BONNIE PARKER’S Niece: Rhea Leen Linder

On May 27, 2023, I attended the 30th annual Authentic Bonnie and Clyde Festival in Gibsland, Louisiana. Every year the only living relatives of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow attend. Buddy Barrow, the son of Clyde’s youngest brother LC, is in his mid 70s. Bonnie’s niece, daughter of her older brother Buster, will turn 89 this October. She was kind enough to let me briefly interview her. I enhanced the interview with information about both of their lives, and I include stories they have told in other interviews that I have found. She talks about her childhood with Billie Jean, who raised her from age 7, the trio of old ladies Billie (Parker), Blanche (Barrow) and Marie (Barrow) and their antics, and family reactions to the 1967 Hollywood film (hint, it wasn’t good) lol. There is a brief talk of the effort to move Bonnie beside Clyde that is now in the courts. I cannot reveal any specifics of the case to protect their efforts but I give a few of my personal views which should be okay and do no harm. I include some footage of the festival as well, and stay tuned for an episode chronicling their final day alive in the very near future!

The original image of Bonnie which I altered in FaceApp to age progress was created by the YouTube channel Mystery Scoop. Check them out, their PhotoShop creations of historical figures is amazing!

I also consulted an interview Rhea Leen and Buddy did for the Dallas Historical Society in 2021, for additional stories.

Support me on Patreon!

#history #biography #bonnieandclyde #authenticbonnieandclydefestival #gibsland #rhealeenlinder #buddybarrow #bonnieparker #clydebarrow

[charlayned]

My father-in-law was about 17 when he was picked up by a couple while hitchiking. He was on his way home and it was a very hot day in Oklahoma. He said the couple were nice, they chatted a bit about where he lived and things, then let him off just down from where he lived in northeast Oklahoma. It was a couple years later when he saw a newsreel about their deaths. He said he didn't realize it was Bonnie and Clyde. He said they were nice to him.

[garymazzeo]

She really looks great and sounds great for a 89 year old lady....smart too!

[littleogeechee]

My goodness! She sure does look a lot like Bonnie! It’s uncanny! She’s a pretty lady.

[reidx]

She looks like Bonnie... I was not born, but read so much about them. Thanks for posting!

[michaelfuller]

Wow, 89 years young! What a treasure!

[Dtk-ofakind]

The wishes of Bonnie's mother should be respected. That's the closure needed by her family at that time. What they did should not be romanticized then or now. Many people had a hard life during the 30's but did not go around killing people. Digging up the grave will only add more circus activity to present day events. I am sure Rhea is a nice person and only trying to do what she thinks is right, but the right thing to do is to just let it alone and leave them be.

[kennethmuxlow]

we heard alot about em when we were kids in the 60s and its amazing how popular they still are nearly 90yrs later thanks madame morbid!

[rustinpeacegarage]

What an amazing lady, thank you for bringing her to us with your interview

[michelloranger]

The people today can t understand that Bonnie & Clyde lived through the great depression and how life was hard. That s why there were so many people turning to crime. I don t condone what they did but understand the context when it happened. You re very lucky to have had this interview and it was very interesting hearing from Bonnie s niece. Thank you for posting. I d give you 2 thumbs up if I could.

[donnicholas]

Interesting video! I think it was their love story that makes Bonnie & Clyde so fascinating.

[winslowredcross]

I've read books on Bonnie & Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, John Dillinger, the Barker/Karpis Gang and others. Part of the reason It's fascinating to me is because this was when my grandparents were in their 20's and 30's. This was their generation. Great interview!! Thanks!!

[marciatargato]

Thank you for an interesting interview wow the niece looks 😍 😊😊like Bonnie so amazing

[Faronthefiddler]

I met Blanche in 1984 through my Brother in Law, Kent Biffle. She was a unique woman. We had a very interesting conversation. She smoked Pall Malls unfiltered. That was outside of Dallas, Texas. I have never forgotten her voice. Edit: Blanche had no kind words for the movie. My Brother in Law and my Sister, are mentioned in her book..

[JeepForFun]

Bonnie and Clyde, one of my favorite love story historic pieces. You did a great job on this video. RHEA, what a sweet classy lady!

[johngiles]

Bonnie and Clyde were creations of their era. They marked the Great Depression as a time, never to be forgotten. They were just meant to be. They are the Legend of that era.

[kelliemarshall]

My mother's maiden name was Barrow. My grandpa, Rex Barrow, was said to be a young cousin to Clyde. My grandpa Rex's
father was named George Barrow. We are from western Oklahoma. I remember old family stories from when Grandpa was a young boy when he knew Clyde. He said that he would remember once in a while, Clyde visited and my grandpa and his cousin Carl were young boys and they would meet him at the end of the long dirt road driveway and stand on the rails on the outside of Clyde's car and would ride down to the house. He said they were always excited when Clyde would come through to visit George because he would bring them soda pop and candy, and they rarely got that back then. Grandpa said he was just a little boy but remembered Clyde coming alone, and he was always nice and generous. I mention this only if Buddy is still alive or some of his family and recognizes any of the names i mentioned. There isn't hardly any of the Barrow family left. At least along my grandpa Rex and George 's branch. I understand the folklore and entertainment of the Bonnie and Clyde story, but i kinda feel like Billie Jean, let them rest in peace. They paid for their crimes.

[cynthiacarter]

Raylene looks just like Bonnie even at 89.

[mrjp]

At the end of the day they both killed innocent people. Husbands, fathers, and sons were killed at their hands. Families mourned their losses and struggled because their loved ones were brutally murdered. We as a culture have a bad habit of commemorating killers and forgetting their victims.

[AL-qinh]

That was a great interview.. the background noise was actually very nice.. and it didn’t take away from the interview.. thank you for taking the time to put this video together 😊

[gypsywoman]

I pray Rhea succeeds in having Bonnie moved to her *rightful* resting place. It really is what Bonnie wanted. Bonnie seemed to know she and Clyde would soon meet their end; she wrote a little poem about it and in it she made it clear she wanted to be by his side, even in death.

I find the pair fascinating because they were so young, so in love, and true partners...even if it was in crime. My heart also goes out to them; especially Bonnie. She was just a baby, really, when she married her first husband. (Even though she was still legally married to him at the time of her death, everyone thinks of Clyde as her real husband.) She was so young when everything happened. She was also the original female badass. That picture of her smoking a cigar and holding a gun? Groundbreaking! Had anyone ever seen such a thing before? I'm pretty sure she'd count as the OG feminist, too, before feminism even existed.

Some stories have since come out that paint her in a different light, running to the aid of those shot by her man, trying to talk Clyde out of shooting others, that she was sleeping in the back seat when some action weng down...I don't know if we'll ever get their full story. But I do pray Rhea succeeds in her mission. That is the saddest part of Bonnie and Clyde's fascinating love story....death did do them part