Tombstone Territory

Did You Know?

• Gerald Mohr played Doc Holliday in the first-season episode 'Doc Holliday in Durango', and his version of Holliday was identical to the one he played in a 1957 episode of Maverick.
• The TV show was adapted into a comic book, Four Color #1123 (June 1960), by Dan Spiegle and Paul S. Newman, published by Dell Comics.

Overview

The program takes place in the boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territory, one of the Old West's most notorious towns and the site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Located south of Tucson, Tombstone was then known as "the town too tough to die." The series does not deal with real characters from Tombstone's 1880s history, such as Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, or the Clanton gang, with the exception of Curly Bill Brocius, who appeared in the first season.

It is about fictional characters in the American Southwest. The first episode opens, according to the narrator, on August 4, 1881. Pat Conway played Sheriff Clay Hollister. Richard Eastham, the only other actor besides Conway to appear in all episodes, played Harris Claibourne, editor of The Tombstone Epitaph (an actual newspaper that still exists in limited form).

Eastham, originally a singer in opera and on Broadway, also narrated the series in a deep baritone voice, describing each episode as an actual report from the newspaper's archives. The theme song, "Whistle Me Up a Memory", was written by William M. Backer and performed by Jimmy Blaine. Gerald Mohr played Doc Holliday in the first-season episode "Doc Holliday in Durango", initially broadcast in 1958. The previous year, Mohr had portrayed Holliday in an episode of Maverick titled "The Quick and the Dead".

Mohr's version of Holliday was identical in both series. The ending credits indicate, "This series is produced with the full cooperation of Clayton A. Smith, editor of the TOMBSTONE EPITAPH and D'Estell Iszard, historian."

Cast

Pat Conway stars as Sheriff Clay Hollister. Richard Eastham plays Harris Clayton Claibourne, editor of The Tombstone Epitaph. Gilman Rankin appears as Deputy Charlie Riggs in eight episodes, only appearing in the first season. Quentin Sondergaard appears as Deputy Sheriff Quint, a recurring character in season 1, but appearing throughout the series (mainly season 3).

Recurring cast includes Robert Foulk as Curly Bill Brocius, Dennis Moore as Deputy Lee in six episodes, and Harry Woods as Dr. Cunningham in six episodes (seasons 1 & 3). Robert J. Wilke, John Doucette, and Warren Oates each appear three times, as Burt Foster, Apache Chief Geronimo, and Bob Pickett, respectively, as well as occasional other roles. Kenne Duncan appears three times as a Tombstone bartender. Guest stars include Fred Aldrich, John Anderson, Robert Anderson, Rayford Barnes, James Best, Peter Breck, Diane Brewster, Harry Carey Jr., John Carradine, Anthony Caruso, Lon Chaney Jr., James Coburn, Fred Coby, William Conrad, Russ Conway, Elisha Cook Jr., Angie Dickinson, Andrew Duggan, Jack Elam, Bill Erwin, Don Eitner, Margaret Field, Duke Fishman, Constance Ford, Bruce Gordon, Leo Gordon, Dabbs Greer, Virginia Gregg, Raymond Guth, Herman Hack, Ron Hagerthy, Alan Hale Jr., Allison Hayes, Ron Hayes, Myron Healey, Thomas Browne Henry, Robert Hinkle, Ed Hinton, Bern Hoffman, Rodolfo Hoyos Jr., Anthony Jochim, Ray Jones, Don Kennedy, Douglas Kennedy, Brett King, Wright King, Ethan Laidlaw, Michael Landon, Keith Larsen, Harry Lauter, Len Lesser, Karl Lukas, Wayne Mallory, Ken Mayer, Rod McGaughy, Patrick McVey, Tyler McVey, Joyce Meadows, Jan Merlin, Gerald Mohr, Donald Murphy, Anna Navarro, Ed Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Jimmy Noel, Kathleen Nolan, Larry Pennell, William Phipps, Mala Powers, Andrew Prine, Denver Pyle, Rhodes Reason, Richard Reeves, Paul Richards, Pernell Roberts, Bing Russell, Milan Smith, George Sowards, Fay Spain, Guy Stockwell, Brick Sullivan, Liam Sullivan, Ralph Taeger, Kent Taylor, Robert Tetrick, Regis Toomey, Brad Trumbull, Lee Van Cleef, John Vivyan, Patrick Waltz, Peter Whitney, and Tony Young.