List of works about Billy the Kid

Last updated

The True Life of Billy the Kid first appeared in print in August 1881 The True Life of Billy the Kid (1881) cover (1945 reprint).jpg
The True Life of Billy the Kid first appeared in print in August 1881

Hundreds of songs, books, motion pictures, radio and television programs, and plays have been inspired by the story of the outlaw Billy the Kid. [1] Depictions of him in popular culture have fluctuated between a cold-blooded murderer without a heart and a sentimental hero fighting for justice. [2] The Texas historian, J. Frank Dobie, wrote many years ago in A Vaquero of the Brush Country (1929): "...Billy the Kid will always be interesting, will always appeal to the popular imagination". [3] While a plethora of writers and filmmakers have depicted Billy the Kid as the personification of either heroic youth or juvenile punk, [4] a few have attempted to portray a more complex character. [5] In any case, the dramatic aspects of his short life and violent death still appeal to popular taste, [6] and he remains an icon of teenage rebellion and nonconformity. [7] The mythologizing of his story continues with new works in various media. [8] [9]

Contents

Comics

Billy the Kid #9 (Nov. 1957). BillyTheKidNo9.png
Billy the Kid #9 (Nov. 1957).

Literature

Film

Note that both 1911 films portrayed Billy as a girl impersonating a boy.

Music

Stage

Radio

Television

Video games

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Coburn</span> American actor (1928–2002)

James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy the Kid</span> American outlaw and gunfighter (1859–1881)

Henry McCarty, alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who is alleged to have killed 21 men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21. He is also known for his involvement in New Mexico's Lincoln County War, during which he allegedly committed three murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Vaughn</span> American actor (1932–2016)

Robert Francis Vaughn was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theater spanned nearly six decades. He was a Primetime Emmy Award winner, and was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award and four times for the Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doris Roberts</span> American actress (1925–2016)

Doris May Roberts was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades of television and film. She received five Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild award during her acting career, which began in 1951.

<i>Young Guns II</i> 1990 film by Geoff Murphy

Young Guns II is a 1990 American Western action film and a sequel to Young Guns (1988). It stars Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Christian Slater, and features William Petersen as Pat Garrett. It was written by John Fusco and directed by Geoff Murphy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Garrett</span> American lawman (1850–1908)

Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett was an American Old West lawman, bartender and customs agent known for killing Billy the Kid. He was the sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico, as well as Doña Ana County, New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Kulp</span> American actress and educator (1921–1991)

Nancy Jane Kulp was an American character actor, writer and comedian best known as Miss Jane Hathaway on the CBS television series The Beverly Hillbillies.

<i>Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid</i> (album) 1973 studio album by Bob Dylan

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid is the twelfth studio album and first soundtrack album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on July 13, 1973, by Columbia Records for the Sam Peckinpah film of the same name. Dylan himself appeared in the film as the character "Alias". The soundtrack consists mainly of instrumental music and was inspired by the movie itself. The album includes "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", which became a trans-Atlantic Top 20 hit.

<i>The Outlaw</i> 1943 film

The Outlaw is a 1943 American Western film directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jack Buetel, Jane Russell, Thomas Mitchell and Walter Huston. Hughes also produced the film, and Howard Hawks served as an uncredited co-director. The film is notable as Russell's breakthrough role to becoming a sex symbol and Hollywood icon. Later advertising billed Russell as the sole star. The Outlaw is an early example of a psychological Western.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L. Q. Jones</span> American actor (1927–2022)

Justus Ellis McQueen Jr., known professionally as L. Q. Jones, was an American actor. He appeared in Sam Peckinpah's films Ride the High Country (1962), Major Dundee (1965), The Wild Bunch (1969), The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970), and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973). His later film roles include Casino (1995), The Patriot, The Mask of Zorro (1998), and A Prairie Home Companion (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dub Taylor</span> American actor (1907–1994)

Walter Clarence "Dub" Taylor Jr. was an American character actor who from the 1940s into the 1990s worked extensively in films and on television, often in Westerns but also in comedies. He is the father of actor and painter Buck Taylor.

