
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 26, 1994                    TAG: 9406250041 
SECTION: DAILY BREAK                     PAGE: E10    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER 
DATELINE: 940626                                 LENGTH: Medium

MANY ACTORS HAVE WALKED IN THE BOOTS OF WYATT EARP

{LEAD} WYATT BERRY Stapp Earp, named for his father's commanding officer in the Mexican War, is a familiar figure on film. Kevin Costner may be the latest Earp impersonator, but the part has also been played by Henry Fonda, Kurt Russell, Burt Lancaster, Joel McCrea, James Stewart and James Garner.

``Wyatt Earp,'' Costner's $60 million epic, claims to be the most detailed and accurate of the film treatments, but even it takes dramatic license with the legend. And that legend is most likely 90 percent myth.

{REST} In ``Wyatt Earp,'' you are reminded that Nicholas Earp, the father, was a lawyer and judge and expected Wyatt to follow his profession.

Wyatt Earp did study law in the Midwest, but went West after the death of his first wife. Settling first in Wichita, then Dodge City and then in Tombstone, he gathered his four brothers with the intention of going into business, but he was drawn into law enforcement. Mattie (Mare Winningham) was his common-law wife for many years. His friendship with the cynical dentist and gambling man, Doc Holliday (Dennis Quaid), continued through several decades. His final love, one that lasted 40 years until his death in his 80s, was Josie Marcus, a former actress who had traveled to San Francisco.

The shootout at the O.K. Corral was against the Clanton and McLaury gangs and was followed by as many as 25 deaths brought about by Earp's fierce revenge. Legend has it that the shootout wasn't at the corral at all, but in an alley beside Fly's Boarding House on Fremont Street - lasting no longer than two minutes. It occurred on Oct. 26, 1881.

Here are the other films that featured Wyatt Earp - most of which are available on video.

``Law and Order'' (1931) - Walter Huston played a cowboy who pinned on a badge and cleaned up Tombstone. The script was co-written by his son John but the name of the cowboy, for legal reasons, was Frame Johnson, not Wyatt Earp.

``Frontier Marshall'' (1934) - George O'Brien played the lead, who was called Michael Wyatt, again for legal reasons.

``Frontier Marshall'' (1939) - Randolph Scott played Wyatt Earp, and the real name was used for the first time. A relative sued, claiming the script was too fictionalized. Caesar Romero played Doc Holliday.

``Tombstone, The Town Too Tough To Die'' (1942) - Richard Dix had the role of Wyatt Earp. This one was low-budget and not important.

``My Darling Clementine'' (1946) - Directed by John Ford, it is the most mythical, poetic and arguably the best of all Wyatt dramatizations. Currently, it is being re-released in Los Angeles. Henry Fonda played Wyatt and Victor Mature was Doc, with Linda Darnell in the female leading role.

``The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' (1955-'56) - The TV series hailed Wyatt as ``brave and courageous'' in the theme song and had Hugh O'Brien in the lead. But who played Doc Holliday? Time's up. The answer: Douglas Fowley, who only showed up in the third season of the five-season run.

``Wichita'' (1955) - Joel McCrea banned all guns in Wichita (the city that preceded Dodge City and Tombstone in Wyatt's ban-the-gun crusade).

``Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957) - Directed by John Sturges, this is the most popular of all the treatments. Kirk Douglas is a remarkably healthy Doc. Burt Lancaster is Wyatt and Rhonda Fleming, looking as if dust never hit her, is a glamorous fiction. (Her character was not based on any of Wyatt's women). Big Nose Kate was played by Jo Van Fleet, and she is the best thing in the film.

``Cheyenne Autumn'' (1964) - James Stewart's version of Wyatt is comic relief. Doc is played by Arthur Kennedy. A sick and elderly John Ford directed it.

``Hour of the Gun'' (1967) - James Garner is Wyatt on a bloody vendetta after the O.K. Corral. Jason Robards Jr. is Doc. Jon Voight, before stardom in ``Midnight Cowboy,'' was cast as a bad guy.

``Doc'' (1971) - Harris Yulin played Wyatt but Stacy Keach, as Doc, was the star with Faye Dunaway as Katie Elder, Doc's love interest.

``Tombstone'' (1993) - Kevin Costner is not happy about the fact that this one was a relative hit, even though it was messy. Kurt Russell as Wyatt and Val Kilmer as Doc were the stars. by CNB