How and When Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday Became Friends Before Tombstone

Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday are already good friends when Tombstone catches up with them, then never shows how they met and became so close. There’s a lot to love Tombstonebut the friendship between Earp and Holliday is arguably the most endearing part of the film. Val Kilmer’s iconic portrayal of Holliday steals the film and her ride-or-die bond with Earp is the heart of the film.

When it is presented in Tombstonethe sweaty Holliday is dying of tuberculosis and he and Earp are already longtime friends who can trust each other. The film never goes back to show how Earp and Holliday met in a prologue or flashback; it’s just been established that they are close friends who care about each other. It’s surprising that the story of how Earp and Holliday met and became friends wasn’t included in the film, because It’s a fascinating story that would make a great scene.

The real-life story behind how Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday met before Tombstone

Holliday saved Earp’s life during a saloon attack

Earp met Holliday in 1878 when he went to Texas in search of outlaw Dave Rudabaugh, who had robbed a Santa Fe railroad construction camp. While searching for Rudabaugh, Earp was directed to Holliday, then a gambler, known for playing cards with Rudabaugh.. Holliday informed Earp that Rudabaugh was returning to Kansas. When Earp returned to Dodge City and was named Assistant Marshal, Holliday also arrived in Dodge with his wife, Big Nose Kate.

Ed Morrison and a few dozen cowboys rolled into Dodgeshot into the city and terrorized the city’s inhabitants. Earp broke into a bar where they were harassing customers (and Holliday was playing cards in the back). All of Morrison’s men had their guns trained on Earp, but Holliday put his own gun to Morrison’s head and forced him and his men to drop their weapons. (There are a few different versions of this story, but they all end the same way). Earp credited Holliday with saving his life and the two became lifelong friends.

When Tombstone takes place in Earp and Holliday’s respective timelines

Tombstone is set in the 1880s

Tombstone begins in 1879but it takes place mainly in the 1880s. Since Holliday passed away on November 8, 1887 (at just 36 years old), the film covers the final stages of his life. At the end of Tombstone, Holliday is sent to a sanitarium in Colorado, where he dies of tuberculosis.which gradually gets worse throughout the film. Tombstone covers Earp’s return to law enforcement after his initial retirement; Earp ended up living to the age of 80 and only died in 1929.