Wyatt Erp - Modern Image

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.