The title comes from a memorable line in Unforgiven, spoken by Clint Eastwood’s character in response to Gene Hackman’s Little Bill, who, in his final moments, protests, “I don’t deserve this. To die like this.”
In a tragic real-life parallel, Hackman’s lifeless body was discovered in the foyer of his home, partially decomposed. Data from his pacemaker revealed that his heart had stopped nine days earlier. At 95 years old, there was no question of a staged disappearance—only the stark reality of time catching up. Yet, no one deserves to be left undiscovered for weeks, a poignant reminder of life’s quiet, often unceremonious endings.
Gene Hackman, Media Manipulation, and the Glorification of Myth in Bonnie & Clyde and Unforgiven
Gene Hackman’s performances in Bonnie & Clyde (1967) and Unforgiven (1992) serve as compelling case studies in the way media manipulates facts and glorifies myth, a phenomenon deeply rooted in both Old West dime novels and Prohibition-era gangster accounts. While Hackman’s characters—Buck Barrow and Little Bill Daggett—exist on opposite sides of the law, they both inhabit worlds where the truth is often distorted to create legends. Through these films, we see how the media, whether through sensationalist newspapers or Hollywood storytelling, shapes public perception by blurring the line between historical accuracy and mythical grandeur.
To understand how the media distorts truth, we need only examine the Wikipedia pages of Blanche and Buck Barrow. The first red flag appears with Blanche’s birthdate—1/11/11—a numerically intriguing detail suggesting that something may be amiss. Also curious is her passing on Christmas Eve at the age of 77 in 88.
Blanche met Buck Barrow on 11/11/29. Just weeks later, on 11/29/29, Buck was shot and captured following a burglary, sentenced to four years in prison. Then, on 3/8/30 (with 11 multiplied by 3 giving us 33 for those keeping track), Buck pulled off an escape that reads more like a dime novel than reality—he simply walked out of prison, stole a guard’s car, and drove straight to his parents’ home, where Blanche was living. One might assume authorities would have had the foresight to check there, but apparently not.
Blanche, along with the Barrow family, persuaded Buck to turn himself in and finish his sentence. Two days after Christmas in 1931, Blanche personally drove him to the gates of Huntsville Penitentiary, where he nonchalantly informed stunned prison officials that he had escaped nearly two years prior and needed to finish his time. They welcomed him back—one hopes they at least sent him to his cell without dinner. The true oddity here, of course, is that no law enforcement officer in two years had thought to track him down at his well-known family home. Nevertheless, he was released on 3/22/33 (a date that, numerically speaking, elicits an aye caramba!).
Buck’s eventual demise reads like pulp fiction. He was shot in the head during a supposed shootout, yet despite his brains being exposed, he remained functional for days. Adding to the grotesque drama, reports stated that “due to the lack of medical attention, the wound in Barrow’s head gave off such an offensive odor that it was with the utmost difficulty that one could remain within several feet of him.”
On July 20, 1933, while fleeing law enforcement, Buck and Blanche found themselves under a hail of bullets that shattered their car windows. Glass splinters penetrated Blanche’s left eye and damaged her right. The infamous photo taken shortly after their capture shows Blanche with fashionable eye-covering of some sort. “Due to her impaired vision, she thought the camera taking her picture was a gun and screamed, believing she and Buck were about to be summarily executed.” Looks very Hollyweird to me.
Yet here’s where things get murkier. In this first mugshot, dated July 24, Blanche’s eyes appear perfectly intact.
However, in another undated mugshot she appears to be a cyborg. Which account is accurate?
Here she is celebrating a successful psyop with her third husband, a military man, of course.
The legend of Bonnie and Clyde, much like that of Old West outlaws, continues to be shaped by layers of exaggeration, conflicting narratives, and media manipulation.
