So who played Doc Holliday most often on TV or in movies? Probably character actor Douglas Fowley, who was cast as the deadly dentist in 68 episodes of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp in the ‘50s and early ‘60s. Fowley was 44 when the show debuted, way too old for the role, but that’s Hollywood. Hugh O’Brian, of course, starred as the legendary lawman.
Fowley must have enjoyed the show (and the money). On episodes where Doc wasn’t included, the actor often put on disguises to

True West March/April 2025
In This Issue:
Western Books & Movies
More In This Issue
- Truth Be Known
- What Has Taught Me: Deb Goodrich
- Earp, Cowboy Songs & Prairie Hygiene
- Trails of the Old West
- The Frontier Characters of South Dakota
- The Bowie Knife
- The Kindled Flame 1835
- King of the Scatterguns
- Selling the Mythic West and the Real West
- A Gut Punch Turns into a Miracle Reprieve
- The Beginnings of the Bird Cage
- Frontier Colossus