1 Subang Jaya 1 553 589
2 KUALA LUMPUR 1 475 337
3 Kajang 1 299 115
4 Klang 1 113 851
5 Ampang Jaya 804 901
6 Selayang 785 527
7 IPOH 704 572
8 KUCHING 674 281
9 SHAH ALAM 671 282
10 Petaling Jaya 638 516
11 JOHOR BARU 610 940
12 KOTA KINABALU 604 078
13 Sandakan 501 195
14 GEORGETOWN 482 976
15 SEREMBAN 477 908
16 Sekudai 465 360
17 MELAKA 433 047
18 KUANTAN 422 020
19 Tawau 381 736
20 Pasir Gudang 376 283
21 KOTA BARU 356 615
22 Sungai Petani 347 761
23 Bukit Mertajam 321 172
24 KUALA TERENGGANU 286 317
25 Miri 280 518
26 Muar 237 134
27 Batu Pahat 237 037
28 ALOR SETAR 231 045
29 Kulim 228 662
30 Taiping 212 562
31 Sibu 210 879
32 Kulai 201 861
33 Bintulu 199 514
34 Kluang 188 521
35 Penampang 169 769
36 Nibong Tebal 143 151
37 Temerloh 132 467
38 Lahad Datu 128 589
39 Bagan Serai 124 697
40 Sitiawan 122 329
41 Butterworth 122 322
42 Keningau 120 578
43 Kuala Selangor 119 648
44 Cukai 118 529
45 Port Dickson 102 259
46 Kuala Kubu Baru 96 611
47 Dungun 94 291
48 Segamat 94 255
49 Banting 93 497
50 Pontian Kecil 88 230
51 Labuan 81 151
52 Alor Gajah 77 521
53 KANGAR 74 396
54 Sungai Besar 73 290
55 Kuala Kangsar 72 625
56 Jitra 69 743
57 Semporna 68 839
58 Bentong 66 996
59 Tapah 66 511
60 Kota Tinggi 64 739
61 Teluk Intan 58 431
62 Batu Gajah 58 098
63 Banting 57 731
64 Raub 49 333
65 Kuah 41 605
66 Salak Tinggi 40 364
67 Jerantut 40 092
68 Papar 39 625
69 Labis 37 826
70 Bahau 36 645
71 Kampar 35 566
72 Limbang 34 351
73 Kudat 33 378
74 Pekan 33 089
75 Tampin 32 917
76 Tumpat 32 194
77 Sarikei 30 083
78 Tanah Merah 28 565
79 Sri Aman 26 110
80 Kunak 22 912
81 Marang 21 360
82 Mersing 21 309
83 Tanjung Malim 19 710
84 Ranau 19 521
85 Pasir Mas 19 231
86 Gua Musang 19 173
87 Kuala Krai 19 153
88 Simpang Renggam 18 711
89 Kuala Pilah 18 382
90 Beaufort 17 954
91 Kapit 16 689
92 Kuala Lipis 16 285
93 Jasin 15 113
94 Kota Belud 14 522
95 Besut 13 654
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Happy 85th Birthday Marilyn Monroe
From Wikipedia.
The late great Marilyn Monroe was one of the great sex goddesses of the modern era. Her 85th birthday is June 1, 2011.
Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jean Mortenson (June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress, singer and model.
After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946.
Her early film appearances were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950) were well received.
By 1953, Monroe had progressed to leading roles.
Her "dumb blonde" persona was used to comedic effect in such films as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How To Marry A Millionaire (1953) and The Seven Year Itch (1955).
Limited by typecasting, Monroe studied at the Actors Studio to broaden her range, and her dramatic performance in Bus Stop (1956) was hailed by critics, and she received a Golden Globe nomination.
Her production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, released The Prince And The Showgirl (1957), for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination and won a David Di Donatello Award.
She received a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like It Hot (1959).
The final years of Monroe's life were marked by illness, personal problems and a reputation for being unreliable and difficult to work with.
The circumstances of her death, from an overdose of barbiturates, have been the subject of conjecture.
Though officially classified as a "probable suicide", the possibility of an accidental overdose, as well as the possibility of homicide, have not been ruled out.
In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute.
In the years and decades following her death, Monroe has often been cited as a pop and cultural icon as well as an eminent American sex symbol.
Monroe was born in the Los Angeles County Hospital, the third child of Gladys Pearl Baker (May 27, 1902 – March 11, 1984).
Monroe's birth certificate names her father as Martin Edward Mortensen.
Baker had married Mortensen in 1924, but they had separated before Gladys' pregnancy.
Throughout her life, Monroe denied that Mortensen was her father.
She said that she had been shown a photograph of a man that Gladys identified as her father, Charles Stanley Gifford.
Gladys was mentally unstable and financially unable to care for the young Norma Jean, so she placed her with foster parents Albert and Ida Bolender of Hawthorne, California, where she lived until she was seven.
While living with the Bolenders, an unusual incident occurred.
One day, Gladys came to the Bolenders and demanded that Norma Jean be released back into her care.
Ida knew that Gladys was unstable at that time and insisted that this situation would not benefit Norma Jean.
Unwilling to cooperate, Gladys managed to pull Ida into the yard while she ran inside the house, locking the door behind her.
After several minutes, Gladys walked out of the front door with one of Albert Bolender's military duffel bags.
To Ida's horror, Gladys had stuffed the now screaming Norma Jean inside the bag, zipped it up, and proceeded to leave the house. Ida charged towards Gladys and the quarrel resulted in the bag splitting open.
Norma Jean fell out and began weeping loudly as Ida grabbed her and pulled her back inside the house, away from Gladys.
In 1933, Gladys bought a house and brought Norma Jean to live with her.
A few months after moving in, Gladys suffered a mental breakdown.
Norma Jean was declared a ward of the state, and Gladys' best friend, Grace McKee, became her guardian.
It was Grace who had told Monroe that someday she would become a movie star.
Grace was captivated by Jean Harlow.
Grace married Ervin Goddard in 1935, and nine-year-old Norma Jean was sent to the Los Angeles Orphans Home (later renamed Hollygrove).
In 1937, Grace took Norma Jean back to live with her, Goddard, and one of Goddard's daughters from a previous marriage.
This arrangement did not last for long, as Goddard attempted on several occasions to sexually assault her.
Disturbed by this, Grace sent her to live with her great-aunt, Olive Brunings in Compton, California.
This arrangement also did not last long, as 12-year-old Norma Jean was assaulted (sexually) by one of Olive's sons.
In early 1938, Grace sent her to live with yet another one of her aunts, Ana Lower, who lived in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles.
The time with Lower provided the young Norma Jean with one of the few stable periods in her life.
By 1942, the elderly Lower developed serious health problems, and thus Norma Jean went back to live with the Goddards.
While attending Van Nuys High School, she met a neighbour's son, James Dougherty and began a relationship with him.
They got married that year.
In 1943, with World War II raging, he enlisted in the Merchant Marine and was shipped out to the Pacific.
Norma Jean found employment in the Radioplane Munitions Factory. She sprayed airplane parts with fire retardant and inspected parachutes.
During this time, Army photographer David Conover snapped a photograph of her for a Yank magazine article.
He encouraged her to apply to The Blue Book Modeling Agency.
She signed with the agency and began researching the work of Jean Harlow and Lana Turner.
She was told that they were looking for models with lighter hair, so Norma Jean bleached her brunette hair to a golden blonde.
Norma Jean became one of Blue Book's most successful models, appearing on dozens of magazine covers.
Jim Dougherty was oblivious of his wife's new job until he discovered one of his shipmates admiring a revealing photo of Norma Jean in a magazine.
Dougherty corresponded with her via several letters stating that once he returned from service, she would have to give up her modeling.
A dissatisfied Norma Jean, who now saw the possibilities of a modeling and acting career, decided then to divorce Dougherty.
The marriage ended when he returned from overseas in 1946.
Her successful modeling career brought her to the attention of Ben Lyon, a 20th Century Fox executive, who arranged a screen test.
Lyon was impressed and commented, "It's Jean Harlow all over again."
Lyon did not like the name Norma Jean and chose Marilyn Monroe (Monroe is her mother's maiden name) for Norma Jean.
Marilyn Monroe's first movie role was an uncredited role as a telephone operator in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim in 1947.
She won a brief role that year in Dangerous Years and extra appearances in Green Grass Of Wyoming and You Were Meant For Me.
In 1948, Monroe signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and was introduced to the studio's head drama coach Natasha Lytess, who became her acting coach for several years.
She starred in the low-budget musical Ladies Of The Chorus.
She had a small role in the Marx Brothers film Love Happy (1949).
Love Happy brought Monroe to the attention of the talent agent, Johnny Hyde, who arranged for her to audition for John Huston's drama The Asphalt Jungle, playing the young mistress of an aging criminal.
