"Colorado Charlie" Utter (March 14, 1838 – July 3, 1915) was a figure of the American Wild West, best known as a great friend and companion of Wild Bill Hickok.
He and Wild Bill Hickok became close friends and when Hickok was killed while playing poker, Utter is the one who claimed the body and held a public funeral for the gunfighter. Shortly after Hickok's death, Charlie Utter headed back to Colorado in search of new opportunities.
Contrary to what you may have seen on the HBO series, it was very unlikely that Bullock and Hickok met, let alone became allies. Although the iconic “good guys” did not share time in Deadwood together, both can still be found in the same history books and museums.
This was the only “show” in which James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok performed with William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody. The two remained friends until Hickok's murder in Deadwood, South Dakota, on August 2, 1876, at the age of 39.
What was the relationship between Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane?
Calamity Jane was a frontierswoman known for her men's attire, hard drinking, and skill at profanity. She claimed to have been in love with Wild Bill Hickok and even to have gone after his killer with a meat cleaver—though there is no evidence to support this; she is, however, buried near him, as she requested.
In real life, Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Canary) never met 'Doc' Holliday: she actually was in love and pursued 'Wild Bill' Hickock. Doc Holliday did have a bad cough, as suggested in this episode, from his tuberculosis. He died in 1887.
Did Calamity Jane have a baby with Wild Bill Hickok?
In them, Calamity Jane says she had been married to Hickok and that Hickok was the father of McCormick, who was born September 25, 1873, and was placed for adoption with a Captain Jim O'Neil and his wife.
Some say Jane made the whole thing up because she was looking for attention from the town's legendary men—especially Wild Bill Hickok who she claimed to love. Calamity Jane was also a well-known humanitarian in Deadwood, nursing Deadwood residents stricken by the smallpox epidemic.
But his date of 1871 in Market Square, in Kansas City [Missouri], does not make sense. Hickok did not appear in KC until late December of that year. In several books devoted to Earp, various family members have been quoted as stating that Wyatt saw Hickok, but none of them suggested that they were buddies.
Shortly before his death, Hickok wrote a letter to his new wife, which read in part, "Agnes Darling, if such should be we never meet again, while firing my last shot, I will gently breathe the name of my wife—Agnes—and with wishes even for my enemies I will make the plunge and try to swim to the other shore."
Although Hickok has an advantage of being an experienced veteran of the Civil War, Doc won the day because of his better close range weapons, calmness under fire, and his faster draw.
The gold strike in the Black Hills of Dakota became too much of a temptation for him to pass up. So, Wyatt and Morgan left Dodge City for Deadwood on September 9, 1876, in a wagon drawn by the best four-horse hitch money could buy, heading for new opportunities in the booming Black Hills.
The film is a deliberate mix of fact and fiction. Hill based his script on Pete Dexter's book Deadwood and Thomas Babe's play Fathers and Sons. In recreating Bill's past, the film relies on real accounts of the gunfighter's life, showing us how he earned his reputation.
Not noticing him, Wild Bill said to Massie, “The old duffer – he broke me on the hand,” the last words he was ever to speak. There was a loud bang, and McCall shouted, “Damn you, take that!” Hickok's head jerked forward, was motionless for a moment, and then he fell backwards to the floor.
In actuality, James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, was born in 1836 some nine years before William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Their lives did cross paths and intertwine many times and it appears “Wild Bill” was a mentor and role model for “Buffalo Bill”.
Currently, it is described as a two-pair poker hand consisting of the black aces and black eights. The pair of aces and eights, along with an unknown hole card, were reportedly held by Old West folk hero, lawman, and gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok when he was murdered while playing a game.
John Henry Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887), better known as Doc Holliday, was a dentist and later a gambler, gunfighter, and a close friend and associate of lawman Wyatt Earp.
Bottom line: Earp and Wayne never met. Anything Wayne knew about the real Earp came to him secondhand from Ford during their 25-year working relationship. Their encounter is only a charming Hollywood fable. Nonetheless, Earp and Wayne did share several qualities.
Calamity Jane (born May 1, 1852?, near Princeton, Mo.?, U.S.—died Aug. 1, 1903, Terry, near Deadwood, S.D.) was a legendary American frontierswoman whose name was often linked with that of Wild Bill Hickok.
In 1941, Jean Hickok McCormick appeared in Billings, Montana. She said she was the daughter of Jane and Wild Bill Hickok, and was born in a cabin near Livingston, Montana in 1873.
William Dathan Holbert (born September 12, 1979), alias William Adolfo Cortez and nicknamed "Wild Bill", is an American serial killer. Originally from North Carolina, he is currently serving a 47-year sentence for the killings of five Americans in Panama.
Calamity did know Wild Bill, but not as his romantic partner. In fact, they would have been little more than acquaintances. (Hickok was assassinated at a poker game shortly after the group's arrival in Deadwood.) Calamity Jane was also cast in traveling shows but not Buffalo Bill's Wild West production, says Jeremy M.
Adventure awaits those who have the audacity to pursue it. Calamity Jane's famous quote, "Adventure awaits those who have the audacity to pursue it," encapsulates the essence of a life lived to the fullest.
Calamity Jane was born Martha Jane Canary. She added “Burke” to that and went by “Martha” or “M. Burke” during her marriage to a man named Clinton Burke, but she dropped it after abandoning him. Her nickname, “Calamity Jane,” before and after her marriage was her name of choice.
