Here’s a good little bio of Hugh O’Brian, his military upbringing, how he became Wyatt Earp and the man killed by John Wayne in movies. I think it isn’t mentioned here, but I’m pretty sure he wanted to play that role in “The Shootist” so bad he offered to do it for free. Good pictures of his Wyatt Earp guns here, too.

How the last person that JOHN WAYNE "DID AWAY WITH" in the movies was actually WYATT EARP! - YouTube

Just re-watched a 1966 Hugh O'Brian film Ambush Bay where he plays a Marine Sergeant. Since he was one in real life, it was not a stretch to play that character.

Has Robert Michum's son James Mitchum as an air force radio man transferred into a tight Marine squad that had their radio man get sick, right before this mission.

Good film-its on Amazon Prime.

I saw that as a kid and was devastated when two Japanese soldiers machine gunned a couple women just for fun who were just swimming by their boat being friendly to them. Nobody has ever looked so identical to their father as James Mitchum. It’s uncanny. He played his dad’s little brother in “Tobacco Road” I think it was called.

I think that was "Thunder Road".

Thanks. I was going to look that movie up and watch it. Now I can track down the right movie.

A good place to mention that Mr. O'BRIEN was a humanitarian and did much to influence young people through his scholarship program. I would like to quote him but his comments make so much sense they may be offensive to some. He died in 2016 at age 91.

It’s “O’Brian” in the credits of “Wyatt Earp” and “The Shootist” and everywhere else when you search it. But in the vid I posted he said his mom’s maiden name he used for a stage name was “O’Brien”. But the studio screwed it up and he kept it It with an “a”.

Micky Rooney was also fantastic in Ambush Bay. One of the few times in films when a Thompson is fired correctly.

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No baby we aint

Only down side was the red knit cap Mitchum wore fine in a plane not so great in the jungle.


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Wheel guns are real guns too.

And Robert Mitchum sang and recorded the theme song. I have the record "Ballard of Thunder Road."

Audrey Murphy was making lots of western movies during the time Wyatt Earp was popular. Hugh O'Brian sent a number of challenges to Audrey for a fast draw contest. Audrey finally sent word back that he was available using live ammo. No more challenges.

Hugh O'Brian was nearly deaf at middle age from movie and TV gun shot sounds. He regularly refused to use reduced power blank ammo even though sound effects would generally be added after the scenes were filmed.
He didn't like to wear any hearing protection when doing fast draw or other gun handling exhibition & shooting.
It takes it toll no matter who you are.
Standard hearing protection just wasn't something most people thought about back then.

When I first read the title of the thread, I thought "No, ... what about the bartender?" But of course, the bartender killed John Books by shooting him in the back with a shotgun.

For this dastardly deed, he was subsequently shot dead by Gillam. I'll bet that was the first guy ever killed by Opie!

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You're shy a few manners.

Last man killed by John Wayne was John Wayne. He was a life long "3 pack a day" smoker resulting in terminal lung cancers. My wife was his nurse during his frequent visits to the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, CA., for surgery & checkups. He liked to play poker, so his two sons, John & myself would play poker well into the nights he was hospitalized there. Ed