There have been more movies and television shows about icon of the Old West Wyatt Earp and his brothers than shootouts in towns on the frontier, but few hold a candle to the 1993 Kurt Russell-led western Tombstone. For nearly 30 years now, George P. Cosmatos’ masterpiece has remained one of the most popular westerns thanks to its timeless story, intense gun battles, those luscious mustaches, and classic one-liners from from the famed lawman and his allies.
However, considering how much time has passed since Tombstone’s first release, some people may not remember how Wyatt Earp, his brothers Virgil and Morgan, the colorful Doc Holiday, and the other characters who appear on either side of the movie’s main battle fare. Let’s now discuss the Tombstone climax and how everything turned out for everyone.
Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell)
Kurt Russell’s Wyatt Earp isn’t just front and center throughout the events of Tombstone, he’s often the most interesting character on the screen not named Doc Holliday. After taking on the Cowboys at the O.K. Corral and then again multiple times, resulting in the deaths of his most hated enemies, Earp goes to see about Josephine Marcus and attempts to find some peace and harmony in his life after years of the fighting crime, running gambling joints, and going after all those curs with red sashes. Before that, however, he goes to have one last visit with his old friend Doc Holliday, whose health is quickly deteriorating in a Colorado sanatorium.
Kurt Russell’s Wyatt Earp isn’t just front and center throughout the events of Tombstone, he’s often the most interesting character on the screen not named Doc Holliday. After taking on the Cowboys at the O.K. Corral and then again multiple times, resulting in the deaths of his most hated enemies, Earp goes to see about Josephine Marcus and attempts to find some peace and harmony in his life after years of the fighting crime, running gambling joints, and going after all those curs with red sashes. Before that, however, he goes to have one last visit with his old friend Doc Holliday, whose health is quickly deteriorating in a Colorado sanatorium.
Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer)
Doc Holiday, who is played masterfully in Tombstone by an in-his-prime Val Kilmer, is often considered the best character in the whole movie, and those people who think that wouldn’t be wrong. Even as he’s dying of tuberculosis, the gambler and old friend of Wyatt Earp who is unmatched behind the gun and spends much of the movie sedated, playing poker, or poking the fire that is Johnny Ringo. And after Earp said he would take down Ringo, a dying Holliday musters up his remaining strength to prove once and for all that he can’t be beat. And as he lay dying in that Colorado sanatorium, Holliday looks down at his bootless feet and says “This is funny.”
This final meeting, however, is reportedly the stuff of legend as multiple historians, including Elena Sandridge, have stated that Wyatt Earp only learned of his friend’s passing months later.
Virgil Earp (Sam Elliott)
Sam Elliott, who portrays Virgil Earp in this instance, is the oldest and smartest of the Earp brothers. He names himself the marshal of Tombstone, which causes more difficulties for the small town. Following the shooting at the O.K. Corral, Virgil and other group members suffer injuries and become disabled, which ultimately prompts the remaining Earp brothers to decide to permanently leave town. Wyatt Earp stays behind to put matters to rest once and for all, but Virgil is allowed to flee with his new wife and start again.
Morgan Earp (Bill Paxton)
Not to be outdone by older brothers, Morgan Earp, portrayed by the late, great Bill Paxton, is right there in thick of it throughout much of Tombstone, including the famous shootout at the O.K. Corral. Following the events of the showdown with the Cowboys, life seems to go back to normal, but one night while Morgan is playing pool, he is ambushed and shot in the back. The bullet, having done too much damage to Morgan’s already weakened body, takes the youngest Earp as his brother, Wyatt, tries to save his life. And although Morgan’s story ends here, it’s just the beginning of things to come.
Curly Bill Brocius (Powers Boothe)
On the other side of the central conflict in Tombstone is Curly Bill Brocius, one of the senior members of the outlaw gang, the Cowboys. As soon as Brocius, played by Powers Boothe, comes into the picture in the opening minutes of the movie, you know he will meet a painful and justified death for his actions. And we get just that in the final act of the movie when he, and most of his men, are taken out by a vengeful Wyatt Earp after the lawman’s brother, Morgan, is viciously murdered. No more carrying out massacres for this cowboy with a hole in his gut.
Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn)
The first time we see Michael Biehn’s Johnny Ringo and Doc Holliday encounter one another, we know these will have one final showdown before everything is said and done. And that becomes the case in the final act of Tombstone when Holliday, wanting to finish what the two adversaries had started earlier on, challenges Ringo to one final duel, but not before getting out one more “I’m your huckleberry.”
As iconic as a scene it is, in reality, the death of Johnny Ringo remains a mystery to this day, with no one really knowing if the outlaw was brought down by Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, or his own gun, as his 1882 death was ruled a suicide.
Ike Clanton (Stephen Lang)
Stephen Lang, who is wonderful in this role, plays Ike Clanton, one of the criminals in the ranks of the Cowboys who finds himself at war with Wyatt Earp. Every time violence arises in Tombstone, Clanton is somehow connected, but after the deaths of virtually every member of his gang, Clanton decides to abandon his previous way of life and persuades Earp to grant him permission to live. However, it is revealed in the movie’s concluding narration that Clanton passed away two years after the events of Tombstone.
Billy Clanton (Thomas Haden Church)
Billy Clanton, Ike’s younger brother, played here by Thomas Haden Church, isn’t so lucky and isn’t afforded the opportunity to throw down his red sash. Instead, Clanton is killed during the epic shootout at O.K. Corral, when he, and his fellow Cowboys, refuse to lay down their arms.
Josephine Marcus (Dana Delany)
Josephine Marcus, portrayed by Dana Delany, is the apple of Wyatt Earp’s eye for much of Tombstone, and after everything is said and done and the Cowboys have been dealt with, the two end up together in a warm embrace under a blanket of snow. Marcus would join Earp on the rest of the journeys life threw his way, and remained with the legendary law man until his death in 1929.
Allie Earp (Paula Malcomson)
Allie Earp, played by future Deadwood star Paula Malcomson, is last seen leaving Tombstone with her husband, Virgil, following the assassination of Morgan Earp and not long after her own husband was targeted and left with a paralyzed arm. The real Allie Earp remained with Virgil Earp until his passing in 1905, and she would follow more than 40 years later at the age of 97 or 98.
These are only a few examples of the genuine people who were significant players in the events of Tombstone. It’s never a bad idea to go back and look at the lives and times of those who were transformed into some of the most iconic western characters in the past 30 years, such as Henry Hooker (Charlton Heston), Billy Breakenridge (Jason Priestley), Sheriff Johnny Behan (Jon Tenney), and numerous others.