Wyatt Earp started life on March 19, 1848 in Warren County, Illinois, and began his trek westward before the age of two, when his father joined a group of settlers heading for California. The family only made it about 150 miles before leaving the expedition due to the illness, and subsequent death, of Wyatt’s sister, Martha. The family settled on a farm in Iowa, where young Earp was to spend most of his youth.
In 1863, the Earp family finally realized their dream of moving to California. By the following year, the boys were all gainfully employed as teamsters, delivering passengers and cargo throughout the Imperial Valley, and as far away as Utah and Nevada. But the Earp family was …show more content…
He followed gold strikes in California, Colorado, and even Alaska. He moved from Arizona to California to the Pacific Northwest and the frozen north, opening gaming parlors everywhere he went. By the time he settled down in California, the film industry was established in Los Angeles. Wyatt worked as a consultant on Western movies, becoming fast friends with the biggest cowboy stars of silent films, William Hart and Tom Mix. He often visited the sets of legendary director John Ford, and John Wayne said that he modeled his western characterizations after Wyatt Earp.
From the time he was old enough to grow facial hair, Wyatt Earp sported a legendary mustache and beard. He was described as a handsome man with a handsome mustache. It must have been impressive, as it attracted four wives, the last three common law, and was commented on by multiple biographers. Described as blond, then tawny, and finally white, it remained attached to his face until he died at the age of