The Western genre has been defined by a long list of iconic movies, from Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo to Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. One of the most enduring and popular movies of the genre, Tombstone, assembled one of the best ’90s casts for a great project, one made memorable by its quotable script. Bringing action and revenge to the Old West like few movies before, it’s practically synonymous with blockbuster Westerns.
Tombstone tells the story of the Earp brothers, a group of lawmen who take on the roles of US Marshals in Tombstone, Arizona. There, they cross paths with the violent Cochise County Cowboys, whose tactics of fear and intimidation make them almost untouchable. While the movie has an iconic and recognizable line-up of leading actors, from Kurt Russell to Sam Elliott, other stars haven’t been as closely associated with the movie in the years since.
Robert John Burke’s Talents Were Wasted
Frank McLaury
As a member of the Cochise County Cowboys, Frank McLaury was one of three gang members to be shot dead by the Earps at the Gunfight at the OK Corral. With Billy Clanton instigating the shooting, McLaury is killed soon after, taking a shotgun blast to the chest by Holliday.
Best known for his leading role as Billy Halleck in the adaptation of Stephen King’s Thinner, as well as being the second man to play RoboCop in the third installment, Burke’s role is a blink and miss for audiences. That being said, the project is arguably the best the actor has worked on, even if his talents weren’t put to their best use.
Terry O’Quinn Played Tombstone’s Mayor
Mayor John Clum
When the Earps arrive in Tombstone, one of their first meetings is with the town’s mayor, John Clum. An old friend of Wyatt’s, Clum attempts to maintain law and order in the town, supporting the Earps as marshals in the face of worsening violence from the Cowboys, and is played by Terry O’Quinn.
Terry O’Quinn has since become better known for roles in TV shows, with Lost standing out among his best. Though not explored within the film, Mayor John Clum is actually one of the movie’s most overlooked figures, with a history every bit as impressive as the likes of Wyatt Earp or Doc Holliday.
Billy Zane Brings His Charm to A Minor Role
Mr. Fabian
While in Tombstone, the Earp brothers encounter other newcomers to the town, such as a traveling theater troupe. Included among its members are Wyatt Earp’s future wife, Josephine Marcus, and Mr Fabian, who stays by her side for much of the movie. The full toll of the war between the Earps and Cowboys is brought into focus when Wyatt’s posse finds Josephine in a carriage alongside Fabian, who has been killed by the gang in a robbery.
Billy Zane is one of the ’90s most underrated actors, having often been cast as either villains, like Cal in Titanic, or heroes in flops, such as The Phantom. While his scenes in Tombstone are short, the character of Mr Fabian reminds audiences the cost of the film’s events, though Zane is rarely mentioned in discussions of the movie.
Billy Bob Thornton Plays A Tombstone Scoundrel
Johnny Tyler
Among Tombstone’s most disreputable residents at the time of the Earps’ arrival is Johnny Tyler, a “Sloper” whose abrasive attitude to gambling incurs the wrath of Wyatt. When the bartender tells him the man has chased away the casino’s high rollers by slapping gamblers, the lawman decides to give him a taste of his own medicine, humiliating him in front of others.
Johnny Tyler isn’t the most memorable character in the movie, but is on the receiving end of one of Wyatt’s best lines. After slapping the man, Wyatt asks “are you gonna do something, or just stand there and bleed?” Played by Billy Bob Thornton (Armageddon, Fargo and Goliath), the role stands out among the best castings in the movie, giving the actor one of his first prominent roles in a major production. With his character being sidelined after the movie’s first act, Tyler becomes a less memorable part of the movie as it continues.
Charlton Heston Plays A Powerful Rancher
Henry Hooker
After declaring all-out war on the Cochise County Cowboys, Wyatt’s posse turns to rancher Henry Hooker to give them shelter and take in an ailing Doc Holliday. True to real life, Hooker is shown to be both a friend to Earp, as well as one of the most prominent ranchers in the American West at the time. Despite being one of the briefest roles in the film, the rancher is played by one of the greatest actors of the 20th century: Charlton Heston.
