The 70th Anniversary of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

The Fifties television Western The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, starring Hugh O'Brien, may not be as famous as Gunsmoke, but in one respect it was every bit as historic Quite simply, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp was the first adult television Western. It debuted four days before the television adaptation of the radio show Gunsmoke and two weeks before Cheyenne. It debuted on ABC on September 6, 1955, making today its 70th anniversary.

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp followed the life of historical lawman Wyatt Earp, in Ellsworth, Kansas, then in Wichita, Kansas, then in Dodge City, Kansas, and finally in Tombstone, Arizona. The show was very loosely based on history and featured several historical figures throughout its run. Unlike many other shows, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp had somewhat stricter continuity than other shows of its time.

The origins of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp go all the way back to the best-selling biography Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, written by Stuart N. Lake with contributions from Wyatt Earp himself and published in 1931. Among other things, the book was responsible for cementing the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in the public consciousness. It was the basis for the films Frontier Marshal (1934); Frontier Marshal (1939); and My Darling Clementine (1946). While the book proved to be influential, it was also largely a work of fiction. The real-life Wyatt Earp was a more complex figure than the stalwart lawman portrayed in the book. Historically he had frequented prostitutes and owned gambling saloons.

It was in 1953 that producer Robert F. Sisk, who had produced films from Little Women (1933) to Tension (1949), wrote to Stuart N. Lake inquiring about the television rights to Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. An agreement was struck with the writer, although Robert F. Sisk rejected some of Lake's demands, which included final script approval and on-screen introductions to each episode of the show. Stuart N. Lake would serve as a consultant on the show.

As an executive producer, Robert F. Sisk brought in Louis F. Edelman, who produced films from The Walking Dead (1934) to White Heat (1949). Frederick Hazlitt Brennan, a script writer who had worked on such films as A Guy Named Joe (1943) and Follow the Sun (1951), was hired a the chief writer on the show. It was Frederick Hazlitt Brennan who wrote the pilot and the first many episodes of the show.

The role of Wyatt Earp was initially offered to movie actor George Montgomery, who had to turn it down because he was already committed to several film projects. It was then that Hugh O'Brian was cast in the role. Hugh O'Brian had appeared in such films as Rocketship X-M (1950), There's No Business Like Show Business (1953), and White Feather (1955). He was cast in the part because he resembled the real-life Wyatt Earp in early photographs.

The rest of the cast would change over the years as Wyatt Earp moved from Ellsworth to Wichita to Dodge City to Tombstone. Mason Alan Dinehart played Bat Masterson in the show's early seasons. Doc Holliday would be played by two actors. Early in the show's run the role was played by Douglas Fowley (who in its first season had played the very different role of Doc Fabrique). Doc Holliday was later played by Myron Healy. It was later in the show's run that Morgan Woodward played Wyatt Earp's deputy Shotgun Gibbs, an entirely fictional creation. As might be expected, Wyatt Earp's brothers would appear on the show, but later in its run. Ray Boyle played Morgan Earp, while both John Anderson and Ross Elliott played Virgil Earp.

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp did depart from history a good deal, even beyond the fact that the real-life Wyatt Earp was much more morally ambiguous than the Wyatt Earp portrayed by Hugh O'Brien. Starting with the first season episode "The Buntline Special," Wyatt Earp carried a Colt Buntline Special, a gun that dime novelist Ned Buntline had specially made for the lawman. In truth, it appears Wyatt Earp never carried such a gun. It was purely an invention of Stuart Lake for Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. Wyatt Earp's career on the show also differed from his career in real life. Namely, it was Virgil Earp who was a Deputy U.S. Marshal and then town marshal in Tombstone. Wyatt Earp was an assistant to his brother Virgil.

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp did well in the ratings. While it was not in the top thirty of the Nielsen ratings for its first season, it was number 18 in its second season, number 6 in its third season, number 10 in its fourth season, and number 20 in its fifth season. In its sixth and final season, it did not rank in the top thirty, but it was not because of its ratings that The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp ended its run. According to Hugh O'Brien in an interview with the Television Academy Foundation, the producers had decided that six seasons were enough and they had other projects on which they wanted to work.

Having decided to end the show, its producers provided it with the first series finale in the history of American television. Prior to The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, American television shows did not have definite conclusions. For example, the final episode of I Love Lucy differed little from other episodes of the show. That final episode, "The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue," centred on Ricky being chosen to dedicate a statue that Lucy has inadvertently destroyed. On the other hand, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp would have a definite end. Much of the sixth and final season concentrates on Wyatt Earp's conflict with the Clantons. The series ended with a multi-episode story arc that ends with "The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" and 'The Outlaws Cry Murder," in which the Earps and Doc Holliday face accusations of murder for the events at O.K. Corral.

The end of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp would be historic for two reasons. First, as pointed out above, before The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp American television shows did not have definite conclusions. They did not have series finales as we know them. The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp was the first. It would be followed by Leave It to Beaver, Route 66, Perry Mason, and The Fugitive. By the Eighties, series finales would no longer be the rarity they once were.

