Doc Holliday Disease
“I found him a loyal friend and good company. He was a dentist whom necessity had made a gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a caustic wit; a long, lean blonde fellow nearly dead with consumption and at the same time the most skillful gambler and nerviest, speediest, deadliest man with a six-gun I ever knew.” — Wyatt Earp
One of the main reasons that I wrote A Gentleman in Hell is because I am obsessed with Doc as a character. It’s hard not to like Val Kilmer’s portrayal of Doc in Tombstone. He’s educated, witty, clever, loyal, a slick dresser, a good pianist, fast with a gun, and can ride a horse while hocking up half a lung. Not bad considering! To top it all, he gets all the best lines in the film. Then there’s Quaid’s Doc, a bit darker and more world-weary than Kilmer’s Doc. He’s more of a drunk, has a mean temper and rather strangely an extremely filthy handkerchief. He’s a grinning skull and a fatalist.
Doc Holliday led a life that was replete with romance and tragedy where it is stated that he had contracted tuberculosis at an early age, which meant that he had only a short time to leave. As a result of the disease, he went West where he became a gambler, a gunfighter, and a saloonkeeper. 40 Best Doc Holliday Quotes of his Life. Doc Holliday Quotes is full of lessons for the readers. It will give you the inspiration to stand up for what you believe, to be a loyal friend to someone and it will also cheer you up. John Henry Doc Holliday was born on 14 August 1851, in Griffin, Georgia.
So who is Doc Holliday to me?
“Doc Holliday’s eyes were the most memorable trait that he possessed. In bright sunshine they were light blue but when angry his eyes seemed black. His body was skeletal, wasted by tuberculosis and alcohol. The only depth to his chest was the derringer that he hid in the top pocket of his silk waistcoat.” — From A Gentleman in Hell
I’ve tried to present Doc as a human being more than anything. I don’t see him as a cold-blooded killer, he was involved in some shootings, the gunfight at the OK Corral being the most prominent. He was educated and from a wealthy family in Georgia. He knew Latin and Greek, he was well read and a dentist by profession. He was dying from Tuberculosis.
Consumption -a deadly condition
“He coughed over and over again, deep and hearty until he could barely catch his breath. There was a sharp rasping whistle as air seeped out the holes in his lungs. Doc sat down on the bed and pulled the handkerchief from his top pocket. He pressed it to his face. Minutes passed before the sputum finally surfaced from his lungs, to his lips and into the filthy material. He sat on the edge of the bed and placed his head in his hands. His fingers trembled under the weight. He could feel himself shaking although his skin was dripping with perspiration.” — From A Gentleman in Hell
I thought that it would be interesting to show his consumption in different stages. I think it’s easy to look at it as a stagnant thing but I see it as progressing both as Holliday travelled to different places and also aged. Clearly he drank whiskey as a way of dealing with his condition. I’ve also shown him using laudanum too which was the Victorian equivalent of using painkillers today. I tried to read and research as much as I could about the disease and have read several diaries and accounts of tubercular patients in Victorian times to get background information. I like to believe that Arizona may have helped slow his condition and give him a bit of a break but unfortunately for him, the circumstances in Tombstone didn’t allow him to stay.
Dentistry in the Wild West
Doc’s original profession was dentistry before his disease and love for gambling killed his career off. I think at the time dentistry was a very new industry. There’s always been people who would pull teeth, normally barbers or cooks on cattle drives but until the 1860s there wasn’t really any guarantee that you were dealing with someone who had any skill at what they were doing, any standard of hygiene or constancy. Once colleges began to offer dental courses, that all changed. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no way you would get me in a dental chair with a dentist from that era. However, I think improvements were being made. Doc graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery in 1872. I like to imagine Doc as being precise and a bit pedantic, perhaps even smelling of soap and rubbing alcohol. Although honestly considering Doc’s drinking habits, whiskey would be a more authentic odour.
How much alcohol did Doc Holliday Drink?
According to Wyatt Earp, Doc could drink three-quarts of whiskey a day, which is quite a lot for anyone to consume let alone a skinny guy. Wyatt also mentioned that he never remembered seeing Doc drunk. This may of course be an exaggeration and some people have said that this is an impossible amount to drink, but I disagree. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it would be easy to do. However, you’ve got to take into account that a lot of the whiskey in saloons at the time was watered down. Another aspect to consider is that as a gambler, Doc wasn’t holding down a regular nine to five job. If you take it literally to mean a day as in 24 hours and spread it out and include a few meals here and there it doesn’t seem so impossible. Bottom line is Doc drank a lot. I don’t think it ever really affected his accuracy with a gun or with cards but I think it certainly did affect his temper.
How Did Dr Holiday Die
The Gambler
In a strange way the accuracy and attention to detail that Doc needed for dentistry would have served him well as a gambler. He played poker, was dealer at several Faro games throughout the West and played Spanish Monte too. It’s interesting to think that despite Doc’s drinking, as a professional player and dealer, he would still have been far superior to any drunken cowhand that had ridden into town from a ranch or off a cattle drive. I don’t imagine him as an out and out cheat but I do believe he knew all the tricks. He may have marked the edges of cards, used a reflective object to see opponents cards and worn shades to hide his eyes.
