User Reviews

Robert LeRoy Parker (1866-1908) took the name of Butch Cassidy from his mentor in crime, Mike Cassidy. Butch went on to become a criminal mastermind, a genuine Western godfather presiding over the colorful group known as The Wild Bunch (or, The Train Robbers Syndicate).

Butch linked up with his famous partner the Sundance Kid long after he began his career in crime. For Butch, the stick-ups were not penny ante affairs, but major robberies. The program makes it clear that Butch's group netted over a $1 million dollars in today's currency.

An early sidekick of Butch's was the hothead Elzy Lay. Butch and Elzy were a study in contrasts as Butch never resorted to violence in his robberies. Elzy killed a man and was sentenced to life in prison.

Ironically, Elizy's sentence was later commuted when he showed bravery during a prison riot. While Elzy marched out of jail a free man, Butch and Sundance were eventually tracked down by the efficient Pinkerton Agency in Bolivia. In San Vicente, the infamous duo met their end in a shootout.

I've always maintained a fondness for the 1969 film "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid", it's been one of my Top 10 favorite movies for a long time and will continue to remain so. By virtue of it's stars, Redford and Newman, the film managed to cast a sympathetic view of it's title characters and reinvigorated the concept of the buddy movie. With this episode of 'Legends and Lies', it's revealed that well before Sundance came on the scene, Robert Leroy Parker, aka Butch Cassidy, had already assembled his Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, and closely teamed with another outlaw named William Ellsworth Lay, better known as Elzy.

It wasn't specifically mentioned in the episode, but reading the time-line in the companion book of the series, it's interesting to note that Butch Cassidy was the only 'Legends and Lies' subject to have been born after the Civil War ended. His loose collaboration of criminals known as the Wild Bunch took on the character of a train robbing syndicate, operating almost like an outlaw country club from their base of operations at Hole in the Wall, Wyoming.

If you've seen the earlier mentioned theatrical film, a lot of what took place in it is represented here historically, and the popular movie got a lot of it correct. I recall being particularly amused by a comment Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy made while he and Sundance (Redford) were being pursued by the Pinkertons - if the railroads paid him to stop robbing them, he would stop robbing them. In fact, Butch Cassidy actually did make such an offer in writing, but was disappointed when a proposed meeting failed to take place that might have put him on a different career path.

Had Butch and Sundance lived in an earlier era like the James Gang who operated in the 1870's, perhaps they would have had a longer career as outlaws. One of the things that led to their demise was the advent of technology. When they had their picture taken at a photography studio in Fort Worth in 1900, the picture was seen by a Pinkerton agent and very shortly after, it was reprinted in hundreds of newspapers across the country. This led to a decision to flee to South America where they lived for a short time as gentleman ranchers before resorting to crime one last time.

Where this episode departs from the romantic saga of the outlaw duo is in the telling of their last days in San Vicente, Bolivia. In the 1969 movie, it's intimated that Butch and Sundance went out in a blaze of glory, not realizing how many federales lay in wait for them as they tried to make their escape. Recalling a vow made by both men early in their careers following long prison terms, it's now considered that the men committed suicide to avoid capture. Sundance was found with a bullet between the eyes, and Butch with a gunshot to the temple. Depending on one's point of view, either alternative brought a close to the careers of the last great outlaws of the American West.