Family feuds in the United States had occurred on October 26, 1881, and was itself the climax of the Earp–Clanton family feud, simmering since the summer of 1880. Tensions between the Earps and both the Clantons and McLaurys increased through 1881, culminating in the historic gunfight. At the O.K. Corral, three deputized Earp brothers, Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil, along with Doc Holliday, had killed Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Tom McLaury. The Clanton and McLaury families were aligned with the "Outlaw Cowboys", a loosely knit outlaw group of families, friends and acquaintances then living in surrounding Cochise and Pima counties. The Earp Vendetta ride was a
James Earp California. James Earp died of natural causes in San Bernardino, California, on January 25, 1926. He is interred there at the Mountain View Cemetery. In the 1946 film "My Darling Clementine", James was played by Don Garner. In 1955, the actor John Smith, prior to his lead roles in "Cimarron City" and "Laramie", played the part of James Earp in the film "Wichita", starring Joel McCrea and Vera Miles. In the 1957 "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral", it is the fictional assassination of Jimmy Earp (Martin Milner) that leads directly to the titular showdown. In the 1994 film "Wyatt Earp",