<i>Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid</i> 1973 film by Sam Peckinpah

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a 1973 American revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah, written by Rudy Wurlitzer, and starring James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Richard Jaeckel, Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, Barry Sullivan, Jason Robards, Slim Pickens and Bob Dylan. The film is about an aging Pat Garrett (Coburn), hired as a lawman by a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid (Kristofferson).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Rudabaugh</span> American cowboy, outlaw and gunman (1854–1886)

David Rudabaugh was a cowboy, outlaw and gunfighter in the American Old West. Modern writers often refer to him as "Dirty Dave" because of his alleged aversion to water, though no evidence has emerged to show that he was ever referred to as such in his own lifetime.

<i>Im Not There</i> 2007 film by Todd Haynes

I'm Not There is a 2007 musical drama film directed by Todd Haynes, and co-written by Haynes and Oren Moverman. An experimental biographical film, it is inspired by the life and music of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, with six actors depicting different facets of Dylan's public personas: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw. A caption at the start of the film declares it to be "inspired by the music and the many lives of Bob Dylan"; this is the only mention of Dylan in the film apart from song credits, and his only appearance in it is concert footage from 1966 shown during the film's final moments.

<i>Billy the Kid</i> (1930 film) 1930 film by King Vidor

Billy the Kid is a 1930 American pre-Code Western film directed in widescreen by King Vidor about the relationship between frontier outlaw Billy the Kid and lawman Pat Garrett. In February 2020, the film was shown at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective dedicated to King Vidor's career.

"The Ballad of Billy the Kid" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel from the album Piano Man. It was also issued as a single in the UK backed with "If I Only Had The Words ."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Winters (choreographer)</span> American actor, dancer, and choreographer (1939–2019)

David Winters was an English-born American actor, dancer, choreographer, producer, distributor, director and screenwriter. At a young age, he acted in film and television projects such as Lux Video Theatre,Naked City; Mister Peepers,Rock, Rock, Rock, and Roogie's Bump. He received some attention in Broadway musicals for his roles in West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959). In the film adaptation of West Side Story (1961) he was one of the few to be re-cast. It became the highest grossing motion picture of that year, and won 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

<i>The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid</i> 1882 book by Pat Garrett

The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid, The Noted Desperado of the Southwest is a biography and partly first-hand account written by Pat Garrett, sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico, in collaboration with a ghostwriter, Marshall Ashmun "Ash" Upson. During the summer of 1881 in a small New Mexican village, Garrett shot and killed the notorious outlaw, William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid. Due to the first publisher's inability to widely distribute this book beginning in 1882, it sold relatively few copies during Garrett's lifetime. By the time the fifth publisher purchased the copyright in 1954, this book had become a major reference for historians who have studied the Kid's brief life. The promotion and distribution of the fifth version of this book to libraries in the United States and Europe sent it into a sixth printing in 1965, and by 1976 it had reached its tenth printing. For a generation after Sheriff Garrett shot the Kid, his account was considered to be factual, but historians have since found in this book many embellishments and inconsistencies with other accounts of the life of Billy the Kid.

<i>The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems</i> 1970 verse novel by Michael Ondaatje

The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems is a verse novel by Michael Ondaatje, published in 1970. It chronicles and interprets important events in the life of William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, and his conflict with Sheriff Pat Garrett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legend of Billy the Kid</span>

The legend of Billy the Kid has acquired iconic status in American folklore, yet the outlaw himself, also known as William Bonney, had minimal impact on historical events in New Mexico Territory of the late 19th century. More has been written about Billy the Kid than any other gunslinger in the history of the American Old West, while hundreds of books, motion pictures, radio and television programs and even a ballet have been inspired by his legend.

