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elevision's Wyatt Earp, as played by
actor Hugh O'Brian, is frequently ac-
cused of bearing little or no re-
semblance to the real Wyatt Earp, the cele-
brated gunfighter, town tamer and marshal.
The dissimilarity is not so marked as some
skeptics say. To be sure, the television Earp's
face is. barren-in notable contrast to the real
Earp's fierce mustache-and certain Vine
Street modifications have been made in the
Stetson-type hat, high-button coat and white
shirt that were standard attire in Marshal
Earp's day.
But O'Brian paints a fair picture. There is
even some physical resemblance to the
"square-jawed, rail-thin but strong" marshal.
The most valid complaint is that he does not
play Earp heroically enough. The TV Earp
pales before the exploits of the stern-visaged
lawman. O'Brian's problem is to play down
the part so modern audiences will believe it.
The real Earp was a mighty tough customer,
according to Stuart N. Lake, who, after
years of intensive research, wrote the biog-
raphy on which the ABC series is based.
His favorite disciplinary method was known
as "buffaloing." This meant that he laid the
12-inch barrel of his Buntline Special across
the miscreant's skull and hauled him off un-
conscious to jail. Being a humane man as well
as a tough one, Earp seldom shot to kill if
he could help it. In fact, he would not shoot
at · all unless forced. It was not uncommon
for him to buffalo 20 or 30 obstreperous
cowboys in a single Saturday night.
Buffaloing was not only painful but insult-
ing. It implied that the gun-toter was not for-
midable enough to rate having continued

Hugh O'Brian may be a tough hombre on TV,

but he's no match for the original marshal

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