Modern Image
Due to Lake's biography and later adaptations of it, Wyatt is often mistakenly viewed as the central character and hero of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. In fact, Virgil Earp, as Deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone City Marshal, actually held the legal authority in Tombstone the day of the shoot out. Virgil had considerably more experience with weapons and combat as a Union soldier in the Civil War, and in law enforcement as a sheriff, constable, and marshal than did Wyatt. As city marshal, Virgil made the decision to enforce the city ordinance and disarm the Cowboys. Wyatt was only a temporary assistant marshal to his brother.
Earp's modern-day reputation is that of the Old West's "toughest and deadliest gunman of his day". He is "a cultural icon, a man of law and order, a mythic figure of a West where social control and order were notably absent". Due to Lake's fanciful biography and because Wyatt outlived all of his brothers, his name became famous and he is the subject of many movies, TV shows, biographies and works of fiction.
Read more about this topic: Wyatt Erp
Famous quotes containing the words modern and/or image:
“The modern woman is the curse of the universe. A disaster, that’s what. She thinks that before her arrival on the scene no woman ever did anything worthwhile before, no woman was ever liberated until her time, no woman really ever amounted to anything.”
—Adela Rogers St. Johns (1894–1988)
“I have often thought that if photography were difficult in the true sense of the term—meaning that the creation of a simple photograph would entail as much time and effort as the production of a good watercolor or etching—there would be a vast improvement in total output. The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image often leads to creative disaster.”
—Ansel Adams (1902–1984)