The Gunfighter turned it down, despite having expressed a strong desire to play the part, because of his longstanding hatred for Columbia's president, Harry Cohn. Columbia sold the rights to Twentieth Century Fox, where the role went to Peck. Wayne's final film, "The Shootist" (1976), is often compared to "The Gunfighter" and contains numerous plot similarities. The script was loosely based on the purported exploits of an actual western gunfighter named Johnny Ringo, a distant cousin of the outlaw Younger family and a purported survivor of the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral against Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers. As in
Virgil Earp died on October 19, 1905, leaving his brother Wyatt as the last surviving participant of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Virgil was also survived by his father Nicholas, brothers James and Newton, wife Allie, and daughter Nellie. At the request of his daughter, Nellie Jane Bohn, Allie sent his remains to Portland, Oregon, and he was buried in the River View Cemetery there. Virgil Earp has been portrayed by several actors. The character of Virgil Earp also appears in the alternate history novel "How Few Remain" as part of the Southern Victory Series by Harry Turtledove, where he serves