Her performance brought strong reviews and was seen by the writer and director, Joseph Mankiewicz.
He accepted Hyde's suggestion of Monroe for a small comedic role in All About Eve as Miss Caswell, an aspiring actress.
Monroe enrolled at UCLA in 1951 where she studied literature and art appreciation, and appeared in several minor films playing opposite long-established performers as Mickey Rooney, Constance Bennett, June Allyson, Dick Powell and Claudette Colbert.
In 1951, she appeared as a presenter at the 23rd Academy Awards.
In 1952, Monroe appeared on the cover of Look magazine.
In March 1952, Monroe faced a possible scandal when one of her nude photos from a 1949 session with photographer Tom Kelley was featured in a calendar.
The press speculated about the identity of the anonymous model and commented that she closely resembled Monroe.
As the studio discussed how to deal with the problem, Monroe suggested that she should simply admit that she had posed for the photograph but emphasised that she had done so only because she had no money to pay her rent.
She gave an interview in which she discussed the circumstances that led to her posing for the photographs, and the resulting publicity elicited a degree of sympathy for her plight as a struggling actress.
She made her first appearance on the cover of Life magazine in April 1952, where she was described as "The Talk Of Hollywood".
Stories of her childhood and upbringing portrayed her in a sympathetic light.
It was during this time that she began dating baseball player Joe DiMaggio. They were married in 1954.
Four films in which Monroe featured were released in 1952.
First, Clash By Night, a Barbara Stanwyck drama, directed by Fritz Lang. It was favourably received by critics.
Next came We're Not Married!, Don't Bother To Knock and Monkey Business.
Darryl F. Zanuck cast her in Niagara, as a femme fatale scheming to murder her husband, played by Joseph Cotten.
Her next film in 1953 was Gentlemen Prefer Blondes co-starring Jane Russell and directed by Howard Hawks.
This was followed by How To Marry A Millionaire, River Of No Return and There's No Business Like Show Business.
In 1954, shortly after There's No Business Like Show Business, she starred in The Seven Year Itch.
Not long after the film, she and DiMaggio were divorced.
In 1955, Monroe dated playwright Arthur Miller. She studied at the Actors Studio, and befriended actors Kevin McCarthy and Eli Wallach.
In Bus Stop, Monroe played Cherie, a saloon singer with little talent who falls in love with a cowboy, Beauregard "Bo" Decker, played by Don Murray.
She received a Golden Globe nomination.
She married Miller in 1956. A year later she co-starred with Lord Laurence Olivier in The Prince And The Showgirl. In 1959 came Some Like It Hot which earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress.
From 1959 onwards, Monroe became addicted to drugs. She became an ardent fan of the new United States President John F. Kennedy and had an affair with him.
Marilyn Monroe was found dead of a drug overdose at her home on August 5, 1962. The last person she spoke to was Kennedy. Many fans believe the CIA killed her in order to implicate Kennedy. She and Miller had been divorced in earlier that year.
She was buried on August 8, 1962 at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles.
The late great Marilyn Monroe was one of the great sex goddesses of the modern era. Her 85th birthday is June 1, 2011.
Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jean Mortenson (June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress, singer and model.
After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946.
Her early film appearances were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950) were well received.
By 1953, Monroe had progressed to leading roles.
Her "dumb blonde" persona was used to comedic effect in such films as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How To Marry A Millionaire (1953) and The Seven Year Itch (1955).
Limited by typecasting, Monroe studied at the Actors Studio to broaden her range, and her dramatic performance in Bus Stop (1956) was hailed by critics, and she received a Golden Globe nomination.
Her production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, released The Prince And The Showgirl (1957), for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination and won a David Di Donatello Award.
She received a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like It Hot (1959).
The final years of Monroe's life were marked by illness, personal problems and a reputation for being unreliable and difficult to work with.
The circumstances of her death, from an overdose of barbiturates, have been the subject of conjecture.
Though officially classified as a "probable suicide", the possibility of an accidental overdose, as well as the possibility of homicide, have not been ruled out.
In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute.
In the years and decades following her death, Monroe has often been cited as a pop and cultural icon as well as an eminent American sex symbol.
Monroe was born in the Los Angeles County Hospital, the third child of Gladys Pearl Baker (May 27, 1902 – March 11, 1984).
Monroe's birth certificate names her father as Martin Edward Mortensen.
Baker had married Mortensen in 1924, but they had separated before Gladys' pregnancy.
Throughout her life, Monroe denied that Mortensen was her father.
She said that she had been shown a photograph of a man that Gladys identified as her father, Charles Stanley Gifford.
Gladys was mentally unstable and financially unable to care for the young Norma Jean, so she placed her with foster parents Albert and Ida Bolender of Hawthorne, California, where she lived until she was seven.
While living with the Bolenders, an unusual incident occurred.
One day, Gladys came to the Bolenders and demanded that Norma Jean be released back into her care.
Ida knew that Gladys was unstable at that time and insisted that this situation would not benefit Norma Jean.
Unwilling to cooperate, Gladys managed to pull Ida into the yard while she ran inside the house, locking the door behind her.
After several minutes, Gladys walked out of the front door with one of Albert Bolender's military duffel bags.
To Ida's horror, Gladys had stuffed the now screaming Norma Jean inside the bag, zipped it up, and proceeded to leave the house. Ida charged towards Gladys and the quarrel resulted in the bag splitting open.
Norma Jean fell out and began weeping loudly as Ida grabbed her and pulled her back inside the house, away from Gladys.
In 1933, Gladys bought a house and brought Norma Jean to live with her.
A few months after moving in, Gladys suffered a mental breakdown.
Norma Jean was declared a ward of the state, and Gladys' best friend, Grace McKee, became her guardian.
It was Grace who had told Monroe that someday she would become a movie star.
Grace was captivated by Jean Harlow.
Grace married Ervin Goddard in 1935, and nine-year-old Norma Jean was sent to the Los Angeles Orphans Home (later renamed Hollygrove).
In 1937, Grace took Norma Jean back to live with her, Goddard, and one of Goddard's daughters from a previous marriage.
This arrangement did not last for long, as Goddard attempted on several occasions to sexually assault her.
Disturbed by this, Grace sent her to live with her great-aunt, Olive Brunings in Compton, California.
This arrangement also did not last long, as 12-year-old Norma Jean was assaulted (sexually) by one of Olive's sons.
In early 1938, Grace sent her to live with yet another one of her aunts, Ana Lower, who lived in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles.
The time with Lower provided the young Norma Jean with one of the few stable periods in her life.
By 1942, the elderly Lower developed serious health problems, and thus Norma Jean went back to live with the Goddards.
While attending Van Nuys High School, she met a neighbour's son, James Dougherty and began a relationship with him.
They got married that year.
In 1943, with World War II raging, he enlisted in the Merchant Marine and was shipped out to the Pacific.
Norma Jean found employment in the Radioplane Munitions Factory. She sprayed airplane parts with fire retardant and inspected parachutes.
During this time, Army photographer David Conover snapped a photograph of her for a Yank magazine article.
He encouraged her to apply to The Blue Book Modeling Agency.
She signed with the agency and began researching the work of Jean Harlow and Lana Turner.
She was told that they were looking for models with lighter hair, so Norma Jean bleached her brunette hair to a golden blonde.
Norma Jean became one of Blue Book's most successful models, appearing on dozens of magazine covers.
Jim Dougherty was oblivious of his wife's new job until he discovered one of his shipmates admiring a revealing photo of Norma Jean in a magazine.
Dougherty corresponded with her via several letters stating that once he returned from service, she would have to give up her modeling.
A dissatisfied Norma Jean, who now saw the possibilities of a modeling and acting career, decided then to divorce Dougherty.
The marriage ended when he returned from overseas in 1946.
Her successful modeling career brought her to the attention of Ben Lyon, a 20th Century Fox executive, who arranged a screen test.
Lyon was impressed and commented, "It's Jean Harlow all over again."
Lyon did not like the name Norma Jean and chose Marilyn Monroe (Monroe is her mother's maiden name) for Norma Jean.
Marilyn Monroe's first movie role was an uncredited role as a telephone operator in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim in 1947.
She won a brief role that year in Dangerous Years and extra appearances in Green Grass Of Wyoming and You Were Meant For Me.
In 1948, Monroe signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and was introduced to the studio's head drama coach Natasha Lytess, who became her acting coach for several years.
She starred in the low-budget musical Ladies Of The Chorus.
She had a small role in the Marx Brothers film Love Happy (1949).
Love Happy brought Monroe to the attention of the talent agent, Johnny Hyde, who arranged for her to audition for John Huston's drama The Asphalt Jungle, playing the young mistress of an aging criminal.
Her performance brought strong reviews and was seen by the writer and director, Joseph Mankiewicz.
