'Doc Holliday..."

"I'm Your Huckleberry..."

John Henry 'Doc' Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887) was  an American dentist, gambler, and gunfighter (not necessarily in that order) during the days of the American Old West...  it is claimed that he once had a dental practice in Dallas, Texas, just about one block east from where Dealey Plaza is located... realizing he could make more money gambling than he could by practicing dentistry, he changed careers and moved further West...


He did become friends with Wyatt Earp, and Earp did credit Holliday with having saved his life during a gunfight...  Holliday was also known to have a very short fuse when it came to his temper, and was of the opinion that it would be far better to die in a gunfight than in bed from his disease...


There have been many movies made about Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp and their relationship...  in 1994, 'Wyatt Earp' was released, and featured Kevin Costner as Earp and Dennis Quaid as Holliday...  in 1993, my favorite Earp movie, 'Tombstone' was released... Kurt Russell portrayed Earp and Val Kilmer played the part of Doc Holliday.  I  like Kilmer's portrayal the best...

Kilmer just seemed to portray Holliday with somewhat of a devil-may care attitude... playing up to the idea that Holliday would rather die in a gunfight than by tuberculosis.


If you are curious as to why two movies were made so close to each other, Costner and Russell were working on the same project, and differences in the way the movie should proceed arose... and Russell went off to make his own version...


One of my favorite scenes in the movie occurs when Johnny Ringo, a notorious gunfighter himself, challenges the Earps to a duel in the street... and it plays out like this...



Who knows if a confrontation like this ever played out, other than for Hollywood theatrics... but one thought is that the use of the phrase, "I'm your huckleberry..." was interpreted to mean, that Holliday "was the man for the job"... the man for the job of disposing of Ringo.


However, other popular usage for 'huckleberry' was for the sake of comparison... to be a"huckleberry" was to be at least second best, or inferior in nature... so in that scene, one could argue that Holliday was trying to entice Ringo to pull his pistol on him... that Holliday was admitting to not being a gunfighter of the same quality as Ringo.


This interpretation is reinforced in a scene towards the end of the movie... when Ringo is expecting Earp to show up for a gunfight, and instead, Holliday shows up.  The depiction is that Ringo is scared of Holliday... not afraid of Earp...



The scenario plays out almost exactly the same way as it did earlier in the streets in Tombstone... "I'm your huckleberry"... again, almost egging Ringo to draw...  after having shot Ringo, Holliday tells him, "you're no daisy... you're no daisy at all"...


Just as "huckleberry" was used to imply a lesser quality, to be a "daisy" was to be the best quality... so as Ringo was dying in the movie, Holliday was still goading him onward...


In reality, Johnny Ringo's death is a mystery... officially it is listed as a suicide, although is does appear that evidence exists that could implicate Holliday... so this last scene is another example of Hollywood embellishment.


Unfortunately, Doc Holliday did die in an asylum for those with Tuberculosis.  There were sulfur springs there that were thought to improve one's ability to breathe, but now it's known that it probably aggravated his illness.


He died in bed from a disease... a death that it was known he did not want... and he died  without his boots... in his sock feet.

His last words were reputed to be, after having looked down toward his feet, 

 'Damn, this is funny...'

~shoes~