ArizonaRealCountry.com 17 December 2017 WiFi, Wide Screen Television, White Board, Conference Table and Chairs Space for Group Training Private offices with locking doors. Individual rooms for private meetings. We help your business succeed by providing virtual office space, private rooms, or large conference space. All office spaces have high speed internet, WiFi, and are offered at an affordable hourly, weekly or monthly rate year round. WICKENBURG FFICE ENTER O C WICKENBURGOFFICECENTER.COM THE PLACE TO SUCCEED 472 E. Wickenburg Way Suite 106 Wickenburg, AZ 85390 ( ) 602 524-5454 Located in the La Siesta Plaza E. ickenburg ay/Grand Ave V V V V 60 P L A Z S I E T A A A L S WOC and La Siesta Plaza Info Call WHEN THE LEGEND BECOMES FACT ‘Film’ the Legend By Charlie LeSueur As Arizona’s Official Western Film Historian, I deal a lot in fact vs. fiction concerning western films. In the classic western, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, John Ford coined the phrase, “When the legend becomes fact print the legend.” Today that goes one step further to “film the legend.” Timelines are condensed, characters are altered and blended, and period tack and garb are over-looked.Of course, my personal pet peeve is that it’s becoming more of an occurrence to see the legal position of ‘Marshal’ spelled ‘Marshall.’ Many times the biggest piece of fiction is not premeditated by fictional ‘inclusion,’ but by historical ‘omission’ of certain facts. Such is the case with the facts of Wyatt Earp’s personal life due to the writings of Earp’s widow, Josephine, and the totally misleading biography Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal by Stuart N. Lake.   This was mostly by Josephine’s design (also known as Josie and Sadie) who conjured up a narrative for Lake’s 1931 Wyatt Earp biography two years after Wyatt’s death. Josie had the story whitewashed, more for her protection than her husband’s. Eventually, they had a falling out due to Lake taking his own license with the facts; Josie continued to monetarily gain from Lake’s work until her death on December 19th, 1944.   A thinly veiled version of Earp and his time in Tombstone based on W. R. Burnett’s book, Law and Order, was filmed in 1932, but Hollywood officially came calling in 1934 when Fox Studios bought the rights to Lake’s book. Josie legally prevented Fox from using her husband’s name and so the film became simply Frontier Marshal. Some scenes already filmed were reshot renaming the Marshal, ‘Michael Wyatt,’ a not so subtle change from Wyatt Earp.   In 1939, the studio, now 20th Century Fox, was permitted to use ‘Wyatt Earp,’ but Doctor John Holliday’s family refused them the use of their ancestor’s name. The character became ‘Doc Halliday,’ again fooling no one.    Josephine Marcus Earp died in 1944, two years before John Ford lensed his version of the Lake story; it much easier for 20th Century Fox to create a third version and use actual names. However, there still remained no Mattie or Josie, instead replaced by Clementine Carter with ‘Big Nose Kate’ replaced by Chihuahua (Linda Darnell).    Stuart N. Lake would continue to dominate the Earp and Tombstone legend when he became the consultant for the 1955 – 1961 television show, The Life, and Legend of Wyatt Earp. Hugh O’ Brian looked nothing like Wyatt, although the story goes he was cast due to his resemblance to the character.       It was Lake’s version that added the Buntline Special, one of the big novelties of the television show upon its introduction. Once again Wyatt was a footloose single man rarely having time for women and less time for alcohol or gambling; vowing never shooting to kill, at least in the beginning. The show ended in 1961, three years before Stuart N. Lake’s death. Charlie LeSueur, AZ’s Official Western Film Historian. Encore Fellow @ Western Spirit, Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. azfilmhistorian@gmail.com, www.silverscreencowboyz.com, 480.358.5178 Publicity shot for The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, showing Hugh O’ Brian drinking a mug of milk to prove how righteous the lawman was. The little-seen Paramount film, Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die (1942) Randolph Scott as Wyatt Earp and Cesar Romero as Doc Halliday in, Frontier Marshal (1939)