He accepted Hyde's suggestion of Monroe for a small comedic role in All About Eve as Miss Caswell, an aspiring actress.
Monroe enrolled at UCLA in 1951 where she studied literature and art appreciation, and appeared in several minor films playing opposite long-established performers as Mickey Rooney, Constance Bennett, June Allyson, Dick Powell and Claudette Colbert.
In 1951, she appeared as a presenter at the 23rd Academy Awards.
In 1952, Monroe appeared on the cover of Look magazine.
In March 1952, Monroe faced a possible scandal when one of her nude photos from a 1949 session with photographer Tom Kelley was featured in a calendar.
The press speculated about the identity of the anonymous model and commented that she closely resembled Monroe.
As the studio discussed how to deal with the problem, Monroe suggested that she should simply admit that she had posed for the photograph but emphasised that she had done so only because she had no money to pay her rent.
She gave an interview in which she discussed the circumstances that led to her posing for the photographs, and the resulting publicity elicited a degree of sympathy for her plight as a struggling actress.
She made her first appearance on the cover of Life magazine in April 1952, where she was described as "The Talk Of Hollywood".
Stories of her childhood and upbringing portrayed her in a sympathetic light.
It was during this time that she began dating baseball player Joe DiMaggio. They were married in 1954.
Four films in which Monroe featured were released in 1952.
First, Clash By Night, a Barbara Stanwyck drama, directed by Fritz Lang. It was favourably received by critics.
Next came We're Not Married!, Don't Bother To Knock and Monkey Business.
Darryl F. Zanuck cast her in Niagara, as a femme fatale scheming to murder her husband, played by Joseph Cotten.
Her next film in 1953 was Gentlemen Prefer Blondes co-starring Jane Russell and directed by Howard Hawks.
This was followed by How To Marry A Millionaire, River Of No Return and There's No Business Like Show Business.
In 1954, shortly after There's No Business Like Show Business, she starred in The Seven Year Itch.
Not long after the film, she and DiMaggio were divorced.
In 1955, Monroe dated playwright Arthur Miller. She studied at the Actors Studio, and befriended actors Kevin McCarthy and Eli Wallach.
In Bus Stop, Monroe played Cherie, a saloon singer with little talent who falls in love with a cowboy, Beauregard "Bo" Decker, played by Don Murray.
She received a Golden Globe nomination.
She married Miller in 1956. A year later she co-starred with Lord Laurence Olivier in The Prince And The Showgirl. In 1959 came Some Like It Hot which earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress.
From 1959 onwards, Monroe became addicted to drugs. She became an ardent fan of the new United States President John F. Kennedy and had an affair with him.
Marilyn Monroe was found dead of a drug overdose at her home on August 5, 1962. The last person she spoke to was Kennedy. Many fans believe the CIA killed her in order to implicate Kennedy. She and Miller had been divorced in earlier that year.
She was buried on August 8, 1962 at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Farewell Jeff Conaway And Joseph Brooks.
We've lost two great, underrated American celebrities this weekend. Actor Jeff Conaway of Taxi and Grease fame and Joseph Brooks who wrote and composed Debbie Boone's hit song You Light Up My Life.
Read all about them here. From Wikipedia.
Jeff Conaway.
Jeffrey Charles William Michael Conaway (October 5, 1950 – May 27, 2011) was an American actor, best known for his roles in the movie Grease and the television series Taxi and Babylon 5.
Conaway began acting on Broadway at two. He appeared in the play All The Way Home in 1960 and the 1977 Disney film, Pete's Dragon.
He was best known for playing Kenickie in the 1978 motion picture musical Grease and for his role in the television series Taxi, where he played cocky, vain, struggling actor Bobby Wheeler from 1978 to 1981.
He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1978 for his role as Wheeler.
From 1994-1999, he played Sergeant Zack Allan, on Babylon 5. From 1989-1990, he was cast on The Bold And The Beautiful, in the role of Mick Savage.
In the mid-1960s, he was the lead singer and guitarist for a rock band, The 3 1/2.
He was married thrice and his second marriage from 1980 to 1985 was to Olivia Newton-John's sister Rona.
A drug addict for most of the 1980s, he died of a drug overdose.
Joseph Brooks.
Joseph Brooks (March 11, 1938 – May 22, 2011) was an American screenwriter, director, producer and composer.
He composed the song You Light Up My Life for the film of the same name that he also wrote, directed and produced.
In his later years he became the centre of a scandal after being accused of a series of casting-couch rapes.
He was indicted in 2009, but committed suicide on May 22, 2011, before he could be brought to trial.
In the 1960s, Brooks composed advertising jingles for clients including Pepsi (You've Got A Lot To Live) and Maxwell House (Good To The Last Drop Feeling).
He received numerous Clio Awards for his work, as well as a People's Choice Award.
In October 1977 You Light Up My Life reached Number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts and held the top position for 10 consecutive weeks, then the longest run in the chart's history.
With sales of over four million copies in the US, the song became the biggest hit of the 1970s.
The passionate ballad earned Brooks a Grammy Award for Song Of The Year, as well as an Academy Award for Best Original Song, a Golden Globe Award and an American Society Of Composers, Authors And Publishers Award.
The song was Debby Boone's first solo hit record and only top 40 pop hit.
Brooks was married with two children. His brother is Institutional Investor Magazine founder Gilbert Kaplan.
In June 2009, Brooks was arrested on charges of raping or sexually assaulting 11 women lured to his East Side apartment from 2005 to 2008.
Read all about them here. From Wikipedia.
Jeff Conaway.
Jeffrey Charles William Michael Conaway (October 5, 1950 – May 27, 2011) was an American actor, best known for his roles in the movie Grease and the television series Taxi and Babylon 5.
Conaway began acting on Broadway at two. He appeared in the play All The Way Home in 1960 and the 1977 Disney film, Pete's Dragon.
He was best known for playing Kenickie in the 1978 motion picture musical Grease and for his role in the television series Taxi, where he played cocky, vain, struggling actor Bobby Wheeler from 1978 to 1981.
He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1978 for his role as Wheeler.
From 1994-1999, he played Sergeant Zack Allan, on Babylon 5. From 1989-1990, he was cast on The Bold And The Beautiful, in the role of Mick Savage.
In the mid-1960s, he was the lead singer and guitarist for a rock band, The 3 1/2.
He was married thrice and his second marriage from 1980 to 1985 was to Olivia Newton-John's sister Rona.
A drug addict for most of the 1980s, he died of a drug overdose.
Joseph Brooks.
Joseph Brooks (March 11, 1938 – May 22, 2011) was an American screenwriter, director, producer and composer.
He composed the song You Light Up My Life for the film of the same name that he also wrote, directed and produced.
In his later years he became the centre of a scandal after being accused of a series of casting-couch rapes.
He was indicted in 2009, but committed suicide on May 22, 2011, before he could be brought to trial.
In the 1960s, Brooks composed advertising jingles for clients including Pepsi (You've Got A Lot To Live) and Maxwell House (Good To The Last Drop Feeling).
He received numerous Clio Awards for his work, as well as a People's Choice Award.
In October 1977 You Light Up My Life reached Number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts and held the top position for 10 consecutive weeks, then the longest run in the chart's history.
With sales of over four million copies in the US, the song became the biggest hit of the 1970s.
The passionate ballad earned Brooks a Grammy Award for Song Of The Year, as well as an Academy Award for Best Original Song, a Golden Globe Award and an American Society Of Composers, Authors And Publishers Award.
The song was Debby Boone's first solo hit record and only top 40 pop hit.
Brooks was married with two children. His brother is Institutional Investor Magazine founder Gilbert Kaplan.
In June 2009, Brooks was arrested on charges of raping or sexually assaulting 11 women lured to his East Side apartment from 2005 to 2008.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Bonnie And Clyde - Notorious Criminal Couple
From Wikipedia.
Bonnie Parker (October 1, 1910 – May 23, 1934) and Clyde Barrow (March 24, 1909 – May 23, 1934) were well-known robbers and criminals who travelled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression.
Their exploits captured the attention of the American public during the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934.
Barrow preferred to rob small stores or rural gas stations.
The gang is believed to have killed at least nine police officers and committed several civilian murders.
The couple themselves were eventually ambushed and killed in Louisiana by law officers.
Their reputation was cemented in American pop folklore by Arthur Penn's 1967 film Bonnie And Clyde with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway portraying the criminal couple.
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker was born in Rowena, Texas, the second of three children.
Her father, Charles Parker, a bricklayer, died when Bonnie was four.
Her mother, Emma Krause, moved with the children to her parents' home in Cement City, an industrial suburb of Dallas.
Parker was one of the best students in her high school, winning top prizes in spelling, writing and public speaking.
Parker did not date until she was in her second year of high school, but in that year she fell in love with a classmate, Roy Thornton.
The two quit school and were married on September 25, 1926, six days before Parker's sixteenth birthday.