Second, the story arc climaxing in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral would appear to be the first story arc used in a drama on American television. In the Fifties, shows featured entirely self-contained episodes and very little in the way of continuity. Prior to The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, both I Love Lucy and, to a greater degree, The Bob Cummings Show featured story arcs. The Life and Legend of Earp was the first drama to do so. The Beverly Hillbillies would later use story arcs, but it would be Wiseguy in 1987 that would establish the story arc in American television. Since then they have become much, much more common.

While The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp would end its run in 1961, it would not be forgotten. The show would be a success in syndication as a rerun. Hugh O'Brien would play Wyatt Earp again. He appeared in the role in two episodes of The Guns of Paradise in 1989. In 1991 he played Wyatt Earp in The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw. In 1994 the TV movie Wyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone aired on CBS. It starred Hugh O'Brien as Wyatt Earp as he returns to Tombstone and remembers his career as a lawman. It featured colourised clips from the original series.

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp has remained popular since its debut seventy years ago. It has aired on Cozi TV and FETV, and is currently airing on Grit. The show is available on several streaming services, including Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Peacock, Philo, Plex, Pluto, the Roku Channel, Tubi, and Xumo Play.

As mentioned above, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp introduced the series finale to American television and the story arc to American drama series. More importantly, it was the first adult Western on American television. Alongside Gunsmoke and Cheyenne, it would create a boom in television Westerns from 1955 to 1960 that would produce around forty different Western television shows. Without The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Gunsmoke, and Cheyenne, it seems likely there would never have been Have Gun--Will Travel, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Rawhide, or Bonanza. The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp may not be as well-remembered as some Western television shows, but it numbers among the most important.

"The Cisco Kid" by War

Today is the 75th anniversary of the TV show The Cisco Kid, starring Duncan Renaldo as Cisco and Leo Carrillo as Pancho. It was in 2017 that I wrote a post on the character of the Cisco Kid, "The Cisco Kid Was a Friend of Mine," which went into detail on the Cisco Kid movies, comic books, radio show, and the television show. Having already written about the TV show on the blog, then, I won't repeat myself with a 75th anniversary post. What I will do is leave you with the song "The Cisco Kid" by War. The song drew upon the TV show heavily and, at the time of the song's release, reruns of The Cisco Kid were still found on television stations around the country.

The Late Great Graham Greene

Graham Greene, who starred in the movie Dances with Wolves (1990) and The Green Mile (1999), and on such TV shows as Northern Exposure and Reservation Dogs, died on September 1 2025 at the age of 73 following a lengthy illness.

Graham Greene was of Oneida descent. He was born on June 22 1952 in Ohsweken on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario. Before his acting career, Graham Greene worked as a draftsman, civil technologist, and steelworker. He also worked as an audio technician for Canadian rock bands. It was Kelly Jay of Crowbar who suggested that he audition for a play. He graduated from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in 1974. He made his television debut in 1979 in an episode of the Canadian show The Great Detective.

Graham Greene made his movie debut in Running Brave in 1983. In the Eighties, he appeared in the movies Revolution (1985), Powwow Highway (1989), Where the Spirit Lives (1989), and Dancing with Wolves (1990), for which he was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He appeared on the shows Adderly, Street Legal, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Spirit Bay, Mount Royal, The Campbells, and 9B.

In the Nineties, Graham Greene had the recurring role of Leonard Quinhagak on Northern Exposure, the recurring role of Edgar on The Red Green Show, and was a voice on the TV cartoon The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon. He guest starred on the shows L.A. Law; North of 60; Murder, She Wrote; Lonesome Dove: The Series; Jake and the Kid; Heritage Minutes; The Outer Limits; Poltergeist: The Legacy; Dead Man's Gun; PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal; Safe Harbor; Big Wolf on Campus; Cover Me; and Royal Canadian Air Force. He was a guest voice on Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Ever Child. He appeared in the mini-series 500 Nations. Graham Greene appeared in several TV movies, including The Last of His Tribe (in which he played Ishi, the last of the Yahi) and an adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's The Pathfinder (in which he played Chingachgook). He appeared in the movies Clearcut (1991), Thunderheart (1992), Rain Without Thunder (1992), Benefit of the Doubt (1993), Huck and the King of Hearts (1994), Maverick (1994), North (1994), Savage Land 1994), Camilla(1994), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Sabotage (1996), Dead Innocent (1997), Wounded (1997), The Education of Little Tree (1997), Song of Hiawatha (1997), Shattered Image (1997), Heart of the Sun (1998), The Proteus Chronicles (1998), Misery Harbor (1999), Grey Owl (1999), Touched (1999), Bad Money (1999), The Green Mile (1999), and Desire (2000).