Was Doc a Fatalist?
I don’t like to think of Doc as someone with a death wish. He certainly was willing to get himself in dangerous situations. He wasn’t afraid, but I don’t think that necessarily means that he was trying to get himself killed. He managed to survive 14 years on the frontier and that was as a gambler and gunfighter which was a fairly precarious position to hold. If he was looking for a quick, clean, death I think he would have got it over with long before he ever made it to Tombstone.
Read More
There’s plenty more that can be said about Doc but at this point I think you should read A Gentleman in Helland let me know what you think. I love talking about Doc so if you have questions, please ask away or if you just want to chat about him by all means let me know.
John (Doc) Holliday was born in Griffin, Georgia, on 14th August, 1851. His mother died of tuberculosis and Holliday also suffered from the disease for most of his life.
After studying at dental school Holliday worked as a dentist at Atlanta. He then moved to Dallas where he attempted to make a living as a professional gambler. He also developed a drink problem and a reputation for a short temper. Accused of shooting several men, including the killing of a soldier, Holliday moved to Denver.
In 1878 he arrived in Dodge City where he became a close friend of Wyatt Earp. Holliday worked as a dentist before moving on to Las Vagas. In 1879 he killed Mike Gordon but was not charged with murder. Later that year he was accused of robbing the Santa Fe-Las Vegas stagecoach.
In 1880 Holliday moved to Tombstone where he once again met up with Wyatt Earp. Holliday was soon in trouble and Sheriff John Behan arrested him on suspicion of killing a stage driver during an attempted hold-up outside of town. Holliday protested his innocence and was eventually released. In September 1881, Virgil Earp retaliated by arresting one of Behan's deputies, Frank Stilwell, for holding up a stagecoach.
On 25th October, Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury arrived in Tombstone. Later that day Doc Holliday got into a fight with Ike Clanton in the Alhambra Saloon. Holliday wanted a gunfight with Clanton, but he declined the offer and walked off.
The following day Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury were arrested by Virgil Earp and charged with carrying firearms within the city limits. After they were disarmed and released, the two men joined Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury, who had just arrived in town. The men gathered at a place called the OK Corral in Fremont Street.
Virgil Earp now decided to disarm Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury and recruited Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp, James Earp and Doc Holliday to help him in this dangerous task. Behan was in town and when he heard what was happening he raced to Fremont Street and urged Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury to hand over their guns to him. They replied: 'Not unless you first disarm the Earps'.
John Behan now headed towards the advancing group of men. He pleaded for Virgil Earp not to get involved in a shoot-out but he was brushed aside as the four men carried on walking towards the OK Corral. Virgil Earp said: 'I want your guns'. Billy Clanton responded by firing at Wyatt Earp. He missed and Morgan Earp successfully fired two bullets at Billy Clanton and he fell back against a wall. Meanwhile Wyatt Earp fired at Frank McLaury. The bullet hit him in the stomach and he fell to the ground.
Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury were both unarmed and tried to run away. Clanton was successful but Doc Holliday shot McLaury in the back. Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury, although seriously wounded, continued to fire their guns and in the next couple of seconds Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday were all wounded. Wyatt Earp was unscathed and he managed to finish off Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury.
Behan arrested Virgil Earp, Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday for murder of Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury and Frank McLaury. However, after a 30 day trial Judge Wells Spicer, who was related to the Earps, decided that the defendants had been justified in their actions.
Over the next few months the Earp brothers struggled to retain hold control over Tombstone. On 28th December, Virgil Earp was seriously wounded in the left arm by an attempted assassination.
Morgan Earp was killed when he was playing billiards with Wyatt Earp on 18th March, 1882. Eyewitnesses claimed that Frank Stilwell was seen running from the scene of the crime. Three days later Stilwell's was found dead. A Mexican who was also implicated in the crime was also found murdered in a lumber camp. It is believed that Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday were responsible for the killing of both men.
In February, 1883, Luke Short moved to Dodge City and purchased the Long Branch Saloon with W. H. Harris. A power struggle now took place between Short and Nicholas B. Klaine, the editor of the Dodge City Times. In the election for mayor of the city later that year Klaine supported Larry Deger against Short's partner, W. H. Harris. Deger defeated Harris 214 to 143.
Doc Holliday Illness
Soon after gaining power Deger published Ordinance No 70, an attempt to ban prostitution in Dodge City. Two days later the local police arrested female singers being employed in Short's Long Branch Saloon and accused of being prostitutes. That night Short and L.C. Hartman, the city clerk, exchanged gunfire in the street. Short was now arrested and forced to leave town.
Short had some powerful friends and in June 1883 he returned to Dodge City with Holliday, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and Charlie Bassett and other well-known gunfighters such as, M. F. McLain, Neil Brown and W. F. Petillion. However, Deger and Klaine refused to be intimidated and when they refused to back down, Short and his friends had to accept defeat. In November 1883, Short and Harris sold the Long Branch Saloon and moved to Fort Worth.
What Did Doc Holliday Die Of
Doc Holliday died of tuberculosis on 8th November, 1887.