January 8, 2021 ▸ History, People

Episode 547: Butch and Sundance: Life in the Wild Bunch

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On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we go back in time and look at two of the most famous train robbers and desperadoes from Cowboy Days, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. These two are linked through all of U.S. history, but they were really part of a much larger game called The Wild Bunch (and weren’t even that good of friends). The Wild Bunch led the most successful career of train robbery in the American West, and some scholars say they were only brought down by the hiring of the Pinkerton Detective Agency.

Butch Cassidy was born Robert Parker, but took his name from a mentor he met, who probably taught him how to steal and sell cattle and how to shoot a gun. Cassidy frowned upon violence, ironically, and boasted to have never killed a man. The other famous member of the gang was The Sundance Kid, aka Alonzo Longabaugh. Both of these men did various crimes from petty to preposterous and eventually joined forces in the Wild Bunch.

They were joined by a cast of characters with amazing names: “Elzy Lay”, The “Tall Texan”, Kid Curry, News Carver, Deaf Charley Hanks, and Flat-Nose Curry. Men and women were part of the Wild Bunch.

They gained fame across the nation for their gonzo train robberies and a little bit of a Robin Hood complex. So, what forced the surviving members to head south of the border? How did these wild characters die as the gang shrank? Did Butch and Sundance really go down in a blaze of glory in Bolivia? How much were their heists worth? What year did the oldest member of the Wild Bunch finally die? Listen, laugh, learn.

 

Visit our Sources:

https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/butch-cassidy

https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/sundance-kid

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Cassidy

https://www.history.com/news/6-things-you-might-not-know-about-butch-cassidy

https://www.history.com/news/butch-cassidy-sundance-kid-robberies-death

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundance_Kid

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Cassidy%27s_Wild_Bunch

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/78459/8-fascinating-facts-about-butch-cassidy