References

  1. Jon Tuska (2004). David J. Wishart (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. U of Nebraska Press. p. 446. ISBN   0-8032-4787-7.
  2. Margaret K. Reid (2004). Cultural Secrets as Narrative Form: Storytelling in Nineteenth-century America. Ohio State University Press. p. 151. ISBN   978-0-8142-0947-9.
  3. J. Frank Dobie; John D. Young (1 August 1998). A Vaquero of the Brush Country: The Life and Times of John D. Young. University of Texas Press. p. 169. ISBN   978-0-292-78704-9.
  4. Joseph Natoli (8 February 2007). This Is a Picture and Not the World: Movies and a Post-9/11 America. State University of New York Press. p. 233. ISBN   978-0-7914-7028-2.
  5. Frederick Nolan (20 October 2014). The Billy the Kid Reader. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 363. ISBN   978-0-8061-8254-4.
  6. Stephen Tatum (1 January 1982). Inventing Billy the Kid: Visions of the Outlaw in America, 1881–1981. University of New Mexico Press. p. 190. ISBN   978-0-8263-0610-4.
  7. Michael Wallis (2007). Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride. W.W. Norton & Company. p. xvi. ISBN   978-0-393-06068-3.
  8. Christopher R. Fee, Jeffrey B. Webb, ed. (31 August 2016). American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore (3 Volumes). ABC-CLIO. pp. 145–146. ISBN   978-1-61069-568-8.
  9. Richard W. Slatta (2001). The Mythical West: An Encyclopedia of Legend, Lore, and Popular Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 47. ISBN   978-1-57607-151-9.
  10. Mike Conroy (2003). 500 Great Comic Book Action Heroes. Barron's. p. 322. ISBN   978-0-7641-2581-2.
  11. Jack Spicer (1959). Billy the Kid. Enkidu Surrogate. ASIN   B0006DZHUY . Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  12. Utley, Robert M. (1989). Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN   0-8032-9558-8
  13. Urrero Peña, Guzmán. "El bandido adolescente". Centro Virtual Cervantes (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  14. Van Wart, Alice. "The Evolution of Form in Machael Ondaatje's The Collected Works of Billy the Kid and Coming Through Slaughter". Western University. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  15. Ore, Rebecca (1991). The Illegal Rebirth of Billy The Kid. Tom Doherty Associates. ISBN   978-0812506723.
  16. "Anything for Billy by Larry McMurtry – Reviews, Discussions, Bookclubs, Lists". Archived from the original on December 24, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  17. Hagy, Alyson (November 18, 2016). "Billy the Kid: The Novel". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 12, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  18. Airy, Helen (1993). Whatever Happened to Billy the Kid. Sunstone Press. ISBN   0865341850.
  19. "Billy the Kid – Along the Ancient Way".
  20. "Billy the Kid". SilentEra.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  21. THE ADVENTURES OF BILLY (1911) – Biograph, D.W. Griffith – YouTube
  22. Wallis, Michael (2007). Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. p. 16. ISBN   978-0-393-06068-3. OCLC   77270750 . Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  23. "Billy The Kid Returns". Amazon. April 5, 2010. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  24. "Billy the Kid (1941)". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  25. Rowan, Terry (2013). The American Western: A Complete Film Guide. Lulu.com. p. 50. ISBN   978-1-300-41858-0.
  26. Boggs, Johnny D. Billy the Kid on Film, 1911–2012. McFarland
  27. "The Outlaw (1943) – Overview". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  28. "Howard Hughes: The Outlaw (1943)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  29. "I Shot Billy the Kid (1950)". Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  30. "The Kid from Texas – Movie No. 4". audiemurphy.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  31. "The Law vs. Billy the Kid (1954) – Overview". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  32. "The Law vs. Billy the Kid (1954)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  33. "The Left Handed Gun (1958) – Overview". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  34. "The Left Handed Gun (1958)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  35. "The Boy from Oklahoma (1954)". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  36. "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (1966) – Overview". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  37. "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  38. "Chisum (1970)". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  39. "Dirty Little Billy – overview". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  40. 