the decades, many cultural historians have analyzed Bonnie's and
Clyde's enduring appeal to the public imagination. E.R. Milner, historian, put the
duo's enduring appeal into cultural perspective. “To those people who,” as
Milner says, "consider themselves outsiders, or oppose the existing system,
Bonnie and Clyde represent the ultimate outsiders, revolting against an uncaring
system.”
The film version of their story made in 1967 is what enthusiastically catapulted
them back into the national attention. Starring Warren Beatty and Faye
Dunaway, the Warner Brothers feature film was written by David Newman and
Robert Benton and directed by Arthur Penn. A major box-office hit, the film and
its sympathetic depiction of its outlaw protagonists struck a nerve on both sides
of the "generation gap" of the late 1960s. Some were moved by its portrayal of
strong, independent cultural rebels while others were infuriated by the
romanticizing of the vicious pair. The film went on to earn $70 million, 2 Oscars
and innumerable accolades.
While mostly remembered today as nothing more than star-crossed lovers, one
could argue that the current state of the world economy has put these Robin
Hood-ers back in the zeitgeist. But, no matter how you perceive their crimes, one
cannot argue that Bonnie and Clyde would be proud to know that they will
seemingly always be remembered.

       Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow    Faye Dunaway & Warren Beatty 
THEIR IDOLS

THEIR IDOLS

Throughout the musical, both Bonnie and Clyde dream of a better life as inspired
by the popular stars and outlaws from their era.
BONNIE:

CLARA BOW (July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965)

American silent film actress that
starred in over 50 films from 1922-
1933. Her physical appeal earned
her the nickname “The It Girl”. Her
character she played was a definition

for the roaring twenties, the
“flapper”, a “modern” girl with

short skirts and bobbed hair.

GRETA GARBO (September 18, 1905 – April 15, 1990)
Ranked fifth on the American Film

Institutes list of “The Greatest
Female Stars of All Time”, the
Swedish actress captured the
attention of the Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer (MGM) Studio in the mid-
1920’s. In her career, she earned four
Academy Award nominations and is
most known for her work in “Anne
Christie” (1930), “Grand Hotel”
(1932) and “Camille” (1936).

FAY WRAY (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004)

Most famous for playing the
character Ann Darrow in RKO
Picture’s classic “King Kong” (1933),
Fay Wray is identified as the original
“scream queen” for her many
appearances in horror films in a
career that spanned 57 years.

CLYDE:

AL CAPONE (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947)

A notorious gangster that made his
money smuggling liquor during

Prohibition, Capone was the head of
a powerful crime syndicate during
the 1920’s and 1930’s. He was most
criticized for his alleged involvement
in Chicago’s Saint Valentine’s Day
Massacre of 1929 in which seven

members from a rival gang
were executed.

JESSE JAMES (September 5, 1847 – April 3, 1882)

After being accused of committing
atrocities against Union (Northern)

soldiers during the US Civil War
(1861-1865), Jesse James passed from

gang to gang participating in
robberies on trains and stagecoaches.

Known as an iconic figure of the
Wild West, the infamy of Jesse James
has extended well into the modern
era with numerous film adaptations

of his life having been made,
including a 2007 film
starring Brad Pitt.

BILLY THE KID (November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881)

Generally unknown during his life
as an outlaw and gunman, Billy the
Kid (originally born William Henry

McCarty) became a name on
everybody’s lips after New Mexico’s
governor offered a generous reward
Billy’s death. Most of the accounts of

his life are greatly exaggerated.

THE GREAT DEPRESSION
(1929-Early 1940’s)

In October of 1929, the stock market of the United States took an unprecedented
dive. Many wealthy Americans lost considerable sums of money and others
were bankrupted entirely. This caused an economic ripple effect that was soon
felt by the middle and lower classes. With the rich unable to afford to keep their
businesses open, average Americans were left without work. The Great
Depression had begun and would last for the next ten years. It was the longest
and deepest depression endured during the 20th century.
During that time, many of the jobless, homeless and penniless began to depend
upon the government for support. They were looking upwards toward
President Herbert Hoover (in office from 1929-1933) whose term was plagued by
trying to find a way to restore the economic conditions of the country. One of
the key programs he ushered in to support commerce was the Smoot-Hawley
Tariff, which raised the price of imported goods and urged citizens to buy
American-made products. All of the proposed solutions that Hoover enacted
caused further downturn. Tent cities of vagrant workers were more commonly
known as “Hoovervilles” in his honor.
In 1932, President Franklin Roosevelt was elected in a campaign where he
promised economic restructuring that would prevent any additional decline.
Roosevelt’s “New Deal” was born and implemented in several phases. First,
minimum wages and labor standards were enforced to shift the control of power
in favor of the working man. The second phase of the New Deal was the
application of Social Security and the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
Most historians say that the beginning of World War II (1939) marked the official
end of this dark historical period.

