The most historically correct Doc Holliday in movies

[Wyatt Burp]

To me the most historically correct Doc Holliday in movies was Dennis Quaid in “Wyatt Earp”.His Doc Holliday (he lost a ton of weight for this role) was perfect, though not as entertaining as Val Kilmer’s great portrayal. Like the real Bat Masterson, there’s little evidence of the real Doc Holliday actually killing many guys in gunfights except when he, Doc I mean, was in Tombstone. I think both Kilmer and Quaid deserved at least Oscar nominations. Here’s my favorite scene from Wyatt Earp though not documented by history. It does show how guys can instantly judge the character of each other, though. Something we all have done where you just get an honest vibe from someone then proven right later.

Wyatt Earp Meets Doc Holliday - YouTube

 

[WardenRoss]

"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

,

 

[UncleEd]

Wyatt Burp, or may I just
call you Wyatt?

I'll go along with the Quaid
assessment although no
one today really knows the
whole truth.

Years ago I did read a story
that in Tombstone, the
"cowboys" did make fun of
Doc as being a skinny little
weakling.

And Virgil Earp reportedly
said he never saw Doc actually
drunk even though he started
each morning with a full
pint of bourbon.

Some actual insight into Doc
was purportedly lost when
letters he sent his cousin
were destroyed at her death.
He always loved her. She
spent most of her life
as a nun in the Order of
the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

In real life I suspect that Doc wasn’t much fun to be around.
An Alcoholic Dentist with medical problems and a bad attitude don’t sound like a fun guy to me.
But the Movie Doc- Val Kilmer hands down.
And I have posted, he took a good movie over the Top and turned it into a great movie.

 

[OLDSTER]

I agree; both Kilmer and Quaid were great, and should have received some recognition. I enjoyed both movies, but thought the role played by Val Kilmer in Tombstone was more entertaining.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Wyatt Burp, or may I just
call you Wyatt?

I'll go along with the Quaid
assessment although no
one today really knows the
whole truth.

Years ago I did read a story
that in Tombstone, the
"cowboys" did make fun of
Doc as being a skinny little
weakling.

And Virgil Earp reportedly
said he never saw Doc actually
drunk even though he started
each morning with a full
pint of bourbon.

Some actual insight into Doc
was purportedly lost when
letters he sent his cousin
were destroyed at her death.
He always loved her. She
spent most of her life
as a nun in the Order of
the Blessed Virgin Mary.

the most ridiculous Doc Holliday was Victor Mature. Why John Ford chose a body builder who looked like Samson (who he also played, of course) to play a guy dying of “consumption” is beyond me. Plus they made him a surgeon, not a dentist.

 

[03hemi]

I live down the street from Doc Holliday' s home/office in Fayetteville, GA. Museum now. Never even been in?

 

[Puller]

Both actors were entertaining and certainly added color to the story, but then again they were acting. Hollywood always has to take licenses with historical events to make it interesting to viewers, therefore most viewers, who aren't knowledgeable in the historical aspects of the story, have no idea where fact and fiction intertwine.

Case in point, in this scene Dennis Quaid is wearing sunglasses, but sunglasses were extremely rare in the late 1800's. Medical sunglasses were used to correct cataracts and other eye problems as prescribed by doctors back east, but I have not been able to find Doc Holiday had significant eye problems among his other health issues. There is some speculation by novelist Elena Sandidge that Doc "may" have worn spectacles at some point, but nothing definitive.

My point is, no one really knows how accurate either Hollywood actor was in portraying Doc Holiday, only that they were entertaining, which is what their job was and they were both good at it.

 

[UncleEd]

If Earp had been as legendary
as Stuart Lake made him out
to be in his 1931 book, his
name would have been more
prominent in literature and
movies before his death in
1929.

Lake, a movie screenwriter,
really gave Earp his legendary
status and that of the Tombstone
days. Much of Lake's book is
extremely fanciful and is
classified as historical fiction.

 

[DGNY]

That was a great scene to watch. Thank you for the reference.

I also happen to agree with your assessment. So true.

 

[PALADIN85020]

"Tombstone" was one of my favorite westerns. Val Kilmer alone was worth the price of admission.





For what it's worth, here's the REAL Tombstone AZ.

John

 

[oldbrownhat]

... Why John Ford chose a body builder who looked like Samson ... to play a guy dying of “consumption” is beyond me. ...

LOL. Some operatic heroines "are dying of consumption" (Mimi in La Bohème, Violetta in La Traviata), but amazingly manage to fill a 3,000 seat theatre with their voices, yet we buy into the illusion for the sake of entertainment! Similarly, no teenage girl could actually sing the role of Strauss's "Salome." Conversely, the sopranos who can also have to contend with the Dance of the Seven Veils

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Speaking of Tombstone-
Here are the Earps and Doc in their actual positions just the Gun Fight.
L-R Morgan, Doc, Virgil, Wyatt.
Wyatt gave to Doc the Shotgun that he had just ‘borrowed’ from the Wells Fargo office.
The Building on the right is the C S Fly Photo Studio - Boarding House.
Doc and Bignose Kate were staying there.
Some students of the Shootout at the OK Corral think that Doc cocking the Shotgun was the pivotal event which caused the gunfight.
Or at least caused it to happen when it did.
Bob Boze Bell says- Never take a drunken Dentist to a Gunfight!
The actual gunfight zone is fenced off.
I’m leaning over the fence shooting between the Cowboys.

 

[dockmurgw]

Kirk Douglas

 

[Rustyt1953]

I think I have seen 7 movies that centered around Wyatt and Doc.

I was entertained by all with Kilmer and Quaid jockeying for first with Mature stuck in the gate.

 

[Grayfox]

Tombstone is one of my favorite westerns.

Honestly, never really cared much for Wyatt Earp. Just another one of Costner's overly long, slow and muddled spectacles.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

what a coincidence. I just came across a video by a guy I really like who visits old west places and he did this one about all the actors who played Doc. I mentioned that he missed Dennis Hopper in Wild Times with Sam Elliott. Unless he did and I missed it.

Who Played Doc Holliday Best? The Many Actors Who Portrayed Doc - YouTube

 

[dockmurgw]

I liked Kilmer in Thunderheart, that's because he wasn't wearing a big dumb fake looking mustache.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Matt, I had forgotten about Purgatory. Fun fantasy movie.

 

[Farmer17]

My favorite Doc Holiday line in the Tombstone movie was when the outlaws were squared off with the Earps and Doc outside the Saloon. One outlaw acted like he wasn't afraid of Doc because he said that Doc was probably so drunk he was "seeing double". Doc then calmly said to the man "I have two guns, one for each of ya".