Nearly 130 years later, a descendant of Earp uses theatre to try to authenticate the lawman, who was a central figure in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881 in Tombstone, Ariz. Wyatt Earp, the great-grandnephew of the historical figure, and his wife, Terry, will be performing “Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt Earp” on April 24 at the William S. Hart Ranch and Museum in Newhall as part of the City of Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival.

“There are those that write less than truthful and those who do that are looking for sensationalism,” says the modern-day Earp.

The play, written by Terry, has a dual setting. Terry plays Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp, the wife of the original Wyatt Earp. Josephine gives a true account of her late husband’s life to a feral cat under the setting of the family cottage in California in 1938, nine years after his death.

Meanwhile, Wyatt Earp is giving his account of things to biographer Stuart N. Lake from his Los Angeles apartment in 1928. “Notoriety has been the bane of my life,” the modern-day Earp quotes his relative. “What he does in the first act is he talks about every part of his life except Tombstone.”

The truth, the great-grandnephew says, is that Wyatt Earp was a man of humor who loathed violence. He was a buffalo hunter. He helped build railroads. But yes, he did help romanticize the Old West with his actions in Tombstone with his partner Doc Holliday. Yet the gunfight is not the centerpiece of the modern day Earps’ work. It’s the man himself.

In another play Terry wrote, called “Wyatt Earp: A Life on the Frontier,” the advertisement for it reads at the bottom: “Come meet the man and not the myth!”

Terry is responsible for writing six different shows. She had no formal training when she began writing, and it wasn’t until she and her husband saw a lecture on Wyatt Earp that they even began to formulate ideas based around the man’s life. Terry says her vivid imagination has been the basis for her work. She has written nearly 35 plays, including some completely unrelated to the Old West. Terry wrote a play based on the life of influential Russian ballet dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky.

During the time Terry was writing “Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt Earp,” she went out on a bike ride with her husband. She was struck by a vehicle going 40 miles an hour that ran a red light. The accident left her a paraplegic. The recovery process continues to this day. She just recently learned how to write using a brace. And Terry is still performing.

“I just have to do it from a wheelchair,” she says. “I had to have costumes modified. A lot of the times people have to build a ramp for me.”

Her husband is supportive. He says, “She’s quite an inspiration to everyone who encounters her and knows her.”

The modern-day Wyatt Earp says one common thread throughout Terry’s work is humor. Though he may have some bias, he says her plays are memorable. Terry says she’s plotting her next play. Her husband is the star of most of them. The pair has been married for 25 years and lives in Phoenix, Arizona. They have performed in front of audiences in Alaska, England, Ireland, Budapest, Hungary and Scotland. One of the plays they collaborated on is called, “The Gentleman Doc Holliday.”

“It’s funny to see on the marquee: ‘The Gentleman Doc Holliday, played by Wyatt Earp,’” says the modern-day namesake.

Wyatt Earp says he has performed nearly 650 shows. At times, there are sellouts. The upcoming show at the Hart mansion was sold out months in advance. The Earps have performed at the Cowboy Festival in years past. This one might take on greater meaning. Wyatt Earp was actually good friends with William S. Hart and would swing by the Hart mansion on occasion.

“William S. Hart, when he went from silent movies to talkies, looked to Wyatt for counsel on movies…they became good friends,” the modern-day Wyatt Earp says. “They wanted to collaborate on a movie that would be truthful.”

So if it’s the truth that one seeks, go to the source. Wyatt Earp is quite a distance from his ancestor, but keeps his legacy going. He and wife Terry try to keep that legacy authentic.

Wyatt Earp says of his late relative, “He was a man that helped legitimize and bring law and order to a frontier that was in a state of anarchy. He was a defender of the independent entrepreneur.”