Their marriage, marked by his frequent absences and brushes with the law, was short-lived, and after January 1929 their paths never crossed again.
But they were never divorced, and Parker was wearing Thornton's wedding ring when she died.
Thornton was in prison in 1934 when he learned of his wife's ambush.
His reaction was, "I'm glad they went out like they did. It's much better than being caught."
In 1929, between the breakdown of her marriage and her first meeting with Clyde Barrow in January 1930, Parker lived with her mother and worked as a waitress in Dallas.
One of her regular customers in the cafe was postal worker Ted Hinton, who would join the Dallas Sheriff's Department in 1932, and as a posse member would participate in her ambush in 1934.
Clyde Chestnut Barrow was born in Ellis County, Texas, near Telico, a town just south of Dallas.
He was the fifth of seven children, from a desperately poor farming family that emigrated, piecemeal, to Dallas in the early 1920s.
Clyde was first arrested in late 1926, after running when police confronted him over a rental car he had failed to return on time.
His second arrest, with brother Marvin "Buck" Barrow, came soon after, this time for possession of stolen goods (turkeys).
Despite having legitimate jobs during the period 1927 to 1929, he also cracked safes, robbed stores and stole cars.
After sequential arrests in 1928 and 1929, his luck ran out and he was sent to Eastham Prison in April 1930.
While in prison, he was sexually assaulted repeatedly for over a year by a dominant inmate, whose skull he eventually fractured with a length of pipe.
It was Clyde Barrow's first killing.
Paroled in February 1932, Barrow emerged from Eastham a hardened and bitter criminal.
In his post-Eastham career, he focused on smaller jobs, robbing grocery stores and gas stations.
Barrow's favoured weapon was the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (called BAR).
Barrow's goal in life was not to gain fame or fortune from robbing banks, but to seek revenge against the Texas prison system for the abuses he suffered while serving time.
Bonnie Parker met Clyde Barrow in January 1930 at a friend's house.
Parker was out of work and was staying in West Dallas to assist a girlfriend with a broken arm.
Barrow dropped by the girl's house while Parker was supposedly in the kitchen making hot chocolate.
When they met, both were smitten immediately.
After Barrow was released from prison in February 1932, he and Ralph Fults assembled a rotating core group of associates and began a series of small robberies, primarily of stores and gas stations.
Their goal was to collect enough money and firepower to launch a raid of liberation against Eastham prison.
On April 19, Bonnie Parker and Fults were captured in a failed hardware store burglary in Kaufman, Texas, and subsequently jailed.
On April 30, Barrow was the wheelman in a robbery in Hillsboro, Texas, during which the store's owner, JN Bucher, was shot and killed.
When shown mugshots, the victim's wife identified Barrow as one of the shooters, even though he had stayed outside in the car.
Meanwhile, Parker remained in jail until June 17.
When the Kaufman County grand jury convened, it declined to indict her, and she was released. Within a few weeks, she reunited with Barrow.
On August 5, while Parker was visiting her mother in Dallas, Barrow, Hamilton and Ross Dyer were drinking alcohol at a country dance in Stringtown, Oklahoma, when Sheriff CG Maxwell and his deputy, Eugene C Moore, approached them in the parking lot.
Barrow and Hamilton opened fire, killing the deputy and gravely wounding the sheriff.
It was the first killing of a lawman by Barrow and his gang, a total eventually amounting to nine officers.
Another civilian was added to the list on October 11, when storekeeper Howard Hall was killed during a robbery of his store in Sherman, Texas.
The take, twenty-eight dollars and some groceries.
WD Jones had been a friend of the Barrow family since childhood, and though he was only 16 years old on Christmas Eve 1932, he persuaded Barrow to let him join up with the pair and ride out of Dallas with them that night.
The very next day, Jones was initiated into homicide when he and Barrow killed Doyle Johnson, a young family man, in the process of stealing his car in Temple, Texas.
Less than two weeks later, on January 6, 1933, Barrow killed Tarrant County Deputy Sheriff Malcolm Davis when he, Parker and Jones wandered into a police trap set for another criminal.
The total murdered by the gang since April was now five.
On March 22, 1933, Buck Barrow was granted a full pardon and released from prison.
Within days, he and his wife, Blanche, had set up housekeeping with Clyde Barrow, Parker and Jones in a temporary hideout in Joplin, Missouri.
Lawmen assembled a two-car, five-man force on April 13 to confront the suspected bootleggers living in their rented apartment over a garage.
Though taken by surprise, Clyde, noted for remaining cool under fire, was gaining far more experience in gun battles than most lawmen.
He, Jones and Buck quickly killed Detective McGinnis and fatally wounded Constable Harryman.
During the escape from the apartment, Parker laid down covering fire with her own BAR, forcing Highway Patrol sergeant GB Kahler to duck behind a large oak tree while slugs slammed into the other side, forcing wood splinters into the sergeant's face.
Parker then got into the car with the others.
The car slowed long enough to pull in Blanche Barrow from the street, where she was pursuing her fleeing dog, Snow Ball.
The surviving officers later testified that their side had fired only fourteen rounds in the conflict, although one of these hit Jones in the side, one struck Clyde and was deflected by his suitcoat button, and one grazed Buck after ricocheting off a wall.
The group escaped the police at Joplin, but left most of their possessions at the rented apartment: Buck and Blanche's marriage license, Buck's parole papers (only three weeks old), a large arsenal.
For the next three months, they ranged from Texas as far north as Minnesota.
In May, they robbed banks in Lucerne, Indiana and Okabena, Minnesota. Previously they had kidnapped Dillard Darby and Sophia Stone at Ruston, Louisiana, in the course of stealing Darby's car.
This was one of several incidents between 1932 and 1934 in which they kidnapped lawmen or robbery victims, usually releasing them far from home, sometimes with money to help them return.
Stories of these encounters made headlines, but so too did the darker encounters.
The Barrow Gang would not hesitate to shoot anyone, lawman or civilian, who got in their way.
Other members of the Barrow Gang known or thought to have committed murders included Raymond Hamilton, WD Jones, Buck Barrow and Henry Methvin.
Eventually, the cold-bloodedness of the killings would not only sour the public perception of the outlaws, but lead directly to their undoing.
On June 10, while driving with Jones and Parker near Wellington, Texas, Barrow missed warning signs at a bridge under construction and flipped their car into a ravine.
Parker sustained horrific third degree burns to her right leg.
The burn was so severe, the muscles contracted and caused the leg to "draw up".
Near the end of her life, Parker could hardly walk and would either hop on her good leg or be carried by Clyde.
After getting help from a nearby farm family and kidnapping two local lawmen, the three outlaws rendezvoused with Blanche and Buck Barrow again and they hid out in a tourist court near Fort. Smith, Arkansas.
Then Buck and Jones bungled a local robbery and killed Town Marshall Henry D Humphrey in Alma, Arkansas.
With the renewed pursuit from the law, they had to flee again, despite the grave condition of Bonnie Parker.
On July 18, 1933, the gang checked into the Red Crown Tourist Court south of Platte City, Missouri (now within the city limits of Kansas City).
The Red Crown Court was just two brick cabins joined by garages and the gang rented both.
To the south stood the Red Crown Tavern, a popular restaurant and a favourite watering hole for Missouri Highway Patrolmen.
When Clyde and Jones went to town to purchase bandages and atropine sulfate to treat Bonnie's leg, the druggist contacted Sheriff Holt Coffey, who put the cabins under watch.
Coffey had been alerted by Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas to be on the lookout for strangers seeking such supplies.
The sheriff contacted Captain Baxter, who called for reinforcements from Kansas City including an armoured car.
At 11pm that night, Sheriff Coffey led a group of officers armed with Thompson submachine guns toward the cabins.
But in a pitched gunfight at considerable distances, the submachine guns proved no match for Clyde Barrow's preferred Browning Automatic Rifles, stolen July 7 from the National Guard armoury at Enid, Oklahoma.
The Barrows laid down withering fire and made their escape when a bullet short-circuited the horn on the armoured car and the lawmen mistook it for a cease-fire signal.
They did not pursue the retreating Barrow automobile.
Although the gang evaded law enforcement once again, Buck Barrow had sustained a horrific wound in the side of the head and Blanche Barrow was nearly blinded from glass fragments in both her eyes.
Their prospects for holding out against the ensuing manhunt dwindled.
Five days later, on July 24, the Barrow Gang was camped at Dexfield Park, an abandoned amusement park near Dexter, Iowa.
So plainly mortal was Buck's head wound that Clyde and Jones dug a grave for him.
After their bloody bandages were noticed by local citizens, it was determined that the campers were the Barrow gang.
Surrounded by local lawmen and approximately one hundred spectators, the Barrows once again found themselves under fire.
Clyde Barrow, Parker and WD Jones escaped on foot.