The 1990s saw Charlton Heston take on a number of minor supporting roles and cameos in some of the decade’s best movies, including True Lies and In the Mouth of Madness. Considering the totality of his career, his inclusion marks perhaps the most impressive, and only adds to the ensemble of talent that helped make the movie great.
Thomas Haden Church Plays A Pivotal Role
Billy Clanton
During the film’s climax, the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday decide to enforce the town’s ordnance against the Cowboys, when a group of its members are spotted carrying firearms in town. Chief among them is Billy Clanton, a wild card of the group who, after a taunt from Holliday, decides to draw his pistol on the group of lawmen, sparking the shootout.
As the man whose decision sparked the film’s most memorable shootout, Clanton’s role in the film is hard to overstate. Played by a young Thomas Haden Church, the man is soon gunned down in the street. For modern audiences, Church is best known for roles like the Sandman in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, or Jack in Sideways. Although not his first movie, his performance as Clanton undoubtedly helped the actor ascend from a minor performer to a great supporting co-star or lead in a variety of subsequent projects.
Michael Rooker Abandons the Cowboys
Sherman McMasters
When the Earp brothers’ feud with the Cochise County Cowboys turns deadly, it causes a split in the gang, with a small group of its members renouncing their affiliation. Chief among them is Sherman McMasters, played by Michael Rooker. Having previously been at odds with Wyatt, he throws down his sashe in front of the lawman and joins his posse. Later, however, the gang makes an example of him, using his corpse to send a message to the posse.
Presently known for his performances as Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy and Merle in The Walking Dead, Michael Rooker co-starred in an array of great ’90s movies, such as Mallrats, JFK and Cliffhanger. His role as Sherman McMasters ensured he’d play a part in another iconic movie of the decade, even if its among his lesser-known among modern audiences.
Stephen Lang Played the Film’s Most Cowardly Villain
Ike Clanton
When the Earps cross paths with the Cowboys, one of the main gang members they face is the cowardly Ike Clanton. Narrowly evading death at the OK Corral, Clanton is among the gunfighters sent to ambush the Earps, where he’s sent running back to the gang with a message from Earp.
Best known for his roles in modern hits like Avatar and Don’t Breathe, Stephen Lang has made his career playing the roles of villains, something that was accelerated through his role as Ike Clanton. While his modern bad guy performances bring an intense ruthlessness, his role as Clanton gave the film its biggest coward.
Bill Paxton Is the Overlooked Earp Brother
Morgan Earp
Tombstone focuses on an array of characters, highlighting an ensemble of excellent leading stars in the process. For modern audiences, the movie goes hand in hand with names like Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell and Sam Elliott as the heroes of the story. The name that often goes overlooked, however, is Bill Paxton, who played the role of Morgan Earp, the brother killed during the Cowboy ambush at the middle of the film.
Despite being in many of the best scenes of the film, notably standing alongside the other lawmen at the Gunfight at the OK Corral, Paxton hasn’t been as closely associated with Tombstone as his peers. Where many will cite it as the best work of its other stars, some fans have to be reminded of Paxton’s involvement. This makes some degree of sense, however, as he’s sidelined in practically every scene, with characters like Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp and Johnny Ringo being given the movie’s most focus.
Robert Mitchum Narrated the Movie
Narrator
Tombstone assembled a cast of actors who have since become synonymous with the Western genre itself, such as Sam Elliott and Kurt Russell. At the time, however, the most high-profile Western actor associated with the movie never actually appeared on screen, instead narrating it: Robert Mitchum. Best known for his roles in iconic Westerns such as El Dorado, The Way West and Rio Lobo, Mitchum’s narration brought a unique gravitas to the film’s narration.
While he had initially been slated to appear in an on-screen role, an injury sustained during production prevented that, and George P. Cosmatos gave him the role of narrator instead. From beginning to end, the Hollywood icon delivers some welcome exposition, explaining what became of Wyatt after the events of the movie. Mitchum even delivers one of the film’s best lines when he explains the death of Earp: “Among the pallbearers at his funeral were early Western movie stars William S. Hart and Tom Mix. Tom Mix wept.”