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Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp Biography


Lawman and gunfighter, one of the heroic figures of the American West. The fourth of seven children, Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was born in Monmouth, Illinois on March 19th, 1848. By his late 20's he had been a wagoner,stagecoach drive, buffalo hunter and peace officer throughout the west and had also won himself the reputation as a gambler and a gunfighter.

On October 26, 1881 he took part in the famous shoot-out at the OK Corral in the city of Tombstone, in the Arizona Territory. Wyatt Earp and his two brothers, Morgan and Virgil, along with Wyatt's close friend "Doc Holliday" (Dr. John Henry Holliday), acting in the name of the law, met in a gun battle with five men, members and associates of the Clantons family, whom the Earp's had labeled as outlaws. The Clantons' were members of a faction in Tombstone that opposed the Earp's. Three of the outlaws were shot to death in the duel, which was widely reported and the Earp's came to symbolize the romantic violence associates with the Old West. The Gunfight at the OK corral has been celebrated in several Hollywood films, with the Clantons always the Villains. But historians remain divided about the Earp's true Motives.

In about 1883 Wyatt left Arizona Territory, after having killed several well-known outlaws in gunfights to avenge the ambush slaying of his brother Morgan. He finally settled in California where he spent his remaining years in a variety of occupation, including saloon Keeper, and rancher. Earp's encounters with bad men have undoubtedly been exaggerated, but despite the embellishments of legend, there is little doubt that his contemporaries regarded him as an excellent marksman and a gunfighter. He died on January 13th, 1929 at home in the Earp's small apartment in Los Angeles California and is buried in the Marcus family plot at the Hills of Eternity Jewish cemetery in Colma California. When Jose died in 1944 she was buried next to Wyatt...

Enscription on Wyatt and Josie's head stone

About Terry Earp
Terry Tafoya Earp is a Playwright/Producer/Actress who began her writing career in 1988 and has since written 38 plays and 2 documentaries, many of which have received both local and national recognition. In 1996 she wrote her first historical-based play "Wyatt Earp: A Life on the Frontier" which won AriZoni award and has been performed 722 time throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. The plays that Terry has written, and both Wyatt and Terry star in are, historical-based plays and are a part of the Tombstone Saga.
Since Terry’s accident she had 3 new plays published and produced and one documentary. Her play "Steve and Stevey” was turned in to a musical. Her latest endeavor is the documentary film "Before and After Quadriplegia”. It is centered on six Quadriplegics and how they have successfully reinvented themselves. The premier was scheduled for the fall of 2014, at the "Spinal Injury Association” "Empower Center in Phoenix, AZ."…
For ticket or play information please call: we_phone

Contact Wyatt Earp by email at: wyatt@wyattearp.biz