Hollywood’s Role in Perpetuating and Challenging Myths
Both Bonnie & Clyde and Unforgiven acknowledge their participation in media mythmaking while simultaneously critiquing it. The former embraces the glamour and excitement that newspapers brought to the gangster era, even as it ends in the brutal, unglamorous reality of law enforcement’s final crackdown. The latter dismantles the Western myth, showing that the so-called heroes and villains of history are often products of media manipulation rather than objective truth.
Hackman’s performances highlight this duality—Buck Barrow is a victim of a myth that portrays criminals as romantic figures, while Little Bill is an enforcer who bends reality to maintain his own legend. In both cases, media plays a key role in distorting the truth, whether through dime novels, sensationalist newspapers, or Hollywood’s own reinvention of history. The media has long shaped the way we view crime, justice, and power. Through Hackman’s portrayals, these films expose how historical figures are often remembered not for who they were, but for the stories told about them—stories that continue to evolve, shaping our (mis)understanding of the past and the myths we carry into the future.
Piece of Mindful 
Oh man, the ignominy of a man like Hackman, highly regarded and one of the better actors of our time, having his corpse rotting for nine days before anyone came upon him. Were there no meals delivered, servants to clean up, family to check in (three children)? Apparently his wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found in a different part of the house.
“Arakawa, Hackman, and one of their three dogs were found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on February 26, 2025.[7] Arakawa was found in the bathroom near a portable heater, along with a prescription bottle and scattered pills on the bathroom countertop close to her body.[8] Authorities initially ruled out foul play, but investigators quickly reversed that statement, calling their deaths “suspicious” and stating that an investigation is being conducted.[9]“
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After I turned 50 I began cautioning folks younger than me that the good news about reaching that age is nobody cares what you do. The bad news is…nobody cares what you do.
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Younger people will write you off as a old fogety, but there plenty of people 50plus that are still trying to keep up with the Jones, and they do care even if it’s kinda nosey.
At that age i’m sure the Hackmans had Daily and even Hourly caregivers. Odd that we don’t get the immediate update on the death of regular people, just with celebrities to sell the news?
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Agreed…how could there not be leeches aplenty?
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It’s a double-edged sword.
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The two Bonnies above are most assuredly the same woman. One of them is healthier, less angry.
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Which makes the differing mugshots even more suspect…right? Thanks for the face chops.
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I am always suspicious of mug shots without the height details behind, an essential piece of information if you are recording visual details of someone.
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And the one that does lists her weight as 81 lbs…
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My apologies for the digression, but the Zelensky White House spanking is too good to pass up. As usual, they are trying to force the public into two camps: the we stand for Ukraine idiots, who will never admit they were taken for a ride. And the rest of us who are quite pissed they pissed away billions upon billions to military contractors, and grifters in general for nothing.
And here comes CNN defending that little gay porn star turd, who did thank America 33 times lol!
Fact check: 33 times Zelensky thanked Americans and US leaders | CNN Politics
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It couldn’t get any more brazen.
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The picture of Blanche looks like a skinny Jane Fonda. What a joke.
I don’t believe the Hackman story. Some kind of operation to scare old people.
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Even more confirmation that celebrities give up all rights to their life stories. Just like their roles in movies, their lives are merely a characterization…a brand.
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In this technologically “smart” age, wouldn’t a wealthy man like Hackman have a “smart” pacemaker? Or some kind of device that communicates his status in real time to his health care provider?
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Which might make the death “suspicious,”
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Adding suspicions to the death extends the news cycle and generates more eyeballs (just like in the above picture, did you like that)
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Thats what they are selling Mr Starr. Nothing suspicious about the death, just great marketing.
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First I heard of his personal life – were they a plausible/ convincing couple? She wasn’t a handler or beard of some sort? Maybe they just had a prepackaged script ready for when he died, partly so she could disappear from the role and retire or do something else..
