Kim Dickens plays Gladys Hamer. On May 12, 1917, Hamer married Gladys Johnson who had two daughters from a previous marriage. In the Eastham Prison break, it was Clyde who fired the BAR. Today, a jury might get the impression that a person was welcoming the opportunity to engage his enemies. Texas Ranger Frank Hamer is best known for helping to end the careers of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. Whenever they are seen early on, it's usually in a long shot or, when closer, without much definition. A Now, admittedly, Hamer had his hands full, but it appears that he was not aware of the additional threat until the shotgun was fired. This was his main rifle. In the end, each of those involved received just $200. Also Gault was not an impoverished, unemployed loser whose home was on the brink of foreclosure. Additionally, we see the effects of tunnel vision on our awareness in a chaotic situation. On April 21, 1906, Hamer enlisted as a Texas Ranger in Capt. During the following decade he was instrumental in restoring order in oil boom towns such as Mexia and Gander Slu in 1922 and Borger in 1927, and he participated in numerous fights with lawbreakers. We created this eBook for you, and it was made possible through the contributions of our members and supporters. In the car with him were his wife, Gladys, brother Harrison Hamer, and Gladys’ brother, Emmett Johnson. During the ambush in Bienville Parish Deputy Hinton did not use a Browning Automatic Rifle, but a Colt Monito R-80. When Bonnie Parker limps away from the car at the beginning of the film, this is historically accurate as she'd injured herself earlier in a car accident when Clyde drove their Ford V-8 off a bridge into a dry riverbed where the damaged battery leaked acid over Bonnie's left leg causing her third-degree burns. In 1901 he and his brother hired out as wranglers on the Pecos County ranch of Barry Ketchum, brother of outlaw Tom "Black Jack" Ketchum (see KETCHUM BOYS).

It was kept in a box in his closet for 50 years until his family found it in 2013. As an American family name, Johnson has absorbed patronymics and many other derivatives of this name in continental European languages. Crazy Credits Required fields are marked *.

His knowledge of personal defense was not academic, nor were all of his fights in the line of duty. It is also a good idea to realize that dangerous encounters can occur with people who are known to us. But, you can rest assured that their lives were never the same after that bloody day in Sweetwater. In real-life Maney Gault did not join forces with Frank Hamer until planning for the ambush was underway, and the posse was being assembled.

Unlike the one shown in the movie, the license plate on the car the Barrow's died in was TEXAS 587-956. Woody Harrelson's Gault calls J. Edgar Hoover (who's up in a plane) a "sissy," but the rumor about cross-dressing, which has achieved a mythical lore during the last forty years, wasn't yet heard of. Frank Hamer and Gladys stayed together for the rest of Frank’s life. They auctioned it for $20,000.

Hamer brought order to the area, remaining as marshal until April 21, 1911, when he became a special officer in Harris County. In 1935, after Miriam "Ma" Ferguson left office, the Texas Rangers were reconstituted. Not to mention, tactically, it is just not a good idea to walk into a trap when you suspect that it is there waiting for you. Phillips was able to approach very close to Hamer with a shotgun. In the movie's ambush scene Woody Harrelson uses a Colt Monitor, and the actor who plays Deputy Hinton uses a regular BAR M1918. Had Frank and Harrison Hamer stayed together, Frank might not have been shot at all. Hamer shot back, killed McMeans, and was no-billed on the spot by a … Frank Hamer supposedly took part in nearly fifty gunfights and was wounded an astonishing twenty three times. Unfortunately, it portrayed Frank Hamer as a bumbling fool. In. Using the Element of Surprise as a Personal-Defense Tool, Frank Hamer’s Sweetwater Fight: Lessons Learned.

Kathy Bates portrays Miriam "Ma" Ferguson, the first female governor of Texas. They charged defamation of character among other things. Gladys Johnson Sims was the wife of Frank Hamer.. However, Clyde is wearing shoes, and in real life he had only his socks on. The Johnson and Sims families were prominent ranch families in West Texas and both were used to having their own way about things. Gladys stayed in the car. Because the main focus of the film is more on the lawmen's pursuit of outlaws rather than on the outlaws themselves, you never really get a good look at Bonnie and Clyde until near the end. Hamer married Gladys Johnson while she and her brother, Emmett, were under indictment for killing Gladys’ ex-husband, Ed Sims. Robert A. Caro, The Years of Lyndon Johnson (New York: Knopf, 1982-).

In 1894 the family moved to Oxford in Llano County, where Hamer worked at his father's blacksmith shop. Whether a deliberate homage or coincidence, when the lady dabs some of dead Bonnie's blood with a handkerchief, the exact same thing happens at the end of John Milius's Dillinger from 1973, which was a film inspired by the success of the original Bonnie and Clyde. Congress awarded Hamer a special citation for catching the pair. Most notably, legislator José T. Canales accused Hamer of threatening him in 1918. Frank was 6 years older than her, and lived to age 71, passing away in 1955. Bonnie had food on her lap, as she was in the process of eating when they got killed.