In the Naughts, he was a regular on the show Wolf Lake. He played Slick Nakai in the TV movies Skinwalkers: The Navajo Mysteries, A Thief of Time, and Coyote Waits, based on Tony Hillerman's John Leaphorn/Jim Lee mysteries. He had a recurring role on the Canadian show Being Erica. He guest-starred on the shows Mister Sterling, The Collector, Numb3rs, This is Wonderland, and Living in Your Car. He appeared in the mini-series Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion, Into the West, and The War That Made America. He appeared in the movies Christmas in the Clouds (2001), Lost and Delirious (2001), Skins (2002), Snow Dogs (2002), Punch & Judy (2002), Duct Tape Forever (2002), Phil the Alien (2005), and Transamerica (2005). When I Find the Ocean (2006), A Lobster Tale (2006), All Hat (2007), Just Buried (2007), Breakfast with Scott (2007), The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), Gunless (2010), and Casino Jack (2010). He was a voice in the animated movie The Legend of Secret Pass (2010).

In the Teens, Graham Greene had recurring roles on the TV shows Defiance, Longmire, and Goliath. He guest-starred on the shows Caution: May Contain Nuts, Family Tree, Riverdale, The Detour, and Project Blue Book. He appeared in the movies Running Mates (2011), Man on the Train (2011), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012), Chasing Shakespeare (2013), Maïna (2013), The Birder (2013), Winter's Tale (2014), Corner Gas: The Movie (2014), Unnatural (2015), Out of the Darkness (2016), Te Alta (2016), Wind River (2017), The Shack (2017), Molly Game (2017), We Are Boats (2018), Through Black Spruce (2018), As You Like It (2019), Astronaut (2019), Shadow Wolves (2019), A Dark Foe (2020), The Weekend Fix (2020), Tar (2020), and Blue Ridge (2020).

In the 2020s, Graham Greene guest-starred on the shows American Gods, The Last of Us, Reservation Dogs, and Tulsa King. He appeared in the mini-series 1883, Bones of Crows: The Series, and Echo. He appeared in the movies Defining Moments (2021), The Wolf and the Lion (2021), Antlers (2021), V for Vengeance (2022), The Performance (2023), Squealer (2023), The Great Salish Heist (2024), King Ivory (2024), Seeds (2024), The Birds Who Fear Death (2024), Laws of Man (2024), Sweet Summer Pow Wow (2025), The Protector (2025), Broken Trail (2025), Protectors of the Land (2025), and Paige Darcy: Reluctant Detective (2025).

Graham Greene was an enormous talent as an actor. He may well remain best known as medicine man Kicking Bird in Dancing with Wolves, a role for which he was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Over the years he played many other roles in both movies and on television. On Northern Exposure, he had a recurring role as Leonard, the easy-going healer in Cicely. On Reservation Dogs, he played Maximus, a delusional recluse who is waiting for the Star People to return. In The Green Mile, he played Arlen Bitterbuck, who regretted having killed a man over a pair of boots. On Longmire, he played a character as far from Kicking Bird or Leonard as one can get. Malachi Strand was a former Cheyenne police chief who had been convicted of extortion and corruption. Graham Greene could play a wide variety of roles and he was always convincing regardless of the role.

Godspeed Randy Boone

Randy Boone, the singer and actor who played ranch hand Randy Benton on the classic TV show The Virginian, died on August 28 2025 at the age of 83.

Randy Boone was born on January 17 1942 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He graduated from Fayetteville High School and then enrolled at North Carolina State College in Raleigh where he majored in mathematics. During this period, he began performing as a folk singer at bars and night clubs. He eventually dropped out of college to take up performing full time. He travelled around the United States for 18 months before winding up in Los Angeles.

It was a fellow performer who told Randy Boone about a television producer who was searching for someone to play a folk singing college student on a television show. He tried out for the part and was cast cast on the comedy-drama It's a Man's World as folk singer and college student Vern Hodges on It's a Man's World. It ran only half a season from September 17 1962 to January 28 1963. Hr joined The Virginian as ranch hand Randy Benton in the show's second season episode "First to Thine Own Self." He often sang on the show and many of the songs he had composed himself. He left the show in 1966 and went on to play reporter and photographer Francis Wilde on the single-season Western Cimarron Strip.

During the Sixties, Randy Boone also guest starred on the shows The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, Combat!,. Bonanza, and Hondo. He made his film debut in 1966 in Country Boy. In the Seventies, he guest starred on Lassie, Emergency!, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Gunsmoke, Kung Fu, and The Quest. He appeared in the movies Terminal Island (1973) and Dr. Minx (1975). In the Eighties he appeared on the TV show Highway to Heaven and in the movie The Wild Pair (1987). He retired from acting in the late Eighties and then worked in construction.

Randy Boone was always enjoyable to see on screen. He was a welcome addition to The Virginian, where his character's youthful enthusiasm and songs made many episodes even more enjoyable. His character Francis Wilde on Cimarron Strip differed from Randy Benton on The Virginian in that he was from a city (St. Louis) and was both curious and excited to be in the Far West. Of course, Randy Boone was more than a talented composer and singer who could play youthful characters. All his character in the Bonanza episode "The Ballad of the Ponderosa" had in common with Randy Benton and Francis Wilde was youth. He was bent on avenging his father, who he felt had been wrongly hanged. In the Combat! episode "The Letter," he played a young soldier who reminded Saunders (Vic Morrow) too much of his younger brother. Randy Boone gave a number of solid performances in his career, and he was always enjoyable to watch on screen.