Buck was shot again, in the back, and he and his wife were captured by the officers.
Buck died five days later, at Kings Daughters Hospital in Perry, Iowa, of pneumonia after surgery.
For the next six weeks, the remaining trio ranged far afield of their usual area of operations — west to Colorado, north to Minnesota, southeast to Mississippi — keeping a low profile and pulling only small robberies for daily-bread money.
They restocked their arsenal when Barrow and Jones burglarised an armoury at Plattville, Illinois on August 20 and scored three BARs, handguns and lots of ammunition.
By early September, they risked a run back in to Dallas to see their families for the first time in four months, and Jones parted company with them, continuing on to Houston, where his mother had moved.
He was arrested there without incident on November 16 and returned to Dallas.
Through the autumn, Barrow executed a series of small-time robberies with a series of small-time local accomplices while his family, and Parker's, attended to her considerable medical needs.
On November 22, 1933, they narrowly evaded arrest — but not bullets — while attempting to hook up with family members near Sowers, Texas.
This time, it was their hometown Sheriff, Dallas' Smoot Schmid and his squad, lying in wait nearby.
As Barrow drove up, he sensed a trap and drove right past his family's car, at which point Schmid and his deputies stood up and opened fire with machine guns and a BAR.
The family members in the crossfire were not hit, but not so the outlaws.
A single BAR slug penetrated the car — and the legs of both Parker and Barrow.
The couple made their getaway that night, but the attempted ambush would prove to be a dry run for deputies Ted Hinton and Bob Alcorn, who would get another shot at the pair six months hence in Louisiana.
Bonnie Parker crossed an ominous personal threshold the following week when on November 28, a Dallas grand jury delivered a murder indictment on her and Barrow for the January 1933 killing of Tarrant County Deputy Malcolm Davis.
It was the first murder warrant issued for Parker.
On January 16, 1934, Barrow finally made his long-contemplated move against the Texas Department of Corrections as he orchestrated the escape of Raymond Hamilton, Henry Methvin and several others in the infamous "Eastham Breakout" of 1934.
The Texas prison system received national negative publicity from the brazen raid, and Barrow appeared to have achieved what Phillips describes as the burning passion in his life, exacting revenge on the Texas Department of Corrections.
During the jailbreak, escapee Joe Palmer shot prison officer Major Joe Crowson and this act would eventually bring the full power of the Texas and federal governments to bear on the manhunt for Barrow and Parker.
As Crowson struggled for life, prison chief Lee Simmons reportedly promised him that all persons involved in the breakout would be hunted down and killed, and all were, except for Henry Methvin, whose life would eventually be exchanged for turning Barrow and Parker over to authorities.
The Texas Department of Corrections then contacted former Texas Ranger Captain Frank A. Hamer, and persuaded him to accept an assignment to hunt down the Barrow Gang.
Though retired, Hamer had retained his commission, which had not yet expired.
He accepted the assignment as a Texas Highway Patrol officer, secondarily assigned to the prison system as a special investigator, and given the specific task of hunting down Bonnie, Clyde and the Barrow Gang.
Frank Hamer was tall, burly, cryptic and taciturn, unimpressed by authority, driven by an "inflexible adherence to right, or what he thinks is right."
For twenty years Hamer had been feared and admired throughout the Lone Star State as "the walking embodiment of the 'One Riot, One Ranger' ethos.
In accomplishing the aims of Texas law enforcement he "had acquired a formidable reputation as a result of several spectacular captures and the shooting of a number of Texas criminals.
He was officially credited with fifty-three kills (and seventeen wounds to himself).
Although prison boss Simmons always said publicly that Hamer had been his first choice for the Barrow hunt, there's evidence he approached two other Rangers first, both of whom had been queasy about shooting a woman and declined.
Hamer apparently had no such qualms.
Starting February 10, he became the constant shadow of Barrow and Parker, living out of his car, just a town or two behind the bandits.
Three of Hamer's brothers were also Texas Rangers, and while brother Harrison was the best shot of the four, Frank was considered the most tenacious.
On April 1, 1934, Easter Sunday, Barrow and Henry Methvin killed two young highway patrolmen, HD Murphy and Edward Bryant Wheeler, in an area of Grapevine, Texas now called Southlake.
A contemporary eyewitness account stated that Barrow and Parker fired the fatal shots and this story got widespread coverage in the press before it was discredited.
Henry Methvin later admitted he fired the first shot, after assuming Barrow wanted the officers killed.
He also admitted that Parker approached the dying officers intending to help them, not to administer the cold-blooded point-blank coup de grace the discredited eyewitness had described.
Having little choice once Methvin had shot Wheeler, Barrow then joined in, firing at Patrolman Murphy.
Most likely, Parker was asleep in the back seat when Methvin started shooting and took no part in the assault.
Five days later, Barrow and Methvin killed 60-year-old Constable William "Cal" Campbell, a widower single father, near Commerce, Oklahoma.
They kidnapped Commerce police chief Percy Boyd, drove around with him, crossing the state line into Kansas, and then let him out with a clean shirt, a few dollars and a request from Parker to tell the world she didn't smoke cigars.
The outlaws didn't realise at their upbeat parting that Boyd would identify both Barrow and Parker to authorities — he never learned the name of the sullen youth who was with them — and when the resultant arrest warrant was issued for the Campbell murder, it specified Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker and John Doe.
Barrow and Parker were ambushed and killed on May 23, 1934 on a rural road in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
The couple appeared in daylight in an automobile and were shot by a posse of four Texas officers (Frank Hamer, BM "Manny" Gault, Bob Alcorn and Ted Hinton) and two Louisiana officers (Henderson Jordan and Prentiss Morel Oakley).
The posse was led by Hamer, who had begun tracking the pair on February 10, 1934. They were mutilated.
Word of the ambush quickly got around when Hamer, Jordan, Oakley and Hinton drove to town to telephone their respective bosses.
A crowd soon gathered at the spot, and Gault and Alcorn, who were left to guard the bodies, lost control of the jostling curious.
One woman cut off bloody locks of Parker's hair and pieces from her dress, which were sold as souvenirs.
Hinton returned to find a man trying to cut off Barrow's trigger finger, and was sickened by what was occurring.
One eager man had opened his pocket knife, and was reaching into the car to cut off Clyde's left ear.
The coroner enlisted Hamer for help in controlling the "circus-like atmosphere," and only then did people move away from the car.
Bonnie and Clyde wished to be buried side by side, but the Parker family would not allow it.
Mrs. Parker had wanted to grant her daughter's final wish, which was to be brought home, but the mobs surrounding the Parker house made that impossible.
Over 20,000 people turned out for Bonnie Parker's funeral, making it difficult for her family to reach the grave site.
Parker's family used the now defunct McKamy-Campbell Funeral Home, then located on Forest Avenue in Dallas, to conduct her funeral.
Hubert “Buster” Parker accompanied his sister’s body back to Dallas in the McKamy-Campbell ambulance.
Her services were held Saturday, May 26, at 2pm in the funeral home, directed by Allen D Campbell.
His son, Dr Allen Campbell, later remembered that flowers came from everywhere.
Thousands of people gathered outside both Dallas funeral homes hoping for a chance to view the bodies.
Barrow’s private funeral was held at sunset on Friday, May 25, in the funeral home chapel.
He was buried in Western Heights Cemetery in Dallas, next to his brother, Marvin.
They share a single granite marker with their names on it and a four-word epitaph previously selected by Clyde: “Gone but not forgotten.”
The life insurance policies for both Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were paid in full by American National of Galveston.
Blanche Barrow's injuries left her permanently blinded in her left eye.
After the 1933 shootout at Dexfield Park, she was taken into custody on the charge of "Assault With Intent To Kill."
She was sentenced to ten years in prison but was paroled in 1939 for good behaviour.
She returned to Dallas, leaving her life of crime in the past, and lived with her invalid father as his caregiver.
She married Eddie Frasure in 1940, worked as a taxi cab dispatcher and a beautician, and completed the terms of her parole one year later.
She lived in peace with her husband until he died of cancer in 1969.
Warren Beatty approached her to purchase the rights to her name for use in the 1967 film.
While she agreed to the original script, she objected to her characterisation.
She died from cancer at the age of 77 on December 24, 1988, and was buried in Dallas's Grove Hill Memorial Park under the name "Blanche B. Frasure".
Henry Methvin's ambush-earned Texas pardon didn't help him in Oklahoma, where he was convicted of the 1934 murder of Constable Campbell at Commerce.
He was paroled in 1942 and killed by a train in 1948.
Bonnie Parker's husband Roy Thornton was sentenced to five years in prison for burglary in March 1933.
He was killed by guards on October 3, 1937, during an escape attempt from Eastham.
Prentiss Oakley, who all six possemen agree fired the first shots, was reported to have been troubled by his actions.
