Stuart Nathaniel Lake (September 23, 1889 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

– January 27, 1964 in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

) was an American

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

, professional wrestling promoter, and press aide who focused on the

American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

Professional career

Lake was a professional wrestling promoter and a press aide to

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

during the Bull Moose presidential campaign in 1912. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he was run over by a truck.

Works about Wyatt Earp

His 1931

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which la ...

, '' Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal'', was a best seller and was adapted for several films, including '' Frontier Marshal'', a 1939 production starring

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

, and

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

's ''

My Darling Clementine ''My Darling Clementine'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp during the period leading up to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The ensemble cast also features Victor Mature (as Doc Holl ...

''. His work also inspired the 1955-1961 ABC

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

, ''

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' is the first Western television series written for adults, premiering four days before ''Gunsmoke'' on September 6, 1955. Two weeks later came the Clint Walker western ''Cheyenne''. The series is loosely bas ...

'', starring

Hugh O'Brian Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the ABC Western television series '' The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' (1955– ...

in the title role. The biography was later found to be highly fictional. Lake was the first writer to describe Earp's use of the

Colt Buntline The Colt Buntline Special was a long-barreled variant of the Colt Single Action Army revolver, which Stuart N. Lake described in his best-selling but largely fictionalized 1931 biography, '' Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal''. According to Lake, the di ...

. Later researchers have been unable to establish that Earp ever owned such a weapon.

Other films

Lake also wrote for other motion pictures, including '' The Westerner'', starring

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

and

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

; ''

Powder River Powder River may refer to: Places * Powder River (Wyoming and Montana), in Wyoming and Montana in the United States * Powder River Country, the area around the above river * Powder River (Oregon), in Oregon in the United States * Powder River Ba ...

'' with

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as ''How to Marry a Millio ...

; and ''

Winchester '73 ''Winchester '73'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea and Stephen McNally. Written by Borden Chase and Robert L. Richards, the film is about the journey of a prized r ...

'' starring James Stewart.

Accuses politician of bribery

Bibliography

*'' Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal'' (fictionalized biography) *'' The O.K. Corral Inquest'' (Introduction) *''In the Path of the Padres'' (Non-fiction) *''Tales of the Kansas cow towns'' (Magazine article,

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

)

Filmography

Lake wrote scripts for the following shows. *

(TV Movie) (story-uncredited) 1967 *

(based on a book by Lake) 1953 *

(story) 1950 *

(based on the book by Lake) 1946 * Wells Fargo Days (Short) (dialogue/story) 1944 * The Westerner (film) (from the story by Lake) 1940 *

Frontier Marshal (1939 film) ''Frontier Marshal'' is a 1939 American Western film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Randolph Scott as Wyatt Earp. The film is the second produced by Sol M. Wurtzel based on Stuart N. Lake's biography of Earp '' Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marsh ...

(based on a book by Lake) 1939 *

Wells Fargo (film) ''Wells Fargo'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Joel McCrea, Bob Burns and Frances Dee. Plot In the early 1840s, Wells & Fargo employee Ramsay MacKay comes upon a broken-down carriage in the countryside ...

(based on a story by Lake) 1937 *

(based on the novel '' Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal'') 1934 *

Buck Privates ''Buck Privates'' is a 1941 musical military comedy film that turned Bud Abbott and Lou Costello into bona fide movie stars. It was the first service comedy based on the peacetime draft of 1940. The comedy team made two more service comedies ...

(story) 1928

References

External links

*
Wyatt Earp and the "Buntline Special" Myth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake, Stuart N. 1889 births 1964 deaths 20th-century American biographers People from Rome, New York American military personnel of World War I People from Los Angeles American male non-fiction writers Historians from New York (state) Cornell University alumni 20th-century American male writers