What do Diahann Carroll and Bonnie and Clyde have in common?
Absolutely nothing other than the fact that being knee deep in nicotine withdrawal, and could not sleep last night, I watched Diahann's Biography and a "Notorious" on the famous Barrow Gang.
Things I learned about Diahann:
Her given name was Carol Diahann Johnson.
She was born to a fairly well-to-do family in the Bronx.
Her first husband was Jewish and her father refused to attend the wedding.
After she divorced her first husband, Diahann got involved with Sidney Poitier and they were together for 9 years. Sidney never left his wife, but, Diahann thought he would. (Hello, Diahann..this is Reality calling)
She almost married David Frost. (What!?!?!)
Her daughter Suzanne Kay is a news/media personality.
She is a breast cancer survivor.
I love how she spells "Diahann."
At almost 70, Diahann's still quite the hottie.
As for Bonnie & Clyde, their story is just plain fascinating. Even though they were robbers and murderers, something about them is just interesting. I think they killed something like 13 people in their crime spree, that lasted about two years, covering Missouri, Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. I think if Bonnie & Clyde were around now, they'd be on the cover of People magazine and would be as photographed as Brad & Angelina. They'd probably have their own reality show.
Interesting B & C facts:
Bonnie was 4'10 and didn't weigh 100 lbs.
Bonnie had a tattoo on her leg with her husband's name (She was married to a convict named Roy that she was still married to and wearing his wedding ring when she was killed)
Bonnie was very creative.
Clyde's first arrests were for not returning a rented car and stealing turkeys.
Although he was known for robbing banks, Clyde's preferred robbing smaller outfits like grocery stores and gas stations.
Clyde's big goal in life was not to be famous for robbing banks, but, to get back at the Texas prison system for abuses he went through while serving time.
Clyde's maniac driving skills were probably what kept the gang from getting caught.
After the famous ambush in May of 1934, people came by the thousands to see the bodies still inside the car. Souvenir seekers even tried to cut Clyde's ear off. (eww)
My grandfather was one of those curiosity seekers that went to Bienvielle Parish, Louisiana, however, by the time he got there, the bodies had been removed, so, thank goodness my Paw Paw didn't try to take him home some Ear of Barrow.
I know you'll want to put the annual Bonnie and Clyde Festival, held every year in May on the anniversary of the shootout on your "to do" list. Still a few weeks to make plans to attend. If you can't do that, you can commemorate by watching the movie. Great movie with some amazing performances.
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