He often admitted to his friends that he had fired prematurely and he was the only posse member to express regret publicly.
He would go on to succeed Henderson Jordan as Bienville Parish sheriff in 1940.
Frank Hamer returned to a quieter life as a freelance security consultant — a strikebreaker — to oil companies, although, according to Guinn, "his reputation suffered somewhat after Gibsland" because many people felt he had not given Barrow and Parker a fair chance to surrender.
He made headlines again in 1948 when he and Governor Coke Stevenson unsuccessfully challenged Lyndon Johnson's vote totals during the election for the US Senate.
He died in 1955 at 71.
His possemate Bob Alcorn died on May 23, 1964 — exactly thirty years to the day after the Gibsland ambush.
The criminal couple's enduring appeal to the public was due to their revolt against an uncaring system.
Bonnie Parker (October 1, 1910 – May 23, 1934) and Clyde Barrow (March 24, 1909 – May 23, 1934) were well-known robbers and criminals who travelled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression.
Their exploits captured the attention of the American public during the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934.
Barrow preferred to rob small stores or rural gas stations.
The gang is believed to have killed at least nine police officers and committed several civilian murders.
The couple themselves were eventually ambushed and killed in Louisiana by law officers.
Their reputation was cemented in American pop folklore by Arthur Penn's 1967 film Bonnie And Clyde with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway portraying the criminal couple.
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker was born in Rowena, Texas, the second of three children.
Her father, Charles Parker, a bricklayer, died when Bonnie was four.
Her mother, Emma Krause, moved with the children to her parents' home in Cement City, an industrial suburb of Dallas.
Parker was one of the best students in her high school, winning top prizes in spelling, writing and public speaking.
Parker did not date until she was in her second year of high school, but in that year she fell in love with a classmate, Roy Thornton.
The two quit school and were married on September 25, 1926, six days before Parker's sixteenth birthday.
Their marriage, marked by his frequent absences and brushes with the law, was short-lived, and after January 1929 their paths never crossed again.
But they were never divorced, and Parker was wearing Thornton's wedding ring when she died.
Thornton was in prison in 1934 when he learned of his wife's ambush.
His reaction was, "I'm glad they went out like they did. It's much better than being caught."
In 1929, between the breakdown of her marriage and her first meeting with Clyde Barrow in January 1930, Parker lived with her mother and worked as a waitress in Dallas.
One of her regular customers in the cafe was postal worker Ted Hinton, who would join the Dallas Sheriff's Department in 1932, and as a posse member would participate in her ambush in 1934.
Clyde Chestnut Barrow was born in Ellis County, Texas, near Telico, a town just south of Dallas.
He was the fifth of seven children, from a desperately poor farming family that emigrated, piecemeal, to Dallas in the early 1920s.
Clyde was first arrested in late 1926, after running when police confronted him over a rental car he had failed to return on time.
His second arrest, with brother Marvin "Buck" Barrow, came soon after, this time for possession of stolen goods (turkeys).
Despite having legitimate jobs during the period 1927 to 1929, he also cracked safes, robbed stores and stole cars.
After sequential arrests in 1928 and 1929, his luck ran out and he was sent to Eastham Prison in April 1930.
While in prison, he was sexually assaulted repeatedly for over a year by a dominant inmate, whose skull he eventually fractured with a length of pipe.
It was Clyde Barrow's first killing.
Paroled in February 1932, Barrow emerged from Eastham a hardened and bitter criminal.
In his post-Eastham career, he focused on smaller jobs, robbing grocery stores and gas stations.
Barrow's favoured weapon was the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (called BAR).
Barrow's goal in life was not to gain fame or fortune from robbing banks, but to seek revenge against the Texas prison system for the abuses he suffered while serving time.
Bonnie Parker met Clyde Barrow in January 1930 at a friend's house.
Parker was out of work and was staying in West Dallas to assist a girlfriend with a broken arm.
Barrow dropped by the girl's house while Parker was supposedly in the kitchen making hot chocolate.
When they met, both were smitten immediately.
After Barrow was released from prison in February 1932, he and Ralph Fults assembled a rotating core group of associates and began a series of small robberies, primarily of stores and gas stations.
Their goal was to collect enough money and firepower to launch a raid of liberation against Eastham prison.
On April 19, Bonnie Parker and Fults were captured in a failed hardware store burglary in Kaufman, Texas, and subsequently jailed.
On April 30, Barrow was the wheelman in a robbery in Hillsboro, Texas, during which the store's owner, JN Bucher, was shot and killed.
When shown mugshots, the victim's wife identified Barrow as one of the shooters, even though he had stayed outside in the car.
Meanwhile, Parker remained in jail until June 17.
When the Kaufman County grand jury convened, it declined to indict her, and she was released. Within a few weeks, she reunited with Barrow.
On August 5, while Parker was visiting her mother in Dallas, Barrow, Hamilton and Ross Dyer were drinking alcohol at a country dance in Stringtown, Oklahoma, when Sheriff CG Maxwell and his deputy, Eugene C Moore, approached them in the parking lot.
Barrow and Hamilton opened fire, killing the deputy and gravely wounding the sheriff.
It was the first killing of a lawman by Barrow and his gang, a total eventually amounting to nine officers.
Another civilian was added to the list on October 11, when storekeeper Howard Hall was killed during a robbery of his store in Sherman, Texas.
The take, twenty-eight dollars and some groceries.
WD Jones had been a friend of the Barrow family since childhood, and though he was only 16 years old on Christmas Eve 1932, he persuaded Barrow to let him join up with the pair and ride out of Dallas with them that night.
The very next day, Jones was initiated into homicide when he and Barrow killed Doyle Johnson, a young family man, in the process of stealing his car in Temple, Texas.
Less than two weeks later, on January 6, 1933, Barrow killed Tarrant County Deputy Sheriff Malcolm Davis when he, Parker and Jones wandered into a police trap set for another criminal.
The total murdered by the gang since April was now five.
On March 22, 1933, Buck Barrow was granted a full pardon and released from prison.
Within days, he and his wife, Blanche, had set up housekeeping with Clyde Barrow, Parker and Jones in a temporary hideout in Joplin, Missouri.
Lawmen assembled a two-car, five-man force on April 13 to confront the suspected bootleggers living in their rented apartment over a garage.
Though taken by surprise, Clyde, noted for remaining cool under fire, was gaining far more experience in gun battles than most lawmen.
He, Jones and Buck quickly killed Detective McGinnis and fatally wounded Constable Harryman.
During the escape from the apartment, Parker laid down covering fire with her own BAR, forcing Highway Patrol sergeant GB Kahler to duck behind a large oak tree while slugs slammed into the other side, forcing wood splinters into the sergeant's face.
Parker then got into the car with the others.
The car slowed long enough to pull in Blanche Barrow from the street, where she was pursuing her fleeing dog, Snow Ball.
The surviving officers later testified that their side had fired only fourteen rounds in the conflict, although one of these hit Jones in the side, one struck Clyde and was deflected by his suitcoat button, and one grazed Buck after ricocheting off a wall.
The group escaped the police at Joplin, but left most of their possessions at the rented apartment: Buck and Blanche's marriage license, Buck's parole papers (only three weeks old), a large arsenal.
For the next three months, they ranged from Texas as far north as Minnesota.
In May, they robbed banks in Lucerne, Indiana and Okabena, Minnesota. Previously they had kidnapped Dillard Darby and Sophia Stone at Ruston, Louisiana, in the course of stealing Darby's car.
This was one of several incidents between 1932 and 1934 in which they kidnapped lawmen or robbery victims, usually releasing them far from home, sometimes with money to help them return.
Stories of these encounters made headlines, but so too did the darker encounters.
The Barrow Gang would not hesitate to shoot anyone, lawman or civilian, who got in their way.
Other members of the Barrow Gang known or thought to have committed murders included Raymond Hamilton, WD Jones, Buck Barrow and Henry Methvin.
Eventually, the cold-bloodedness of the killings would not only sour the public perception of the outlaws, but lead directly to their undoing.
On June 10, while driving with Jones and Parker near Wellington, Texas, Barrow missed warning signs at a bridge under construction and flipped their car into a ravine.
Parker sustained horrific third degree burns to her right leg.
The burn was so severe, the muscles contracted and caused the leg to "draw up".
Near the end of her life, Parker could hardly walk and would either hop on her good leg or be carried by Clyde.
After getting help from a nearby farm family and kidnapping two local lawmen, the three outlaws rendezvoused with Blanche and Buck Barrow again and they hid out in a tourist court near Fort. Smith, Arkansas.
Then Buck and Jones bungled a local robbery and killed Town Marshall Henry D Humphrey in Alma, Arkansas.
With the renewed pursuit from the law, they had to flee again, despite the grave condition of Bonnie Parker.
