Excerpt from WALTER SCOTT'S PERSONALITY PARADE

By Walter Scott

Parade Magazine, 1972

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Q. Was Wyatt Earp really the West's most honorable U.S. marshal, as history has made him out to be? --S.L.

 

A. Hardly. Earp was a notorious liar, bully and con man, and no record exists proving he ever wore a badge. He was described as "the filth of Tombstone" in 1882 after he and others murdered three men in the gunfight at the OK Corral, which they instigated to silence rumors about a stagecoach holdup in which Earp was said to have participated.

 

Q. Did actor peter Duel, who comitted suicide last December, leave much of an estage? --J.O.

 

A. The star of "Alias Smith and Jones," 31, left an estate valued at $70,000 to his parents. Girlfriend Diane Ray, who was with him at the time of his death, will get some of his home furnishings.

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