Series Description:

The Life & Legend Of Wyatt Earp TV show was a 30 minute western action series on ABC about Marshall Wyatt Earp. It was loosely based on the real-life character and featured many other historically well-known characters, both good and evil.

Cast Members:

Hugh O'Brian ............ Wyatt Earp
William Phipps .......... Curley Bill Brocius
Myron Healey ............ Doctor John "Doc" Holliday
Alan Dinehart III ....... Bat Masterson
Denver Pyle ............. Ben Thompson
Hal Baylor .............. Bill Thompson
Don Haggerty ............ Marsh Murdock
Lloyd Corrigan .......... Ned Buntline
Selmer Jackson .......... Mayor Hoover
John Anderson ........... Virgil Earp
Carol Stone ............. Kate Holliday
Morgan Woodward ......... Shotgun Gibbs
Dirk London ............. Morgan Earp
Randy Stuart ............ Nellie Cashman
Gloria Talbott .......... Abbie Crandall

Trivia:

Despite leading a very dangerous lifestyle, the real Wyatt Earp lived 81 years! He was born in 1848 and died in 1929.

The Life & Legend Of Wyatt Earp was the very first western aimed at strictly adult audiences. Previous western scripts had been written to appeal to more general audiences. Coming in at 2nd place was the series, "Gunsmoke (1955)". It's first episode aired just four days later.

The final five episodes of the Life & Legend Of Wyatt Earp told the story of the famed gunfight at the O.K. Corral between the Earp brothers (Wyatt, Morgan & Virgil) and the Clanton gang.

In the same way that Bat Masterson was known for his Derby & Cane, Wyatt Earp was identified by his "Buntline Special" pistols. They had barrels that were a foot long!

Bat Materson also appeared on the show, first as Wyatt's deputy. Near the end of the series he got "promoted" to Sheriff.

Hugh O'Brian was nominated for an Emmy in 1957 for, "Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Series".

Theme Song Lyrics

Title: "The Life And Legend Of Wyatt Earp"

Lyrics By: "Harold Adamson"

Music By: "Harry Warren"

Performed By: "The Ken Darby Singers And Johnny Western"

I'll tell you a story a real true life story
A tale of the Western frontier.
The West, it was lawless,
but one man was flawless
and his is the story you'll hear.

Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp,
Brave courageous and bold.
Long live his fame and long life his glory
and long may his story be told.

Well he cleaned up the country
The old wild west country
He made law and order prevail.
And none can deny it
The legend of Wyatt
Forever will live on the trail.

Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp,
Brave courageous and bold.
Long live his fame and long life his glory
and long may his story be told.

Episodes List With Original Air Dates

The First Season

Mr. Earp Becomes A Marshal (9/6/1955)
Mr. Earp Meets a Lady (9/13/1955)
Bill Thompson Gives In (9/20/1955)
Marshal Earp Meets General Lee (9/27/1955)
Marshal Earp's Romance (10/4/1955)
The Man Who Lied (10/11/1955)
The Gambler (10/18/1955)
The Killer (10/25/1955)
John Wesley Hardin (11/1/1955)
The Bank Robbers (11/8/1955)
The Big Baby Contest (11/22/1955)
Frontier Journalism Was Fearless (11/29/1955)
Trail's End for a Cowboy (12/6/1955)
Rich Man's Son (12/13/1955)
The Buntline Special (12/20/1955)
Ben Thompson Returns (12/27/1955)
Marshal Earp Plays Cupid (1/3/1956)
The Assassins (1/10/1956)
It's a Wise Calf (1/17/1956)
Mr. Cousin and Mr. Brother (1/24/1956)
The Bride (1/31/1956)
The Frontier Theatre (2/7/1956)
Killing at Cowskin Creek (2/14/1956)
The Englishman (2/21/1956)
The Desperate Half-Hour (2/28/1956)
One of Jesse's Gang (3/13/1956)
The Pinkertons (3/20/1956)
The Suffragette (3/27/1956)
Hunt the Man Down (4/3/1956)
The War of the Colonels (4/10/1956)
Bat Masterson Again (4/17/1956)
The Wayfarer (6/7/1956)

The Second Season

Wichita Is Civilized (8/18/1956)
Dodge City Gets a New Marshal (9/4/1956)
Fight or Run (9/11/1956)
The Double Life of Dora Hand (9/18/1956)
Clay Allison (9/25/1956)
Wyatt's Love Affair (10/2/1956)
A Quiet Day in Dodge City (10/9/1956)
The Almost Dead Cowhand (10/20/1956)
The Reformation of Jim Kelley (10/30/1956)
So Long, Dora, So Long (11/13/1956)
Bat Masterson Wins His Star (11/20/1956)
The Lonesomest Man in the World (11/27/1956)
Take Back Your Town (12/4/1956)
Nineteen Notches on His Gun (12/11/1956)
The Hanging Judge (12/18/1956)
Justice (12/25/1956)
Shootin' Woman (1/1/1957)
The Man Who Rode With Custer (1/8/1957)
Wyatt and the Captain (1/15/1957)
Witness for the Defense (1/22/1957)
The Sharpshooter (1/29/1957)
Siege at Little Alamo (2/5/1957)
Vengeance Trail (2/12/1957)
Command Performance (2/19/1957)
They Hired Some Guns (2/26/1957)
Bat Masterson for Sheriff (3/3/1957)
Hang 'Em High (3/12/1957)
The Vultures (3/19/1957)
Young Guns (3/26/1957)
The Nice Ones Always Die First (4/2/1957)