Wyatt Earp FAQs - The five items posted most recently:

How factual is the movie Wyatt Earp?

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:24:00 GMT

Many people feel the 1994 release of Wyatt Earp has the most accurate portrayal of Wyatt to date.� Yet, as typical with motion pictures, many liberties were taken with the facts.� Some of them include:

The costuming is wrong for the time period, especially the hat styles, according to historian Jeff Morey.� Only Doc Holliday wears the right kind of hat.� The movie Tombstone is much more accurate in that regard.
The Oriental Saloon, a central location in the film, appears on the wrong side of the street.� The real Oriental was on the northeast corner of Allen and Fifth streets.
Curly Bill is shown shooting Marshal Fred White deliberately.� In reality, the shooting was accidental.� Marshal White said so himself.
As in Tombstone, Fred White is portrayed as an older man.� He was, in fact, only 31 when he was killed.
Wyatt Earp has Virgil and Morgan Earp shot on the same night, shortly after the "OK Corral" street fight, as they are in the movie Tombstone.� The truth is that Virgil was shot on December 28, 1881, two months after the fight, and Morgan was killed on March 18, 1882, nearly five months after the fight.
In reality, Virgil was shot in (and lost the use of) his left arm.� The movie has him shot in the right arm.
John Ringo was not killed during Wyatt's shootout with Curly Bill.� In all likelihood, Ringo wasn't even there.� Ringo was found dead on July 14, 1882, of a suspected, but univestigated, suicide.
The reference to Tommy-Behind-The-Deuce near the end of the film is a deliberate misnomer of Johnny-Behind-The-Deuce, a real character in the Wyatt Earp saga.� It's been said that the name was changed to Tommy because too many other men are named Johnny in the movie, as in Johnny Behan, Johnny Ringo, Johnny Tyler and John Clum (who were all real people).

A larger list of Wyatt Earp inaccuracies can be found on this Wikipedia page.

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How, when and where did James Earp die?

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:23:00 GMT

Tim Fattig has a concise account of James' demise in his book Wyatt Earp: The Biography (2002, Talei Publishers, Inc.):

"James C. Earp.� Wyatt's oldest full brother declined rapidly in his later years, and spent the last decade of his life living with relatives in southern California, including sister Adelia.� Jimmy died on January 25, 1926, at Los Angeles, at the age of 84.� Cerebral apoplexy was listed as the cause of death."

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Where are Wyatt Earp's guns today?

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:57:00 GMT

A search of the Web and Western-themed publications will reveal that this is a very frequently asked question.

Firearms in the 1800s were as common as cell phones are today, were almost as versatile and were replaced just as often.� A gun served as a tool for getting food, was used to protect cattle from predators and for personal safety from snakes and other critters, could double as a hammer, made an excellent noisemaker during public celebrations, and was reknown for its defensive and offensive capabilities.� Because guns could be deadly when mixed with alcohol and when used as argument equalizers, many municipalities, Tombstone included, outlawed the carrying of firearms within city limits (unless the bearer could prove he was in the act of entering or leaving town or "just passing through").� As not all guns served all purposes, it was common to own several.

When it comes to Wyatt Earp, the term "Wyatt's guns" can be tough to define.� Wyatt's guns ... when?� Before Elsworth?� In Dodge City?� During the Tombstone street fight?� In his later years?� And does "Wyatt's gun" refer to one he merely owned or one he actively used?� According to Tombstone historian Ben Traywick, Josie Earp would buy guns from pawn shops and sell them as "Wyatt's guns" to raise gambling money.� Did these guns qualify as Wyatt's?� Josie certainly thought so.

The fact is, Wyatt Earp owned many guns in his lifetime and those that remain are scattered among museums and private collectors.� Some of these guns are frauds, although purchased and displayed in good faith.

And that infamous "Buntline Special?"� It probably never existed.

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What was Wyatt Earp's religious affiliation?

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:41:00 GMT

Wyatt served as a deacon in Dodge City, and in Tombstone reportedly helped fund the building of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.� In his later years in Los Angeles, Wyatt attended church -- sometimes Congregationalist, sometimes Methodist.� His wife Josie was of the Jewish faith and Wyatt's ashes are buried alongside hers in a Jewish cemetery.

All things considered, it would appear that Wyatt was a believer who respected all faiths.

Many thanks to researcher Peter Christoph for contributing to this answer.

How factual is the movie Tombstone?

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:27:00 GMT

While Tombstone (1993) is a great movie, providing great entertainment, a great deal of creative license was used in regard to history.

The cowboys were not a tightly organized band of criminals and they did not wear red sashes to identify themselves.
Wyatt Earp did not meet Virgil and Morgan in Tombstone, he arrived with Virgil; Morgan came to town about a month later.
Sheriff White was only 31 when he was shot, not an older man as portayed in the movie.
The Bird Cage Theatre opened in December, 1881, nearly two months after the famous gunfight.

Many, many other "liberties with facts" were taken.� For a compreshensive list of historial inaccuracies in the film, see the web page Historical Inaccuracies in the Movie Tombstone, a historical review by John Richard Stephens on the Fern Canyon web site.

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