Hugh O'Brian | 'Wyatt Earp' star, 91

Hugh O'Brian, 91, the star of TV's

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,

died Monday in Beverly Hills, Calif., according to a statement on the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Foundation website.

Handsome, square-jawed, and athletically fit, the dark-haired Mr. O'Brian, born Hugh Krampe, appeared in a string of movies and TV anthology series in the years before he became a star portraying the Old West peace officer on Wyatt Earp, which ran on ABC from 1955 to 1961.

Wyatt Earp became a top 10-rated series and made Mr. O'Brian a household name.

Portraying a man the show's theme song described as "brave, courageous and bold," Mr. O'Brian wore a black frock coat, a gold brocade vest, a string tie, and a flat-brimmed black hat - and he kept the peace with the help of a "Buntline Special": a .45-caliber revolver with an extra-long barrel.

In portraying Earp, Mr. O'Brian became known for his quick draw.

"I didn't want to force them into having to cut away whenever that happened; I wanted it to be realistic," the actor said in a 2005 Archive of American Television interview.

He spent hundreds of hours practicing the quick draw, the result of which, he said, "became a very big promotional tool ... and everybody talked about the quick draw."

During the series' run, Mr. O'Brian received an Emmy nomination and became so identified with his TV character that he did his best to keep the name O'Brian separated from Earp.

He did it by doing a lot of outside acting - on anthology series such as Playhouse 90 and Desilu Playhouse - and with guest appearances on TV variety shows, and a stint on Broadway starring in the musical comedy Destry Rides Again.

In 2006, Mr. O'Brian married for the first time.

In what was described as "the wedding to die for," he and his longtime girlfriend, Virginia Barber, were married at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Glendale, Calif.

Mr. O'Brian is survived by his wife, a brother, and seven nieces and nephews. - L.A. Times