The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

Did You Know?

• The series finished number 6 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1957–1958 season.
• Hugh O'Brian was nominated for an Emmy in 1957 for Best Continuing Performance by an Actor.
• Infinity Entertainment Group released the complete first season on DVD in 2009, but it is now out of print.

Plot

The first season depicts Wyatt's experiences as deputy town marshal of Ellsworth, Kansas, then as town marshal in Wichita. In the second episode of the second season, he becomes assistant city marshal of Dodge City, where the setting remains for three seasons. The final Dodge City episode aired September 1, 1959; the following week the locale shifts to Tombstone, Arizona Territory, for the remainder of the series.

Cast

Hugh O'Brian played Wyatt Earp in 229 episodes. Mason Alan Dinehart portrayed Bat Masterson in 34 episodes. Douglas Fowley and Myron Healey were cast as John H. "Doc" Holliday in 49 and 10 episodes, respectively. Ray Kellogg appeared as Deputy Ollie in 13 episodes, and William Tannen as Deputy Hal Norton in 56 episodes. Damian O'Flynn played Judge Tobin/Dr. Goodfellow in 68 episodes. Ray Boyle was Morgan Earp in 15 episodes, while John Anderson and Ross Elliott each played Virgil Earp (5 and 4 episodes). Morgan Woodward appeared as "Shotgun" Gibbs in 81 episodes. Bill Cassady played Dr. McCarty in 11 episodes. Fred Coby was Pony Deal in 5 episodes. Paul Brinegar and Ralph Sanford portrayed James H. "Dog" Kelley (34 and 21 episodes). James Seay played Judge Wells Spicer in 25 episodes. Brick Sullivan was Deputy Brick in 23 episodes. Don Haggerty played Marsh Murdock in 21 episodes. Rico Alaniz and Rodd Redwing appeared as Mr. Cousin (19 episodes) and Mr. Brother (8 episodes). Trevor Bardette played Newman Haynes Clanton in 21 episodes. John Milford and Rayford Barnes portrayed Ike Clanton (8 episodes). Carol Thurston was Emma Clanton in 7 episodes. William Phipps played Curly Bill Brocius in 16 episodes. Randy Stuart appeared as Nellie Cashman in 12 episodes. Carol Montgomery Stone and Collette Lyons played Big Nose Kate (10 and 4 episodes). Steve Brodie and Lash La Rue portrayed Sheriff Johnny Behan (9 and 8 episodes). Gregg Palmer played Tom McLowery in 4 episodes. Margaret Hayes was Dora Hand in 3 episodes. Denver Pyle and Walter Coy played Ben Thompson (8 and 1 episodes). Bob Steele appeared as Deputy Sam in 4 episodes. Donald Murphy and Norman Alden played Johnny Ringo/Johnny Ringgold (6 episodes). William Mims played Dameron in 6 episodes. Walter Maslow appeared as Dick Averill/Blackie Saunders in 5 episodes. Numerous actors appeared as townsmen, including Jimmy Noel (144 episodes) and Ethan Laidlaw (138 episodes).

Production

The television series was a Desilu Productions project, shot at the Desilu-Cahuenga Studio. Its sponsors were General Mills, Procter & Gamble, and the Parker Pen Company. Off-screen, the Ken Darby singers performed the theme song and provided humming for the background score. Harry Warren wrote the music for "The Legend of Wyatt Earp," with lyrics by Harold Adamson, while Herman Stein composed the incidental music. Hugh O'Brian got the lead partly because he looked like early photos of the real Wyatt Earp. Mason Alan Dinehart, whose parents were actors Alan Dinehart and Mozelle Britton, portrayed Bat Masterson in 34 episodes from 1955 to 1959, playing the character from age 19 to 23. Douglas Fowley often appeared as Doc Fabrique in episodes where he was not actually present, and actor O'Flynn was frequently omitted from the credits. Bob Steele played Deputy Sam in four 1955 episodes set in Wichita. O'Brian's character used a Colt Buntline Special with a 12-inch barrel, sparking a mild toy craze, though no solid proof exists that the historical Earp ever owned one. This myth came from Stuart N. Lake's heavily fictionalized 1931 biography. In reality, Earp had a checkered past, accused of horse theft, assault, and ties to gambling, prostitution, and murder, while also serving as a town constable in Lamar, Missouri, a Wichita policeman, and an assistant marshal in Dodge City.

Related shows

O'Brian played Wyatt Earp in two 1990 episodes of the CBS series Guns of Paradise, appearing alongside Gene Barry as Bat Masterson. He reprised the role the following year in The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw, again with Barry. The 1994 independent film Wyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone combined new footage of O'Brian with colorized flashbacks from the original series. During the peak of TV westerns in 1959, over two dozen cowboy shows aired weekly; at least five others were linked to Earp, including Bat Masterson, Tombstone Territory, Broken Arrow, Johnny Ringo, and Gunsmoke. The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp currently airs on Grit and FETV as of April 29, 2024, and is available on streaming services like Tubi. In the UK, Talking Pictures TV began rerunning series 1 on July 24, 2024.