Hugh O'Brian, at 91; actor known as TV's Wyatt Earp . By Lindsey Bahr
Associated Press . LOS ANGELES - Hugh O'Brian, who shot to fame as
Sheriff Wyatt Earp in what was hailed as television's first adult
Western, has died. He was 91. A representative from HOBY, a
philanthropic organization Mr. O'Brian founded, said he died at home
Monday morning in Beverly Hills. Until "The Life and Legend of Wyatt
Earp" debuted in September 1955, most TV Westerns - "The Lone Ranger,"
"Hopalong Cassidy," the singing cowboys' series - were aimed at
adolescent boys. "Wyatt Earp," on the other hand, was based on a
real-life Western hero, and some of its stories were authentic. (The
real Earp, who lived from 1848 to 1929, is most famous for his
participation in the 1881 "Shootout at the O.K. Corral" in Tombstone,
Ariz.) Critics quickly praised it, and it made Mr. O'Brian a star. "If
we were doing Westerns with the chase and the fights that last
endlessly, and the sheriff's daughter in sunbonnet and calico and the
'Wanted' posters . . . we wouldn't reach the audience we reach each
week," Mr. O'Brian once said. "Gunsmoke," which debuted just a few days
after "Wyatt Earp," became an even bigger hit, and by 1956-57, both
were in the top 20 shows. In the 1958-59 season, Westerns accounted for
an incredible seven out of the top 10 US television series, including
No. 1 "Gunsmoke" and No. 2 "Wagon Train," with "Wyatt Earp" at No. 10.
"Wyatt Earp" remained a Top 20 hit until 1960, but it was canceled the
following year after being supplanted by the avalanche of other adult
Westerns. Mr. O'Brian, meanwhile, continued to work frequently in
movies, television, and theater through the 1990s, although he never
again achieved the prominence he enjoyed as Wyatt Earp. He starred in
the 1970s detective series "Search" and appeared in such films as "In
Harm's Way" and "Ten Little Indians," and reprised his role as Earp in
1994's "Wyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone," a film that combined new
footage with colorized scenes from the original black-and-white TV
show. He also had a small but memorable role as the faro dealer in John
Wayne's last film, "The Shootist," and later noted with pride that it
gave him the distinction of being the last bad guy killed by Wayne.
(Wayne himself is reputed to have met the real Wyatt Earp as a young
man in Hollywood in the 1920s.) Late in his career, Mr. O'Brian made
frequent guest appearances in television series and variety shows and
toured in the national companies of "Cactus Flower," "1776," and "Guys
and Dolls. Mr. O'Brian had originally planned to study law at Yale
University. But after actress Ida Lupino saw him in a play at a small
Los Angeles theater she cast him in "Never Fear," a 1949 film she was
directing, and his acting career was launched. He went on to appear in
small parts in such films as "The Return of Jesse James," "Red Ball
Express," "Broken Lance" and "There's No Business Like Show Business.
Mr. O'Brian was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of
the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1992. He also made
his mark in philanthropy as founder of the Hugh O'Brian Youth
Leadership organization. In 1959, impressed by the work of Albert
Schweitzer, Mr. O'Brian made a pilgrimage to the 83-year-old savant's
settlement and hospital in central Africa. Although his journey was
derided by some critics as a publicity stunt, the actor dismissed the
remarks, telling reporters how his life had been changed by the Nobel
Peace Prize winner. Shortly after returning home, he founded the youth
group. Each year, it brought together promising high school sophomores
at sites around the country for leadership seminars. In 1999 Mr.
O'Brian estimated that HOBY had more than 200,000 graduates from ages
16 to 59. He received numerous awards for his achievement. Born Hugh
Krampe in Rochester, N.Y., Mr. O'Brian was educated in Winnetka, Ill.,
leaving school at 17 to join the Marines. He went on to become one of
the corps' youngest drill sergeants. In June 2006, at age 81, Mr.
O'Brian wed 54-year-old Virginia Barber at the Forest Lawn Memorial
Park cemetery in what they quipped was a "wedding to die for. "I said
goodbye, early this morning, to my favorite cowboy. My 28 years with
Hugh have been an amazing, beautiful adventure. I will miss my special
man who told me every day that I was beautiful and that he loved me,"
his wife wrote Monday. "I was one lucky cowgirl. The couple, who had
dated for years, honeymooned in England, studying philosophy at Oxford
University. "I think, quite frankly, an active mind is as important as
an active body," Mr. O'Brian said at the time. "Fortunately, my lady's
a teacher and she puts up with me. It was his first marriage, but his
romances were many and well publicized, especially his fling with
Princess Soraya, the ex-wife of the shah of Iran. In 1969 he faced a
paternity suit in which he was judged to be the father of the
16-year-old son of a Los Angeles photographer. He was ordered to pay
$250 monthly support for the boy, whose name was Hugh Krampe Jr. "I
sure had my share of fun and an awful lot of ladies," he recalled in
2006.