Men Waiting in a “Bread Line”

COMPARISON OF PRICES
1930’s v. Today

Based on the principals of financial inflation, what cost $1.00 in the year 1930
would cost around $13.00 in the year 2011. Below is a comparison of prices for
various items comparing then and now.

ITEM PRICE THEN PRICE NOW
Dozen Eggs $.18 $2.39
Toilet Paper (2 Rolls) $.9 $2.32

Toothpaste $.27 $2.79
Loaf of Bread $.8 $2.49
Sugar (10 lbs.) $.49 $6.78

Men’s Shirt $2.50 $39.99
Ladies Winter Coat $16.00 $99.99
$15.00 $149.99
Men’s Overcoat $9.95 $39.88
Electric Toaster
$144.50 $1,035.19
Refrigerator $4.95 $15.99
Electric Iron $15.98 $220.00

Mattress

SLANG OF THE 1930’S

WHAT THEY SAID IN THE 1930’s WHAT IT MEANT
Aces, Keen, Smooth, Snazzy, Sweet, Very Good

Swell Not Very Good
“All Wet” Have a lot of Work to Finish
“Behind the Grind”
Big house, Hoosegow Prison
Eyes
Blinkers, Lamps, Peepers, Pies, Shutters Gets Excited
“Blow Your Wig” Money

Bread, Bacon, Dough, Moolah, Suds, Female Singer
Salad Fans of Swing Music
Canary
Home
Cats, Alligators Bad Dancer
Cave Glass of Water
Wild Party
Cement Mixer Policeman
City Juice, Dog Soup Adorable
In Love with a Woman
Clam-Bake
Copper Hands
Illegally Hired Men with Guns
“Cute as a Bug’s Ear”
Con Man
“Dizzy with a Dame” Tough
Dukes, Grabbers, Meat Hooks, Paws
Being Told all of the Information
Goons, Hatchet Men, Trigger Men Leave Quickly
Ambulance
Grifter
Hard Boiled Gangster’s Girlfriend
“Getting the Low Down” Friend

“Make Tracks” Innocent Man Framed for a Crime
Meat Wagon A Good Time at a Party
Hurry Up
Moll
Hidden Bar During Prohibition
Pally Nothing
Patsy
A Police Informant
“Ring-a-Ding-Ding” Death
“Shake a Leg” Car
Speakeasy
All Dressed Up
Squat
Stool Pigeon
“The Kiss Off”

Tin Can, Flivver
“Togged to the Bricks”

 
 
 
 

CONTINUED ENRICHMENT 
 

 
BOOKS: 
 
Schneider, Paul.  Bonnie and Clyde: The Lives Behind the Legends.  New York: St. 
Martin’s Press, 2010 
 
Barrow, Blanche Caldwell.  My Life with Bonnie and Clyde.  Norman, OK: University of 
Oklahoma Press, 2004 
 
Milner, E.R. The Lives and Times of Bonnie and Clyde. Carbondale, IL: Southern 
Illinois University Press, 2003 
 
Guinn, Jeff.  Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde.  Simon & 
Schuster, 2010 
 
MOVIES:  
 
Bonnie and Clyde.  Dir. Arthur Penn.  Perf. Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene 
Hackman, Estelle Parsons.  Warner Brothers, 1967. 
 
RELATED WEBSITES: 
 
Ballinger, Frank. R.  Bonnie and Clyde’s Hideout. 
<http://texashideout.tripod.com/bc.htm>. 
 
“FBI‐ Bonnie and Clyde” FBI Records: The Vault.  Federal Bureau of Investigation.   
< http://vault.fbi.gov/Bonnie%20and%20Clyde>.