Wyatt Earp

9/6/1955 – 9/26/1961 ABC
Black and White
30 minutes – 266 episodes
Sept 1955-Sept. 1961 Tuesday 8:30-9:00

Writer
Frederick Hazlitt Brennan

Produced by Desilu Studios

Wyatt Earp Cast

Hugh O’Brian as Wyatt Earp

William Phipps as Curley Bill Brocius
Alan Dinehart as Bat Masterson
Denver Pyle as Ben Thompson
Hal Baylor as Bill Thompson
Gloria Talbott as Abbie Crandall
Don Haggerty as Marsh Murdock
Lloyd Corrigan as Ned Buntline

Wyatt Earp Theme Song

“The Legend of Wyatt Earp” music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Harold Adamson
Performed by the Ken Darby Singers; also 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.

CHORUS
Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp, brave courageous and bold.
Long live his fame and long live his glory
And long may his story be told.

He came to Kansas
To settle in Kansas
He planned on a peaceable life.

Some goods and some chattel
A few head of cattle
A home and a sweet loving wife.

CHORUS

He wasn't partial 
To being a marshal
But fate went and dealt him his hand.
While outlaws were lootin
And killin' and shootin'
He knew that he must take a stand.

CHORUS

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.

CHORUS

Wyatt Earp Tidbits

As we all know, there was a real Wyatt Earp. The TV show followed some elements of his life, but was liberal with the details.

This Wyatt starts out in Ellsworth, Kansas. It is here that Ned Buntline gives him the oversized weapon, a .45 with an extra long barrel. Called a “Buntline special” it packs a heck of a wallop and give the Marshal the extra range to drop bad guys, of which there is a never ending supply.

By the second season, Wyatt moves on to Dodge City. Yes, I know that Matt Dillon was marshal in Dodge on Gunsmoke. But that was Saturday night and this was Tuesday and besides it’s TV. So live with it.

By 1959, Wyatt moved again to Tombstone. You just had to figure, sooner or later, he’d get to Tombstone and the O.K. Corral. In a five part series finale, Wyatt’s brothers Morgan and Virgil, along with Doc Holliday, succeed in dropping the Clanton Gang in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Hugh O’Brian

Hugh O’Brian
From the Doug Abbott Collection

Hugh O’Brian
From the Neil Kutzen Collection

Hugh O’Brian

Hugh O’Brian
From the Doug Abbott Collection

Hugh O’Brian

BUY ON DVD
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6

External Links
TV Guide’s Wyatt Earp Page, with TV Listings, Photos, Videos, Exclusive News and More.

Hugh O’Brian Today

Since 1958, Hugh O’Brian has been involved with The Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY). HOBY’s mission is “to seek out, recognize and develop leadership potential commencing with high school sophomores, and to encourage and prepare the next generation of civic and corporate leadership for America’s future.” For info – The HOBY website