Historical Accuracy of "Tombstone"
Ack
>As a fan of "Tombstone," I've enjoyed the recent postings concerning the Latin
>dialogue scene betweeen Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo.
> This has raised again in my mind a series of questions regarding the
>historical accuracy of the film. I've read that it is much truer to history than
>other versions of the story, such as "My Darling Clementine" and "Gunfight at the
>O.K. Corral."
> I'm hoping that someone may know the answers to some of the following, our
>could steer me to a source where I could find the information:
> 1. What's the story of John "Doc" Holliday and how did he and Wyatt Earp
>become such close friends?
> 2. Who was the man known as "Johnny Ringo?" What was his real name? Was
>he actually killed by Holliday?
> 3. Was there a gang called "The Cowboys," and did Wyatt Earp track them
>down and wipe them out?
>Thanks in advance for any responses..........
1. Doc Holiday was a educated man from Georgia..a dentist in fact..
when he was in his early twenties, he was diagonised (sp?) as having
TB, known back then as consumption..he went out West, thinking
that the drier climate might prolong his life..Perhaps the deadliest gun
fighter in the west, he was a heavy drinker as well as gambler..
Wyatt Earp was by no means an angel either..he was known to have
operated saloons in between law enforcement jobs.. about his and Doc's
friendship, i have no idea why they were such close friends
2. i do believe that there was indeed a Johnny Ringo involved in the
whole OK corral mess but then again the name "Johnny Ringo" was
an alias used by many gunfighter back then
3. The part about the "Cowboys" is a historical fact..they have been
refered to by many historians as the first incident of orgainzed
crime in America..Neither Wyatt nor Doc tracked down the *entire*
band of Cowboys..in addition, neither Doc nor Wyatt were responsible for the
death of Johnny Ringo..that part, i believe, was made up by the
screenwriters..
though, no entirely historically accurate, Tombstone IMHO was a great
film filled with great shots, and dialogue.
hope this helps ...
gary
Ted Thompson
R. Swaney) wrote:
> As a fan of "Tombstone," I've enjoyed the recent postings concerning the
Latin
> dialogue scene betweeen Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo.
>
> This has raised again in my mind a series of questions regarding the
> historical accuracy of the film. I've read that it is much truer to
history than
> other versions of the story, such as "My Darling Clementine" and
"Gunfight at the
> O.K. Corral."
>
> I'm hoping that someone may know the answers to some of the
following, our
> could steer me to a source where I could find the information:
>
> 1. What's the story of John "Doc" Holliday and how did he and
Wyatt Earp
> become such close friends?
> 2. Who was the man known as "Johnny Ringo?" What was his real
name? Was
> he actually killed by Holliday?
> 3. Was there a gang called "The Cowboys," and did Wyatt Earp
track them
> down and wipe them out?
I would suggest you see "Doc" (written by Pete Hamill) with Stacy Keach as
Doc and Harris Yulin as Wyatt. Although taking the usual Hollywood
liberties, it is far closer to the truth than the others.
In real time, Wyatt Earp was a gambler and a pimp and Doc Holliday was a
psychotic, consumptive gambler. The movie shows how they got together to
"split" the town take from prostitution and gambling. (You will note how
Ike Clanton refers to Wyatt as a "pimp" in "Tombstone".) The politically
motivated "gunfight" at the ok corral was little more than legalized
murder.
Ted
Paul Kunkel
<swa...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>As a fan of "Tombstone," I've enjoyed the recent postings concerning the
>Latin dialogue scene betweeen Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo.
>
>This has raised again in my mind a series of questions regarding the
>historical accuracy of the film. I've read that it is much truer to
>history than other versions of the story, such as "My Darling
>Clementine" and "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral."
>
I have done a little reading on the subject, though I am hardly an
authority. When I got home from the movie, I looked through my library
and found that I still had one book on the subject, "Doc Holliday" by
John Myers Meyers. That is the source for most of my information.
>I'm hoping that someone may know the answers to some of the following,
>our could steer me to a source where I could find the information:
>
>1. What's the story of John "Doc" Holliday and how did he and Wyatt
>Earp become such close friends?
Doc's story, of course, is a long one. He was born in Georgia, and
moved west in hopes of prolonging his life. His painful bout with
tuberculosis was captured well in that movie. He was a small man with a
terrible attitude. By most accounts, he lacked the endearing charm that
was displayed in the film. Though he came from a family that was fairly
well off (until the war), it is not likely that he was given to Latin
recitals or Chopin recitals.
According to Myers, Holliday and Earp met in Fort Griffin, Texas in
1877. Earp was trailing Dave Rudabaugh, a fugitive train robber. Doc
provided him with some information.
>2. Who was the man known as "Johnny Ringo?" What was his real name?
>Was he actually killed by Holliday?
That was John Ringgold. His fate was not made clear in the book,
but that showdown was easily the most absurd scene in the movie.
>3. Was there a gang called "The Cowboys," and did Wyatt Earp track them
>down and wipe them out?
There certainly was some gang warfare going on, but I do not know
how organized it was, or what they called themselves. Many will argue
that the Earps themselves were just a gang.
The OK Corral scene was very impressive. I read a play by play
account of the battle, and the movie hardly missed a beat.
Kunkel