Tag Archives: Montana

Butch and Sundance: Friendship, Crime, and the End of the Old West (Part One)

 

Butch Cassidy’s boyhood home, Circleville, Utah
Butch Cassidy, Wyoming prison mugshot
Telluride location of first Cassidy holdup, bank building was actually the white building to the right
Montpelier, Idaho, site of Cassidy holdup
Sundance and Etta, shortly before they left for Argentina

In 1969, the 20th Century Fox film, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” established these two outlaws as popular culture icons. But what was the truth about the lives, crimes and deaths of these two American legends?

Discover the true story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, beyond Hollywood’s portrayal. This episode uncovers the real-life adventures of these infamous outlaws, from their humble beginnings to their daring train robberies. Learn how Robert Leroy Parker became the legendary Butch Cassidy, his friendship with the Sundance Kid, and the formation of the Wild Bunch. Explore the Old West’s most notorious gang, their hideouts, and the relentless pursuit by lawmen and Pinkerton agents. Unravel the mysteries surrounding their fate and separate fact from fiction in this thrilling historical journey. Perfect for history buffs, true crime enthusiasts, and anyone fascinated by the legends of the American frontier.

Butch and Sundance: Friendship, Crime, and the End of the Old West (Part Two)

 

Butch and Sundance’s Argentine cabin today.
Posse containing Joe Lefors
The house used in the film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” in which Katherine ross lives and Paul Newman rides a bicycle during the song “Raindrops Keep Falling ON My Head.”
Entrance to the Hole In the Wall near Kaycee, Wyoming
Location near Durango, Colorado where Newman and Redford jump into the river to escape the Lefors posse
Historical marker denoting the site of Fort Worth’s Hell’s Half Acre.

In 1969, the 20th Century Fox film, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” established these two outlaws as popular culture icons. But what was the truth about the lives, crimes and deaths of these two American legends?

Discover the true story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, beyond Hollywood’s portrayal. This episode uncovers the real-life adventures of these infamous outlaws, from their humble beginnings to their daring train robberies. Learn how Robert Leroy Parker became the legendary Butch Cassidy, his friendship with the Sundance Kid, and the formation of the Wild Bunch. Explore the Old West’s most notorious gang, their hideouts, and the relentless pursuit by lawmen and Pinkerton agents. Unravel the mysteries surrounding their fate and separate fact from fiction in this thrilling historical journey. Perfect for history buffs, true crime enthusiasts, and anyone fascinated by the legends of the American frontier.

Ted Kaczynski AKA The Unabomber (Volume 5, Episode 2) Part One

Possessing a 167 IQ, admitted to Harvard University at age 16, a uniquely talented mathematician, this former Berkeley college professor became the subject of the longest and most expensive investigation in FBI history.

Ted’s high school yearbook photo.

As a youngster, Ted did develop a precocious interest in reading, math and science, his mother reading to him articles from Scientific American that he could comprehend by the time he was six.  He excelled in grade school but even at this young age was determined to avoid contact with others, usually spending time by himself in his room with the door shut, especially when visitors came to his home.

Math Club in high school, second from left, standing.

Kaczynski moved on to Evergreen Park Community High School.  On paper, he might have seemed to be the model student.  He joined the school band playing the trombone, and became a member of the math, coin, biology and German clubs.  Classmates described him as the smartest kid in his class.  But his inability to fit in socially and his self imposed isolation from any normal high school activities like sock hops and athletic events underlined his almost stereotypical profile as the quintessential nerd, complete with glasses, pencil pocket protector, slight physical stature, and painfully shy personality.

With Ted, Sr. and David.

Ted Kaczynski was born on May 22, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois.  His father, Theodore, Ted, Sr. spent much of his adult working life as a sausage maker in a factory owned by a relative.

The 1994 composite that intrigued the nation.

The most distinct aspect of this particular attack was that, for the first time, an eyewitness observed the Unabomber in the act.  An FBI sketch artist immediately put together a composite that was deemed unsatisfactory.  Then a freelance artist was hired to try again.  Both of these sketches were only used on a local Sacramento and very limited national basis, the FBI still insisting on not publicizing a potential serial bomber.  The secretary also continually maintained that the two original sketches did not really resemble the man she saw.  It would not be until 1994, when public awareness was already rampant and the FBI, still no closer to solving the case and knowing that the sketches they had were inaccurate, that a third sketch was developed and released, this time the much more familiar composite, which became a popular culture icon.  This rendition, by veteran criminal sketch artist Jeanne Boylan featured a hooded, grim looking man, with curly hair, a strong chin and very large, aviator sunglasses.  Her Unabomber would quickly become ubiquitous and greatly add to the criminal’s mystique.

Ted Kaczynski AKA The Unabomber (Volume 5, Episode 2) Book and Music Information

The books used in the composition of this podcast included:

“Every Last Tie,” by David Kaczynski

“Unabomber: A Desire To Kill,” by Robert Graysmith

“Unabomber: The Secret Life of Ted Kaczynski,” by Chris Waits

“Harvard and the Unabomber,” by Alston Chase

“Madman in the Woods,” by Jamie Gehring

The musical intro for both parts of the podcast was: “In Five Straight Rows,” by The Mini Vandals

The outro was: “Break Your Lock and Key,” also by the Mini Vandals