On July 18, 1933, the gang checked into the Red Crown Tourist Court south of Platte City, Missouri (now within the city limits of Kansas City).
The Red Crown Court was just two brick cabins joined by garages and the gang rented both.
To the south stood the Red Crown Tavern, a popular restaurant and a favourite watering hole for Missouri Highway Patrolmen.
When Clyde and Jones went to town to purchase bandages and atropine sulfate to treat Bonnie's leg, the druggist contacted Sheriff Holt Coffey, who put the cabins under watch.
Coffey had been alerted by Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas to be on the lookout for strangers seeking such supplies.
The sheriff contacted Captain Baxter, who called for reinforcements from Kansas City including an armoured car.
At 11pm that night, Sheriff Coffey led a group of officers armed with Thompson submachine guns toward the cabins.
But in a pitched gunfight at considerable distances, the submachine guns proved no match for Clyde Barrow's preferred Browning Automatic Rifles, stolen July 7 from the National Guard armoury at Enid, Oklahoma.
The Barrows laid down withering fire and made their escape when a bullet short-circuited the horn on the armoured car and the lawmen mistook it for a cease-fire signal.
They did not pursue the retreating Barrow automobile.
Although the gang evaded law enforcement once again, Buck Barrow had sustained a horrific wound in the side of the head and Blanche Barrow was nearly blinded from glass fragments in both her eyes.
Their prospects for holding out against the ensuing manhunt dwindled.
Five days later, on July 24, the Barrow Gang was camped at Dexfield Park, an abandoned amusement park near Dexter, Iowa.
So plainly mortal was Buck's head wound that Clyde and Jones dug a grave for him.
After their bloody bandages were noticed by local citizens, it was determined that the campers were the Barrow gang.
Surrounded by local lawmen and approximately one hundred spectators, the Barrows once again found themselves under fire.
Clyde Barrow, Parker and WD Jones escaped on foot.
Buck was shot again, in the back, and he and his wife were captured by the officers.
Buck died five days later, at Kings Daughters Hospital in Perry, Iowa, of pneumonia after surgery.
For the next six weeks, the remaining trio ranged far afield of their usual area of operations — west to Colorado, north to Minnesota, southeast to Mississippi — keeping a low profile and pulling only small robberies for daily-bread money.
They restocked their arsenal when Barrow and Jones burglarised an armoury at Plattville, Illinois on August 20 and scored three BARs, handguns and lots of ammunition.
By early September, they risked a run back in to Dallas to see their families for the first time in four months, and Jones parted company with them, continuing on to Houston, where his mother had moved.
He was arrested there without incident on November 16 and returned to Dallas.
Through the autumn, Barrow executed a series of small-time robberies with a series of small-time local accomplices while his family, and Parker's, attended to her considerable medical needs.
On November 22, 1933, they narrowly evaded arrest — but not bullets — while attempting to hook up with family members near Sowers, Texas.
This time, it was their hometown Sheriff, Dallas' Smoot Schmid and his squad, lying in wait nearby.
As Barrow drove up, he sensed a trap and drove right past his family's car, at which point Schmid and his deputies stood up and opened fire with machine guns and a BAR.
The family members in the crossfire were not hit, but not so the outlaws.
A single BAR slug penetrated the car — and the legs of both Parker and Barrow.
The couple made their getaway that night, but the attempted ambush would prove to be a dry run for deputies Ted Hinton and Bob Alcorn, who would get another shot at the pair six months hence in Louisiana.
Bonnie Parker crossed an ominous personal threshold the following week when on November 28, a Dallas grand jury delivered a murder indictment on her and Barrow for the January 1933 killing of Tarrant County Deputy Malcolm Davis.
It was the first murder warrant issued for Parker.
On January 16, 1934, Barrow finally made his long-contemplated move against the Texas Department of Corrections as he orchestrated the escape of Raymond Hamilton, Henry Methvin and several others in the infamous "Eastham Breakout" of 1934.
The Texas prison system received national negative publicity from the brazen raid, and Barrow appeared to have achieved what Phillips describes as the burning passion in his life, exacting revenge on the Texas Department of Corrections.
During the jailbreak, escapee Joe Palmer shot prison officer Major Joe Crowson and this act would eventually bring the full power of the Texas and federal governments to bear on the manhunt for Barrow and Parker.
As Crowson struggled for life, prison chief Lee Simmons reportedly promised him that all persons involved in the breakout would be hunted down and killed, and all were, except for Henry Methvin, whose life would eventually be exchanged for turning Barrow and Parker over to authorities.
The Texas Department of Corrections then contacted former Texas Ranger Captain Frank A. Hamer, and persuaded him to accept an assignment to hunt down the Barrow Gang.
Though retired, Hamer had retained his commission, which had not yet expired.
He accepted the assignment as a Texas Highway Patrol officer, secondarily assigned to the prison system as a special investigator, and given the specific task of hunting down Bonnie, Clyde and the Barrow Gang.
Frank Hamer was tall, burly, cryptic and taciturn, unimpressed by authority, driven by an "inflexible adherence to right, or what he thinks is right."
For twenty years Hamer had been feared and admired throughout the Lone Star State as "the walking embodiment of the 'One Riot, One Ranger' ethos.
In accomplishing the aims of Texas law enforcement he "had acquired a formidable reputation as a result of several spectacular captures and the shooting of a number of Texas criminals.
He was officially credited with fifty-three kills (and seventeen wounds to himself).
Although prison boss Simmons always said publicly that Hamer had been his first choice for the Barrow hunt, there's evidence he approached two other Rangers first, both of whom had been queasy about shooting a woman and declined.
Hamer apparently had no such qualms.
Starting February 10, he became the constant shadow of Barrow and Parker, living out of his car, just a town or two behind the bandits.
Three of Hamer's brothers were also Texas Rangers, and while brother Harrison was the best shot of the four, Frank was considered the most tenacious.
On April 1, 1934, Easter Sunday, Barrow and Henry Methvin killed two young highway patrolmen, HD Murphy and Edward Bryant Wheeler, in an area of Grapevine, Texas now called Southlake.
A contemporary eyewitness account stated that Barrow and Parker fired the fatal shots and this story got widespread coverage in the press before it was discredited.
Henry Methvin later admitted he fired the first shot, after assuming Barrow wanted the officers killed.
He also admitted that Parker approached the dying officers intending to help them, not to administer the cold-blooded point-blank coup de grace the discredited eyewitness had described.
Having little choice once Methvin had shot Wheeler, Barrow then joined in, firing at Patrolman Murphy.
Most likely, Parker was asleep in the back seat when Methvin started shooting and took no part in the assault.
Five days later, Barrow and Methvin killed 60-year-old Constable William "Cal" Campbell, a widower single father, near Commerce, Oklahoma.
They kidnapped Commerce police chief Percy Boyd, drove around with him, crossing the state line into Kansas, and then let him out with a clean shirt, a few dollars and a request from Parker to tell the world she didn't smoke cigars.
The outlaws didn't realise at their upbeat parting that Boyd would identify both Barrow and Parker to authorities — he never learned the name of the sullen youth who was with them — and when the resultant arrest warrant was issued for the Campbell murder, it specified Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker and John Doe.
Barrow and Parker were ambushed and killed on May 23, 1934 on a rural road in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
The couple appeared in daylight in an automobile and were shot by a posse of four Texas officers (Frank Hamer, BM "Manny" Gault, Bob Alcorn and Ted Hinton) and two Louisiana officers (Henderson Jordan and Prentiss Morel Oakley).
The posse was led by Hamer, who had begun tracking the pair on February 10, 1934. They were mutilated.
Word of the ambush quickly got around when Hamer, Jordan, Oakley and Hinton drove to town to telephone their respective bosses.
A crowd soon gathered at the spot, and Gault and Alcorn, who were left to guard the bodies, lost control of the jostling curious.
One woman cut off bloody locks of Parker's hair and pieces from her dress, which were sold as souvenirs.
Hinton returned to find a man trying to cut off Barrow's trigger finger, and was sickened by what was occurring.
One eager man had opened his pocket knife, and was reaching into the car to cut off Clyde's left ear.
The coroner enlisted Hamer for help in controlling the "circus-like atmosphere," and only then did people move away from the car.
Bonnie and Clyde wished to be buried side by side, but the Parker family would not allow it.
Mrs. Parker had wanted to grant her daughter's final wish, which was to be brought home, but the mobs surrounding the Parker house made that impossible.
Over 20,000 people turned out for Bonnie Parker's funeral, making it difficult for her family to reach the grave site.
Parker's family used the now defunct McKamy-Campbell Funeral Home, then located on Forest Avenue in Dallas, to conduct her funeral.
Hubert “Buster” Parker accompanied his sister’s body back to Dallas in the McKamy-Campbell ambulance.
Her services were held Saturday, May 26, at 2pm in the funeral home, directed by Allen D Campbell.
