It was in 1967 that the movie Bonnie and Clyde appeared with two stars, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. There was little previously revealed about these two robbers and murderers, yet the story presented gave another side to these two. A second fact that interested me was that my cousin’s second wife was the costume designer for the movie. Even more interesting was that she would go on to win the Oscar for costuming that year.

What I later learned about these two seemingly vicious criminals was another interesting side. I learned that while not robbing banks, Clyde Barrow was a devoted saxophone player and played it for other gangsters from time to time. While he was playing, his girlfriend Bonnie Parker was busy as a gifted poet writing dozens of poems about her life, dreams and regrets. A bit of their warmer sides was touched on in the movie.

We have all read and heard about some famous gangsters over the years, but those stories are not the subject of new movies these days. Our modern criminals are presented as dishonest politicians, deranged murderers, cult-induced hatemongers, and drug suppliers. Except for a couple of Mexican cartel heads, we do not get many bad guy stories. Maybe that is why movies like those concerning criminals of the late 1800s and early 1900s make for better movie material. With that in mind, I spent some time reading some facts (and perhaps fiction) about some of these early criminals/heroes.

Did you know that Jesse James, besides being a ruthless bandit, was an avid reader? Of course, he was not reading our personal favorites of today since he was born in 1847 and died in 1888 at the age of 41. Interestingly, his favorite writer was William Shakespeare, and it is said that he often quoted passages from his readings to his fellow gang members.

Then we have Billy the Kid. The name was quite appropriate in that William H. Bonner was born in 1859 and died at 21 in 1881. While portrayed as a merciless, cold-blooded killer as he raided town after town, he often spared orphans and widows and left food and supplies behind for them. A short life compared to others.

One of the funnier outlaws was Butch Cassidy. Before robbing bankers, Cassidy would often open accounts at some of the banks under his real name before later robbing them. He was remembered by the tellers as completely charming while he canvassed the bank. Originally named Robert LeRoy Parker, he was born in 1866 and died in 1908.

Cassidy’s sidekick for most of his criminal years was Harry Longabaugh, the Sundance Kid. Born in 1867 in Pennsylvania, The Sundance Kid was a skilled carpenter and supported himself with a side job between bank robberies, making furniture and repairing structures on farms.

The actual deaths of these two are somewhat shrouded in mystery as well. The most commonly believed ending came in Bolivia after the two had fled the United States. It is believed that Bolivian military forces killed the two. Who can forget the two of them surrounded by those troops standing on top of a mountain pass? Cassidy says that the only way out is to jump into the river at the bottom of the mountain, to which Sundance replies that he can’t. When asked why, he replies, “I can’t swim!” To that, Cassidy replies that the jump will probably kill them anyway. I am going to have to rewatch that movie.

Not to forget other criminals, take Pretty Boy Floyd. Born Charles Arthur Floyd in 1904, he became a very successful bank robber and became known also as “Robin Hood,” as he often tore up mortgages and notes of local farmers while robbing the bank. Sentenced to 12 years in prison, Floyd escaped on the way to the penitentiary to further his life of crime. He was also part of a bloody attempt in 1933 to free a fellow robber who was in the custody of the FBI and being transported to prison when Floyd and two friends attacked. Three local policemen, one FBI agent, and the man they were trying to free, Frank Nash, were all killed. This event became known as the Kansas City Massacre. Floyd was able to flee the area but was stopped a year later, in 1934, when he crashed his car and died in a shootout with local law enforcement police.

Then there was Doc Holliday, who was really a dentist with a promising career before becoming the infamous ally of Wyatt Earp in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

The stagecoach robber known as Black Bart, the Polite Stagecoach Robber, often left poetry notes behind at the scenes of his robberies. Born Charles Earl Bowles in 1829, he had a life of crime. After serving a prison sentence, he was finally released in early 1888. He wrote a short note to his wife that he was not coming home and was never seen again after February 28, 1988.

It seems that the modern criminals aren’t as talented these days, but a robber is a robber. One possible exception to this has to be D.B. Cooper jumping out of an airplane with his stolen loot. Sure, would like to get the ending of that story. Going to check on Netflix to see Bonnie and Clyde.

· Dennis Marek can be reached at llamalaw23@gmail.com.