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K Starr, have you read this from ages ago?
https://pieceofmindful.com/2016/11/26/vintage-psy-opera-bonnie-clyde/
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K Starr, have you read this from ages ago?
https://pieceofmindful.com/2016/11/26/vintage-psy-opera-bonnie-clyde/
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Excellent! It was especially enlightening for me since I just read through all of their Wikipedia nonsense. You nailed it! I wasn’t around here in 2016 since I had only recently discovered MM and was clumsily contributing there. Hard to believe it’s been almost a decade.
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I think many of us here know Robin Williams didn’t die. Another Celeb whose death was immediately broadcasted, not a day went by. Not sure what the agenda is, but it appears he’s still alive:
The FFE youtube presentator also does a good job on Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze, and other celebs. I don’t buy a few of them, but some of these seem solid cases. Mark can you do some face match ups on the Farley and Swayze brothers?
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I did some work on Farley, and what I came up with was a remarkable resemblance to Michael Moore, but in no way did I suspect them to be the same person. Manners aside, both seemed morbidly obese. I have come across Bokonovsky Brats that are dead ringers for some of our famous serial killers … usually in the Jack Nicholson mold. Why not overweight clowns?
Farley seemed lonely deep down, and Lorne Michaels reminded him on at least one occasion that he did not always have to be the funniest guy in the room. His death was unanticipted, but in retrospect … an aspect of his downward spiraling character?
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I would think overweight people like Farley, John Candy at their ages, could have a heart attack. With their money and employment they would have access to the best medical services, including routine checkups. That Uncle Pappy does look like Robin Williams, he was very wealthy before showbiz, never bought into his suicide story. Yet celebs like Gene Hackman get to grow old, no fake death needed. The FFE youtuber makes a decent case, some not so decent. Not buying into the Tom Petty, Prince, Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington, Bon Scott, Neil Peart or Edward Van Halen deaths either. They all went on one last tour, had one last blast, then bowed out to enjoy the rest of their lives.
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You know Greg, I happened to note Mark for Tom Petty too – back whenever. I simply asked, Why? If I remember correctly, Mark said that he had the means, maybe just to get out from under a wife. I didn’t buy that one… Presumably Tom would have had millions and millions – could he not just pay her off (in that scenario)?
Anything can be faked, as we see every of these days. But Neil, that hurts me, if true (just like the “spiritual” LIAR George Harrison). Ah do I love All Things Must Pass (especially Beware of Darkness). He had some things to say lyrically (Neil); the best drummer ever (barring the true dinosaurs); and a purportedly well-documented end to his travels, wife and own life. I say he’s dead. However, I no longer waste my time on what is vomited out as non-fiction – the liars will lie. All very disheartening.
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Hmm, there was a post here about the poor misunderstood carbohydrate, and I was going to comment on it, but it’s gone now. What happened? My comment is what can you expect from these media whores, they won’t tell you the truth. People like Gary Taubes are rare. The real interesting thing about the cholesterol myth and the promotion of low fat / high carb diets though is that it is all intentional, i.e. promoted by the powers-that-be for their own profit. The health industry and pharma wouldn’t be making huge profits as they do now without it.
Also, 30 g of carbs a day is pretty tough Mark. Are you sure you are not miscalculating? In keto diets, 50 g is the goal usually, and that’s net of fiber. To achieve 30 g, you must be having hardly anything than meat and lard. Do you still have your occasional two slices of pizza now and then? 😉 (as you told us in the comments to this article: https://pieceofmindful.com/2024/12/16/good-calories-bad-calories/)
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It will reappear in three installments – too long.
Yes – 30 grams or less. I prepare meals in advance, meatballs (containing bread crumbs), pork chops with mushrooms and sauce, hamburgers, and chili sans beans. If there are 30 grams in there, I am hard pressed to find them. If I snack between meals it is cashews or shelled salted pistachios, which I love. By the handful. Maybe that gets me up to 30.
We just returned from a trip abroad, and as always when we do that we settle in on pizza marguerite as our staple and throw out low-carbing as impossible with restaurant food. I gained two pounds in 13 days and have since lost it again.
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