This reality should also be considered when we are formulating our own personal defense plans. The Johnson and Sims families were prominent ranch families in West Texas and both were used to having their own way about things. After a three-month search, he trapped them near Gibsland, Louisiana, on May 23, 1934, and with the aid of several local policemen shot and killed them. Harrison Hamer, who had just arrived back on the scene, started to shoot the fleeing Phillips. The real-life Texas Governor Ma Ferguson is famous for saying "If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for me.". Bonnie and Clyde's "Death Car" is on display at the Whiskey Pete's casino in Primm, Nevada along with the shirt Clyde Barrow was wearing when he was killed and other memorabilia. Phillips was later arrested, as was the entire Hamer party. Vertical Files, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin. The R-80 was the law-enforcement version of the BAR which had some design differences from regular Bard, and also used an easily recognizable 4-inch Cutts compensator which regular BARs did not have. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). The Handbook of Texas is free-to-use thanks to the support of readers like you. Frank had been warned that Gee McMeans would be waiting for them in Sweetwater. Who is Gladys Johnson Sims? Post was not sent - check your email addresses! There's some spooky history here in Texas. The case drug on for Ferguson then fired the remaining Rangers. Phillips, ran up to the struggling pair with his shotgun. But Frank pushed Harrison’s rifle barrel up and told him not to shoot a man in the back. Gladys stayed in the car, Harrison and Emmett went off to find a restroom, and Frank … He was transferred to Austin in 1921. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/hamer-francis-augustus. In 1917, romance threw Frank Hamer into a first-class Texas feud. The couple also had two sons. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. (The Bureau is correctly named in dialogue although misidentified on an aircraft; refer to Goofs.)

After taking care of Bonnie and Clyde, Hamer (Costner) kept the arsenal he had purchased for the purpose, including the B.A.R. Costner claimed there was amusingly anachronistic sights on-set of Harrelson drinking juiced greens from a jar while in costume. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Not so much during the Great Depression. English and Scottish: patronymic from the personal name John. The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry. Support the Handbook today. On May 12, 1917, Hamer married Gladys Johnson who had two daughters from a previous marriage. On February 12, 2018, it was announced by Netflix that the film had officially entered production. Hamer married Gladys Johnson while she and her brother, Emmett, were under indictment for killing Gladys’ ex-husband, Ed Sims.

The route to their home in Snyder took them through Sweetwater. Marriage with Frank Hamer; Online dictionaries and encyclopedias with entries for Gladys Johnson Sims. and turned to see McMeans pulling a shotgun from the car. His blow to the 1911 caused it to malfunction, probably causing a failure to feed. While tracking the criminals, Gault finds an empty bottle of Laudanum, a pain killer. Kevin Costner was offered the role of Frank Hamer ten years earlier, but turned it down because he felt himself too young to play a grizzled, retired lawman called back into service. When first elected, about 40 Texas Rangers resigned instead of serving for a woman governor. She is 10 years younger than Kevin Costner, who plays her husband Frank. In 1932 Hamer retired from active duty but retained his commission. Most notably, legislator José T. Canales accused Hamer of threatening him in 1918. In real life, Maney Gault, Frank Hamer's partner, did not join the search for Bonnie and Clyde until just before the end of the hunt. | accessed November 06, 2020, Your email address will not be published. Ferguson's husband had previously been governor of Texas, but was impeached and convicted on embezzlement charges. A former sheriff and Sims' son-in-law, Gee McMeans, led an attack in Sweetwater and shot Billy Johnson's bodyguard, Frank Hamer, twice, while Gladys—by now Mrs. Hamer—fired at another assassin. Disapponting endings or final parts in movies that did well most of the time. Hamer was assigned to track down the nationally known outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. Hamer retired in 1949 and lived in Austin until his death. H. Gordon Frost and John H. Jenkins, "I'm Frank Hamer": The Life of a Texas Peace Officer (Austin: Pemberton Press, 1968). On February 1, 1934, Marshall Lee Simmons, head of the prison system, asked Hamer to take the new position of special investigator for the Texas prison system. Stopping at a gas station in Sweetwater, Frank went in to get a tire fixed while Harrison and Emmett hunted for a restroom.

Most of them found law enforcement jobs in other capacities. Woody Harrelson uses the term "Just Sayin'" which has become a very popular modern term. | Ma ran as a puppet candidate, making it clear her husband would be calling the shots, and she was every bit as corrupt as her husband had been. Mrs. Hamer replies "Keep Leigh Anne from spiking that punch."