The Earps clashed with a group of outlaws known as the "Cowboys". Wyatt, Virgil, and younger brother Morgan held various law-enforcement positions that put them in conflict with Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, Ike Clanton, and Billy Clanton, who threatened to kill the Earps on several occasions.
Tensions between the Earps and the Cowboys explode in the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral. The fight pits Wyatt, his brothers Morgan and Virgil, and Doc Holliday against Ike Clanton, Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury, and Tom McLaury.
In the film Tombstone, starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, during the closing credits reference is made to the fact that "Tom Mix wept" at Wyatt Earp's funeral.
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.
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.
Tombstone Testimony: Wyatt Earp Describes Ike Clanton and the Cowboys
What disease did Doc Holliday have?
— On Nov. 8, 1887, John Henry “Doc” Holliday died of tuberculosis in a rented room at the Hotel Glenwood in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The fact is, despite his fame and notoriety, the gambler, gunfighter, dentist and friend of Wyatt Earp left this earth destitute.
Doc Holliday spent much of his life out West, there is no evidence that he and Billy the Kid crossed paths. An alleged photo that has been circulating of Doc, Wyatt, Billy, and Jesse James has no solid provenance and its validity has not been verified.
He went to Dallas in 1873 and partnered with another dentist; however, Holliday soon turned his attention from fixing teeth to drinking and gambling. Earp and Holliday became friends on the Texas gambling circuit in the late 1870s, and Doc participated in the gunfight at the OK Corral in 1881.
The three Earp brothers — Virgil, Wyatt, and Morgan — along with Doc Holliday survived. Both Morgan and Virgil were wounded, and Virgil was later terminated as marshal for his role in the homicides.
Wyatt Earp the literary character is a Stoic hero to be emulated in many ways. Wyatt Earp the historical figure was a pimp, a cheat, a claim-jumper, probably a horse thief, and a cold-blooded murderer. He was also a low-rent con artist who tried to sell people painted rocks he claimed were gold nuggets.
Earp's grave is the most visited place in Colma, California. Park on Main Road at the 6th sidewalk. There is a family mausoleum with the name C. MEYER on it.
Wyatt Earp Quote: Fast is fine, but accuracy is final. In a gun fight. You need to take your time in a hurry. Wyatt Earp Quote: Fast is fine, but accuracy is final.
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone.
With his more violent years behind him, Earp died peacefully at the age of 81 with his wife Josie Marcus at his side. Josie was so grief stricken that it is said she could not even attend the funeral.
Urilla's gravestone states she was born in 1849. She probably met Earp in late 1869, just after he turned 22. They were married by Wyatt's father, Nicholas, in January 1870. She apparently died about nine months after the wedding, probably in childbirth and perhaps of typhus.
Handshake Refusal: Doc Holliday refuses to shake the hand of the corrupt fop of a sheriff who is in league with the Cowboy gangs, though this is because he's a Lawman, and has nothing to do with his corrupt foppery. Happily Married: Virgil and Allie Earp.
According to old Holliday family stories, the young romance between Doc and his first cousin really happened – and may have been one of the reasons he left Georgia. The girl was Martha Anne “Mattie” Holliday, daughter of Doc's uncle Robert Kennedy Holliday.
Wyatt Earp was born in Monmouth, Illinois on March 19, 1848. When they were young men Wyatt and his brother's earned the nickname, “The Fighting Earps.” In 1871, Wyatt was arrested for stealing horses.
Though he offered his dentistry skills to those who could pay, it was playing cards in the railroad and stagecoach towns of the American West that kept Holliday flush. Smart and quick with his hands, he was a natural at playing and dealing the West's favorite card game—faro.
Shortly after starting his dental practice, Doc Holliday discovered that he had contracted tuberculosis – most likely from his mother before she died. His adopted Mexican brother was also diagnosed with the disease and later died from it, so he may have contracted it from him as well.
Holliday, a planter, lawyer, and politician. After attending dentistry school, Holliday opened a practice in Atlanta in 1872. Diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1873, he sought a healthier climate farther west.
