Val Kilmer’s hard-drinking Doc Holliday can be seen sweating throughout the western biopic tombstoneBut there’s a historical reason—and a behind-the-scenes reason—for all the sweat in this movie. Set in Southeast Arizona in the 1880s, tombstone Depicts such real-life historical events as the Gunfight at the OK Corral and the Earp Vendetta Ride. Kurt Russell leads the cast as notorious gunslinger Wyatt Earp, however Kilmer steals the movie with a universally acclaimed portrayal of Holliday. tombstone was one of the most commercially successful Western films released after the genre’s heyday, and has been re-appreciated as a cult classic in the years since.
in tombstoneKilmer nailed Doc Holliday’s quick drawl and gentle Southern accent. Earp and Holliday are just two of the real-life outlaws depicted in tombstone; They appear alongside Johnny Ringo, played by Michael Biehn, and “Curly Bill” Brocius, played by Powers Boothe. But the film focuses primarily on the friendship between Kurt Russell’s Earp and Val Kilmer’s Holliday. In all his scenes, You can see Kilmer’s Holliday sweating. Not only is there a historical reason for Holliday to sweat so much; There is also a behind-the-scenes explanation for it.
Related
Doctor Holliday sweated so much on Mtsava because he had tuberculosis
It was known as consumption at the time
The reason Doc Holliday was sweating so much tombstone was that, at the time the film was set, He suffered from tuberculosis. When Earp first reunites with his long-time friend Holliday, Holliday seeks refuge in the arid climate of Arizona to combat his worsening tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that typically affects the lungs (but can also affect other body parts). Sweating is a common symptom of tuberculosis, along with a fever, a chronic cough, and weight loss. The name for him at the time was “Consumption“So called because the disease consumes you to the end; most people who finally die of consumption are wasted away at the time of their passing.
As Doc Holliday contracted tuberculosis
He probably got it from his mother
In truth, it is almost impossible to say how Doc Holliday contracted tuberculosis. It was not an uncommon illness in the mid-1800s, and it was (and still is) contagious. As an airborne virus, it can be spread through droplets in the air, so anyone with active tuberculosis who coughs or sneezes, or even talks, can transmit the disease. Still, as people have been told in the Covid era, prolonged exposure and proximity can make someone more prone to contracting it, So it was most often spread between family members living in the same house.
With this, the most likely explanation Is that Doc Holliday contracted the disease from his mother. She contracted the disease when he was in his teens, passing away in 1866 when he was 15 or 16 years old. Soon after, the disease also took his adopted brother, Francisco. So when Doc Holliday, still known as John then, was in his late teens, the disease was already in his body, albeit dormant for the time being. In his early 20s, however, shortly before starting his dental practice, he was said to have contracted tuberculosis, and he fled for the hotter, drier climate of the West to slow the progression of the disease.
How old Doc Holliday was when he died of tuberculosis
He lived longer with him than without him
Something that is often misunderstood today is that Tuberculosis isn’t necessarily an immediate death sentence, and it wasn’t back in Doc Holliday’s era. With a hot, dry climate, and the remission of the disease, a person can live for years, even decades before he succumbs. Holliday was one of those cases, living about two decades, well into his 30s, before the disease returned for the last time and finally took his life. In 1887, six years after the 1881 gunfight at the OK Corral, Doc’s health had taken enough of a turn for the worse that he checked into a sanitarium in Glenwood Springs. The hospital specialized in treating tuberculosis, but after decades of hard life, Doc’s disease was too far advanced for successful treatment.
Leaving Tombstone, Doc Holliday eventually died of tuberculosis in his bed at the Hotel Glenwood in Glenwood Springs, CO at the age of 36. Just before he passed, Doc Holliday’s last words were reportedly, “This is funny.” He always imagined that he would probably die with his boots on, go out in a gun and immediately, the darkly humorous irony of him dying slowly in a bed, without a boot, was not lost on him. His last words confirmed that although the disease had ravaged his body, Doc Holliday maintained his trademark quick wit and sardonic sense of humor to the end.
Related
There was another reason Val Kilmer sweated so much in Tombstone
The Arizona Sun is unforgiving
Kilmer may have a solid character-based reason for sweating in his tombstone scenes, But it is also unavoidable due to the scorching heat in the Arizona filming locations. The cast didn’t just have the blistering Arizona sunshine beating down on them; They were also forced to wear costumes made of period wool, which was unbearably uncomfortable in the hot weather (via Cinemablend). The gunslingers looked exactly as they would have in the 1880s, but this was at the expense of the comfort of the actors.
While the heat and the uncomfortable costumes helped Kilmer’s portrayal of a man dying of tuberculosis, the actor was not too happy with the conditions. He wants that Wearing the clothes in that heat may have been the reason why Holliday and his cronies killed so many people on the border. According to the tombstone Set thermometer, the shooting locations reached a temperature of 134 degrees Fahrenheit. Dealing with that type of heat made Kilmer understand why Holiday was eventually driven.”Crazy“In real life.
Source: CinemaBlend