1 2 "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  41. "Young Guns (1988) – overview". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  42. Goodman, Walter (May 10, 1989). "Vidal Draws a Bead on Good-Bad Old Billy the Kid". The New York Times . Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  43. "Young Guns II (1990) – overview". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  44. "Purgatory (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  45. "Requiem for Billy the Kid (2007) – overview". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  46. "Birth of a Legend: Billy the Kid & the Lincoln County War (2011)". Amazon. 11 February 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  47. "Vincent D'Onofrio Taps 'Valarian's Dane DeHaan to Play Billy the Kid in Suretone Western". Deadline. 2017-07-19. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
  48. MacMillan, (1934), p. 137
  49. MacMillan, (1938), pp. 140–141. From Jim Marby, recorded in 1911, Library of Congress E659098.
  50. Western Writers of America (2010). "The Top 100 Western Songs". American Cowboy. Archived from the original on October 19, 2010.
  51. "Marty Robbins Billy the Kid (2:19)". Last FM. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  52. "Liner notes: Woody Guthrie / Buffalo Skinners: The Asch Recordings Vol 4 / Number 3: Billy the Kid" (PDF). Smithsonian Folkways. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2010.
  53. "Billy The Kid (Album Version) The Charlie Daniels Band From the Album High Lonesome". Amazon. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  54. Dillon, Charlotte. "Chris LeDoux – Haywire". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  55. "Joe Ely 'Me and Billy the Kid'". Amazon. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  56. "Little Big Horn – Running Wild; "Billy the Kid"". Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  57. "Billy The Kid". Metro Lyrics. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  58. "Billy The Kid Lyrics". Metro Lyrics. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  59. Ruhlmann, William. "Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory". AllMusic. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  60. 1972 Reprise K44142
  61. Japan 1992 P-Vine PCD 2541
  62. "Billy the Kid on stage". The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York) April 12, 1907. April 12, 1907. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016.
  63. Walter Terry, Ballet Guide, 1976, p. 57
  64. "First NYC major revival of 'The Beard' by Michael McClure". New York Theatre Wise. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  65. Weeks, Jerome (January 1998). "Outlaw By Ondaatje". American Theatre. 15 (1): 12.
  66. Gunsmoke radio show "Billy the Kid", first broadcast May 26, 1952
  67. "The Crime Classics Radio Program". The Digital Deli. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  68. Hutton, Paul Andrew (April 1, 2007). "Dreamscape Desperado: Who remembers Billy the Kid? – "Cinematic Excess"". True West Magazine. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  69. "The Tall Man – NBC (ended 1962)". TV.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  70. "The Kid from Hell's Kitchen". TV.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  71. "The Time Tunnel (TV show) – Season 1, Episode 22 Billy the Kid". TV Guide. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  72. "Video: Billy the Kid – Watch American Experience Online". PBS Video. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  73. Andreeva, Nellie (May 4, 2021). "'Billy the Kid' Series From Michael Hirst Ordered By Epix". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  74. Dennison, Kara (March 8, 2018). ""Fate/Grand Order" Explores Early America in Fifth Singularity". Crunchyroll . Archived from the original on March 9, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  75. Green, Scott (March 9, 2017). "Hold Onto Your Breastplate, A Male King Arthur Has Joined "Fate/Grand Order"". Crunchyroll . Archived from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  76. Savage, Phil (March 7, 2013). "Call of Juarez: Gunslinger teaser shows the Wild West's reflective side". PC Gamer . Future US, Inc. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  77. Rath, Robert (July 25, 2013). "History and Legend in Call of Juarez: Gunslinger". Escapist Magazine . Defy Media, LLC. Archived from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  78. 1080p Robo Rodeo | Zenless Zone Zero Billy Character Teaser, miHoYo, November 18, 2023, retrieved February 2, 2024
  79. "Non-Player Characters on the Team Fortress 2 Wiki".