- Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday’s friendship is an enduring example of camaraderie in the Wild West, as portrayed by Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer in the film Tombstone.
- Despite their initial reluctance, Earp and Holliday become lawmen in Tombstone to protect the town from outlaws like the Clanton Gang, leading to the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
- Wyatt Earp’s history as a lawman began in his twenties, and he encountered Doc Holliday during his pursuit of a train robber. Their friendship lasted through the Earp Vendetta Ride, but Holliday’s life was tragically cut short by tuberculosis.
Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday are not only two defining icons of the Wild West but also examples of an enduring friendship, and their camaraderie in Tombstone has its roots in a true story as exciting as life on the frontier. Starring Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp and Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, considered two of the best cowboys in film history, the film begins with these larger than life gunslingers finding themselves in Tombstone, Arizona after already having built their reputations as incredibly dangerous marksmen with nerves of steel. Despite not wanting to be involved with peacekeeping any longer, they begrudgingly become lawmen when it’s clear Tombstone needs protecting.
Despite wanting to lead simple lives playing cards and leaving their gunbelts on the hook, they become embroiled in conflicts with local outlaws like the Clanton Gang that lead to the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The unwavering bond between Earp and Holliday endures through hardship to the Earp family and includes vengeance against the Clanton Gang, all the while Doc suffers from a lifelong fight with tuberculosis. The particulars around Wyatt Earp’s early law days, as well as his momentous first meeting with Doc Holliday are not included in Tombstone, but are no less fascinating pieces of American history.
Wyatt Earp’s History As A Lawman Explained
During his 20s Earp dabbled in cattle and cards, and sought work as a buffalo hunter and stagecoach driver, but he was primarily one of the most prominent lawmen in the American frontier. Beginning in 1870, when Earp was just 22, he was a constable in Lamar, Missouri, where he also met and married his first wife Ursula Sutherland. By 1874, she had died, and Earp moved to Wichita, Kansas, where he split his time between being a lawman and helping with city maintenance. By the late 1870s, Earp was hired as chief deputy marshal in the rambunctious Dodge City, Kansas, alongside his brothers Virgil and Morgan.
The 1870s was the height of the Wild West, and in Kansas, Earp ran in circles that included Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, Billy Dixon, and Jack Gallagher. By 1979, however, Earp and his brothers had tamed Dodge City, and had been spending more time in the gambling halls than laying down the law, so they picked up their six-shooters and moved to Tombstone, Arizona with a plan to set their badges down for good and open a stage line. Tombstone and the Clanton Gang, which had been presiding over the hive of thieves, gunsels, and outlaws, had other plans for the Earps and their good friend Doc Holliday.
How Wyatt Earp Met Doc Holliday
Shortly after Earp was made chief deputy marshal of Dodge City he began tracking notorious train robber Dave Rudabaugh, a trail which took him hundreds of miles away to Fort Griffin, Texas. He immediately went to the largest saloon in town asking about his whereabouts, and the owner indicated he should chat with Doc Holliday, who had played cards with the outlaw just before he left town. Holliday already had a reputation for disliking lawmen, but Earp found him to be surprisingly congenial, and together they coordinated with the Sheriff of Dodge City to apprehend Rudabaugh on his way back to the territory.
Shortly after Earp was made chief deputy marshal of Dodge City he began tracking notorious train robber Dave Rudabaugh, a trail which took him hundreds of miles away to Fort Griffin, Texas. He immediately went to the largest saloon in town asking about his whereabouts, and the owner indicated he should chat with Doc Holliday, who had played cards with the outlaw just before he left town. Holliday already had a reputation for disliking lawmen, but Earp found him to be surprisingly congenial, and together they coordinated with the Sheriff of Dodge City to apprehend Rudabaugh on his way back to the territory.
The Clanton Gang had the Cochise County Sheriff John Behan on their payroll, and with his help they were able to rustle castle and pilfer the Wells Fargo stage coach all they liked until Earp and his brothers were offered positions as peacekeepers in Tombstone and thwarted their illegal activities. On October 26th, 1881, the day the gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place, Ike and Billy Clanton, Billy Claiborne, and the McLaury brothers, were set to jump Doc Holliday for humiliating Ike the evening before over a game of cards, but the Earps got wind of their plan and brought trouble to them along with their intended target.
The Earps, dressed entirely in black and Doc, wearing gray and whistling, ended up passing by the OK Corral and cutting through the alley off Fremont street to engage the Clanton Gang’s posse. Virgil Earp announced they were under arrest but did not brandish a weapon, and it’s unknown to this day who fired the first shot, but Doc Holliday’s bullet was the first to tear through Frank McLaury’s stomach, and after Tom McLaury was able to wound Wyatt’s youngest brother Morgan in the shoulder, Doc blew him away with Virgil’s shotgun. The entire gunfight lasted about 30 seconds, and the Earps and Doc were arrested for murder.
Wyatt Earp’s Vendetta Against The Cowboys Explained
In March of the following year, what remained of the cowboy gang sought out Morgan Earp where he was playing pool at Campbell and Hatch’s Saloon and shot him in the back. After accompanying his body back to Colton, California for his burial, the Earp brothers decided to get revenge for their brother’s death and the Earp Vendetta Ride was born. It took a little over a year to complete, but Earp and Holliday’s posse successfully eliminated over a dozen men involved with the act, including the Clanton Gang, and many of their known associates, including Curly Bill Brocious.
Virgil Earp was demoted for his part as senior officer and perceived instigator in the O.K. Corral gunfight, and was taken to the Earp family homestead in Colton when Morgan’s body was transferred to recover from the wounds he suffered. James Earp remained in Colton with the family, leaving Warren Earp to help Wyatt track down the men who killed Morgan. While most of them were found by the Earp posse, some of them like notorious gunslinger Johnny Ringo, were never tracked down, and died as a result of getting into bar fights, running afoul of other lawmen, or taking their own lives.
What Happened To Doc Holliday After Joining Wyatt Earp In Tombstone
After devoting a year of their lives to the Earp Vendetta Ride by May 1882, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday decided that they’d had enough of Tombstone despite the fact that several key men involved (like Johnny Ringo) remained at large. They journeyed to Silver City, New Mexico, and later to Colorado, where Earp worked as a private investigator and Doc eventually settled down in Leadville, his quality of life greatly impacted by the tuberculosis that had been ravaging his health for years.
In the winter of 1886, the two friends and comrades in arms met for the very last time in Denver, Colorado, when Doc Holliday was on his last legs. Doc eventually moved into the chic Hotel Glenwood in Glenwood Springs, Colorado to take advantage of the hot springs and sulfur vapors but, and after spending 57 days in bed passed away on November 8th, 1887. Earp would go on to live until 1929, prospect for gold through the Alaskan Yukon as well as New Mexico, and even act as an adviser on Western silent films in the early days of Hollywood, with an incredible life that inspired films like Tombstone.
