Kurt Russell’s Wyatt Earp is portrayed as a dangerous and deadly lawman in the 1993 Western classic Tombstone, and racks up a staggeringly high body count as he seeks a reckoning on behalf of his brothers. The memorable performances of Tombstone are a large part of why the Western has become so widely celebrated in the three decades since its release, and none is more powerful than Russell’s angry, vengeful Wyatt Earp. In his pursuit of Curly Bill Brocius and the remainder of the Cowboys outlaw gang, Earp indiscriminately metes out justice with his engraved Peacemaker gun.
Earp actually refuses to return to the law for the first half of Tombstone, content to settle down with his brothers and their brides and become a successful businessman in the booming Western town. However, once his brother Morgan is killed and his brother Virgil is paralyzed, Wyatt loses all sense of peace. He reclaims his badge and gun, and from there the Cowboys are doomed; Earp’s mission of vengeance takes him on across the hills of Arizona, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.
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Wyatt Earp Kills 14 People During Tombstone
The Figure Is Based On Shots Directly From Earp
While the number of kills that can be attributed to Wyatt Earp is debatable due to the fact that some of his victims were shot by more than one person, Earp is directly responsible for at least 14 deaths based on how the movie is cut. Earp’s first kill doesn’t come until the 1:13:00 mark of the movie, when he kills an unnamed Cowboy during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The frenetic camerawork of the shootout makes it difficult to discern exactly who is responsible for the death of each of the unnamed Cowboys.
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Tombstone Key Details |
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Release Date |
Budget |
Box Office |
RT Tomatometer Score |
RT Popcornmeter Score |
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December 25th, 1993 |
$25 million |
$73.2 million |
74% |
93% |
Based on how it’s cut, Wyatt Earp plays a role in at least three other kills in addition to Frank Stilwell during that scene. He then blasts a Cowboy on the train platform as Virgil leaves Tombstone, which formally kicks off the Earp Vendetta Ride, which is a key part of the true story of Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. Earp kills Curly Bill Brocius and three other Cowboys at the river in his defiant stand against the outlaw gang that has his posse pinned down, and at least six more in their ride to finish off the remaining Cowboys.
The scene in Tombstone in which Wyatt Earp charges Curly Bill Brocius and other cowboys at Iron Springs is true to history; Earp approached Brocius at point-black range, but somehow wasn’t shot at all and managed to kill the outlaw.
Some estimates have his kill count as high as 23 if you factor in kills that Earp “shares” with other members of his posse, or cases like Billy Clanton, who was shot by both Earp and Doc Holliday. The scenes in which many bullets are flying from both sides make it difficult to assign kills, which is true to how it was in reality (most witness accounts disucss groups of men approaching the victims). However, when it comes to assumed kills that are specifically a result of shots by Wyatt Earp, the number is 14.
How Wyatt Earp’s Tombstone Kill Count Compares To Real Life
The real Wyatt Earp was far less lethal than his on-screen counterpart. In the real Old West, Earp was indeed a feared lawman and gunfighter, but due to the relatively low level of lethality of guns in that time period and his penchant for using less-than-lethal tactics in subduing criminals, he only killed one person before the events of Tombstone. Between that, the Earp Vendetta Ride and his long career as a lawman, Earp is reported to have only killed five total people in his life, although lack of evidence and first-hand accounts make it impossible to be certain.
Tombstone is a Western film loosely based on true events. When a group of outlaws known as the Cowboys ride into a town and slay several police officers for revenge for the death of two of their gang members, word of their misdeeds reaches the ears of a retired lawman. Gathering a group together, the new vigilantes will defend the town and aim to end the terror of the Cowboys.
- Release Date
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December 25, 1993
- Runtime
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130 minutes
- Cast
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Bill Paxton
, Charlton Heston
, Sam Elliott
, Powers Boothe
, Val Kilmer
, Kurt Russell
, Michael Biehn
, Jason Priestley - Director
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George P. Cosmatos
, Kevin Jarre - Writers
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Kevin Jarre
- Budget
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$25 million