10 Interesting Facts about Wyatt Earp

One of these following facts about Wyatt Earp may probably broaden your knowledge about how he was during his life. Wyatt Earp was known as a gambler, Pima County Deputy Sheriff and Deputy Town Marshal in Tombstone, Arizona. He also took part in the Gunfight at the O.K Corral during which lawmen killed three outlaw Cowboys. To Wyatt’s displeasure, the 30-second gunfight defined the rest of his life. Wyatt is also often regarded as the central figure in the shootout in Tombstone, although his brother Virgil was Tombstone City Marshal and Deputy U.S. Marshal that day, and had far more experience as a sheriff, constable, and marshal and in combat. To get to know more about him, here are some other facts about Wyatt Earp you may want to know.

Facts about Wyatt Earp 1: Running Away From Home

Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp ran away from home several times and tried to enlist in the Union Army in the Civil War. He was unsuccessful and was sent back home every time, as he was only 13 years old.

Facts about Wyatt Earp 2: Ice Cream

He loved ice cream. He wasn’t a hard drinker. In fact, he wasn’t a drinker at all. No, the great Wyatt Earp, as macho as they come, never let liquor touch his lips. But he did have a vice: his love of ice cream. Every day in Tombstone, he would stop into the local ice cream parlor and indulge in a scoop.

Facts about Wyatt Earp 3: Horse Theft

He was arrested for horse theft along with two other men. Wyatt and the other men were accused of stealing two horses (each worth $100) and jailed. Instead of waiting for his trial, Wyatt broke out of jail and escaped through the jail roof.

Facts about Wyatt Earp 4: Self Shooting

Although Wyatt was never hit by the bullet of an opponent, once, his single-action revolver fell out of his holster while he was leaning back in a chair and discharged. Embarrassingly, the discharged bullet went through his coat and out the ceiling.

Facts about Wyatt Earp 5: Hookers and prostitutes

He actually loved hookers and prostitutes. Wyatt may not have been a drinker, but he loved the ladies. In one year (1872) Wyatt was arrested three times for “keeping and being found in a house of ill-repute”. Wyatt was listed as living in a brothel with Jane Haspiel in February of 1872. It is not known whether he was a pimp, an enforcer, or a bouncer in the establishment. Later, in 1876, when his brother James opened a brothel in Dodge City, Wyatt went along with him.

Facts about Wyatt Earp 6: Slapping a Prostitute

Wyatt was fined the sum of $1.00 for slapping a muscular prostitute named Frankie Bell. Frankie had “heaped epithets” on Wyatt and he got upset and slapped her. Frankie spent the night in jail and was fined $20 (Wyatt’s $1 fine was the legal minimum).

Facts about Wyatt Earp 7: Ex-prostitute Wife

His second wife was probably an ex-prostitute. Wyatt’s common-law wife, Celia Anne “Matty” Blaylock, who Wyatt lived with until 1881, was reputedly an ex-hooker.

Facts about Wyatt Earp 8: Murder Trial

He was put on trial for murder. After Wyatt’s signature moment, the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, he was tried for murder, along with his best pal, Doc Holliday. If convicted, the two would have been hanged. Fortunately for Wyatt and his legend, he and Doc were both acquitted.

Facts about Wyatt Earp 9: John Wayne’s Best Pal

In Wyatt’s later years, he lived in Los Angeles and was a technical advisor on several silent cowboy films. He befriended a young actor named Marion Morrison (who later changed his name to John Wayne) and regaled the young thespian with tales of the Old West. Enthralled, the young Duke used to fetch Wyatt cups of coffee. Wayne later claimed his portrayals of cowboys and Western lawmen were based on these conversations with Wyatt Earp.

Facts about Wyatt Earp 10: Last Enigmatic Words

According to his wife of 47 years, Wyatt’s last words, just before he died in January of 1929 were “Suppose, suppose…”. Wyatt’s wife, friends, and biographers all have only made guesses at what he was about to say to complete his thought before he passed away.

Hope you would find those Wyatt Earp facts really interesting and useful for you to read.