His son, Dr Allen Campbell, later remembered that flowers came from everywhere.
Thousands of people gathered outside both Dallas funeral homes hoping for a chance to view the bodies.
Barrow’s private funeral was held at sunset on Friday, May 25, in the funeral home chapel.
He was buried in Western Heights Cemetery in Dallas, next to his brother, Marvin.
They share a single granite marker with their names on it and a four-word epitaph previously selected by Clyde: “Gone but not forgotten.”
The life insurance policies for both Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were paid in full by American National of Galveston.
Blanche Barrow's injuries left her permanently blinded in her left eye.
After the 1933 shootout at Dexfield Park, she was taken into custody on the charge of "Assault With Intent To Kill."
She was sentenced to ten years in prison but was paroled in 1939 for good behaviour.
She returned to Dallas, leaving her life of crime in the past, and lived with her invalid father as his caregiver.
She married Eddie Frasure in 1940, worked as a taxi cab dispatcher and a beautician, and completed the terms of her parole one year later.
She lived in peace with her husband until he died of cancer in 1969.
Warren Beatty approached her to purchase the rights to her name for use in the 1967 film.
While she agreed to the original script, she objected to her characterisation.
She died from cancer at the age of 77 on December 24, 1988, and was buried in Dallas's Grove Hill Memorial Park under the name "Blanche B. Frasure".
Henry Methvin's ambush-earned Texas pardon didn't help him in Oklahoma, where he was convicted of the 1934 murder of Constable Campbell at Commerce.
He was paroled in 1942 and killed by a train in 1948.
Bonnie Parker's husband Roy Thornton was sentenced to five years in prison for burglary in March 1933.
He was killed by guards on October 3, 1937, during an escape attempt from Eastham.
Prentiss Oakley, who all six possemen agree fired the first shots, was reported to have been troubled by his actions.
He often admitted to his friends that he had fired prematurely and he was the only posse member to express regret publicly.
He would go on to succeed Henderson Jordan as Bienville Parish sheriff in 1940.
Frank Hamer returned to a quieter life as a freelance security consultant — a strikebreaker — to oil companies, although, according to Guinn, "his reputation suffered somewhat after Gibsland" because many people felt he had not given Barrow and Parker a fair chance to surrender.
He made headlines again in 1948 when he and Governor Coke Stevenson unsuccessfully challenged Lyndon Johnson's vote totals during the election for the US Senate.
He died in 1955 at 71.
His possemate Bob Alcorn died on May 23, 1964 — exactly thirty years to the day after the Gibsland ambush.
The criminal couple's enduring appeal to the public was due to their revolt against an uncaring system.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Seve Ballesteros - Spanish Golf Legend
From Wikipedia.
Severiano Ballesteros Sota, who died after a long battle with cancer on May 7, 2011, will always be remembered as Spain's greatest golf icon.
A World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, he gained attention in the golfing world in 1976, when at 19 he finished second at The Open Championship.
A member of a gifted golfing family, Ballesteros won five major championships between 1979 and 1988, The Open Championship three times, and The Masters twice.
He was also successful in the Ryder Cup, helping the European team to five wins both as a player and captain, and won the World Match Play Championship a record-tying five times.
He is best known for his great short game, and his erratic driving of the golf ball.
Ballesteros was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for the second time at the BBC Sports Personality Awards 2009.
Ballesteros was born in Pedrena, Cantabria, Spain.
He learned the game while playing on the beaches near his home, mainly using a 3-iron given to him by one of his elder brothers.
His uncle Ramon Sota was Spanish professional champion four times and finished sixth in The Masters in 1965.
Seve's elder brother Manuel finished in the top 100 on the European Tour order of merit every year from 1972 to 1983, and later became Seve's manager.
Brothers Vicente and Baldomero, and nephew Raul are also professional golfers.
Ballesteros turned professional in March 1974 at the age of 16.
In 1999, Ballesteros was inducted into the World Golf Hall Of Fame.
He was instrumental in introducing the Seve Trophy in 2000, a team competition similar to the Ryder Cup pitting a team from Great Britain and Ireland against one from continental Europe.
In 2000, Ballesteros was ranked as the 16th greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine. He was the top golfer from the continent of Europe.
Ballesteros was married to Carmen Botin O'Shea, daughter of Emilio Botin, from 1988 until their divorce in 2004.
They have three children.
Severiano Ballesteros Sota, who died after a long battle with cancer on May 7, 2011, will always be remembered as Spain's greatest golf icon.
A World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, he gained attention in the golfing world in 1976, when at 19 he finished second at The Open Championship.
A member of a gifted golfing family, Ballesteros won five major championships between 1979 and 1988, The Open Championship three times, and The Masters twice.
He was also successful in the Ryder Cup, helping the European team to five wins both as a player and captain, and won the World Match Play Championship a record-tying five times.
He is best known for his great short game, and his erratic driving of the golf ball.
Ballesteros was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for the second time at the BBC Sports Personality Awards 2009.
Ballesteros was born in Pedrena, Cantabria, Spain.
He learned the game while playing on the beaches near his home, mainly using a 3-iron given to him by one of his elder brothers.
His uncle Ramon Sota was Spanish professional champion four times and finished sixth in The Masters in 1965.
Seve's elder brother Manuel finished in the top 100 on the European Tour order of merit every year from 1972 to 1983, and later became Seve's manager.
Brothers Vicente and Baldomero, and nephew Raul are also professional golfers.
Ballesteros turned professional in March 1974 at the age of 16.
In 1999, Ballesteros was inducted into the World Golf Hall Of Fame.
He was instrumental in introducing the Seve Trophy in 2000, a team competition similar to the Ryder Cup pitting a team from Great Britain and Ireland against one from continental Europe.
In 2000, Ballesteros was ranked as the 16th greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine. He was the top golfer from the continent of Europe.
Ballesteros was married to Carmen Botin O'Shea, daughter of Emilio Botin, from 1988 until their divorce in 2004.
They have three children.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Alan Tang - HK's Alain Delon
Alan Tang Kwong Wing's death from a stroke on March 29, 2011 has robbed Hong Kong and Taiwan of a brilliant leading man, producer and director.
Read all about him here. Thanks Wikipedia.
Alan Tang Kwong Wing (September 20, 1946 – March 29, 2011) was a Hong Kong film actor, producer and director.
Tang was born in Shunde, Guangdong, China, the youngest of four children.
His first starring role was actually at 16 in the 1963 film The Student Prince.
Upon graduation from secondary school, Tang acted in Hong Kong youth films starring Josephine Hsiao, Chen Chen, and Connie Chan throughout the 1960s.
Tang was often voted Best Actor by film magazines.
Tang found greater fame when he moved to Taiwan during the 1970s, and made over 60 feature films, often dramas and romances.
He often co-starred with Brigette Lin.
In 1974, Tang produced and starred in Splendid Love In Winter with Chen Chen, and Dynamite Brothers with American footballer Timothy Brown.
In 1977, he formed The Wing-Scope Company.
A decade later, Tang established In-Gear Film Productions, with his brother Rover Tang.
Well-known films of Tang during this time included Flaming Brothers, Gangland Odyssey, Return Engagement, Gun N Rose and The Black Panther Warriors.
He also produced two films directed by Wong Kar Wai, As Tears Go By and Days Of Being Wild.
In the 1990s, Tang became a restaurant businessman. He also became the godfather of Adam Cheng's daughter, actress Joyce Cheng.
Tang was a generous celebrity who devoted much of his time to philanthropy.
Read all about him here. Thanks Wikipedia.
Alan Tang Kwong Wing (September 20, 1946 – March 29, 2011) was a Hong Kong film actor, producer and director.
Tang was born in Shunde, Guangdong, China, the youngest of four children.
His first starring role was actually at 16 in the 1963 film The Student Prince.
Upon graduation from secondary school, Tang acted in Hong Kong youth films starring Josephine Hsiao, Chen Chen, and Connie Chan throughout the 1960s.
Tang was often voted Best Actor by film magazines.
Tang found greater fame when he moved to Taiwan during the 1970s, and made over 60 feature films, often dramas and romances.
He often co-starred with Brigette Lin.
In 1974, Tang produced and starred in Splendid Love In Winter with Chen Chen, and Dynamite Brothers with American footballer Timothy Brown.
In 1977, he formed The Wing-Scope Company.
A decade later, Tang established In-Gear Film Productions, with his brother Rover Tang.
Well-known films of Tang during this time included Flaming Brothers, Gangland Odyssey, Return Engagement, Gun N Rose and The Black Panther Warriors.
He also produced two films directed by Wong Kar Wai, As Tears Go By and Days Of Being Wild.
In the 1990s, Tang became a restaurant businessman. He also became the godfather of Adam Cheng's daughter, actress Joyce Cheng.
Tang was a generous celebrity who devoted much of his time to philanthropy.
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