Billy On The Brain: Billy The Kid the Legendary Gunfighter Lives On

[@Glorfinniel]

RIP Fred Nolan 😞 You blazed a trail for us researchers with your work. You're books are a must read for any Billy the Kid enthusiast.

[@kiasax2]

What an amazing cast of people you've gathered to speak about Billy the Kid. Superb!👍👍👍👍😎

[@caravandanadventures]

Enjoyed the video very much! Long Live Billy the Kid!

[@pwrprtt1234]

To all the fans of "Billy the Kid" i urge you to see the latest western call " Old Henry" 2021 with Tim Blake Nelson, i actually know Tim and his wonderful family! Great actor , Great guy!

[@ericcrawford3453]

I love that movie it was pretty awesome!

[@ChiefThundermoon]

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,funny as hell

[@prudd72]

excellent!

[@evanmccoy9785]

I’m 13 years old and I love the story and everything I love to study him and hear others like me talk so passionately about him as I. Rip the bad ass-Billy The Kid

[@drv9744]

Read the book, Billy the Kid the Autobiography by Daniel A. Edwards that tells you the rest of the story. There's a museum in Hico, Texas that is very interesting.

[@brianbobbins6685]

Can't believe such a young kid is interested in the story of billy, pretty cool,I too like the story I am 47, you must be the only kid that is into the story,

[@wk4max]

Hey! you could be a modern day Billy the Kid ! or jesse james robbing banks!! ..blowing up trains!! ..oh maybe NOT ..lol love that yiour inro Bill the kid and Your a Kid!!! good on ya mate ,max Liverpool England 👽

[@belowthesmile]

Just don’t fall for the nonsense that he survived. He most certainly did not. I too have been fascinated with the kid since I was a teenager.

[@JackHawkinswrites]

The Illustrated Life and Times of Billy the Kid by Bob Boze Bell. … The best place to start

[@johnhoffay9081]

Thank You!!!

[@bradfordbarrettluckotheIrish]

Outstanding series of interviews…thank you for sharing.

[@m1873-g3y]

good boy billy！

[@ericcrawford3453]

If I had the$$$ I would buy Billy's pic and Elvis jumpsuit & Jimmy Hendrix flying V guitar if I had the money so I don't blame anybody that has the money it's a fascinating part of our American history. I've always loved the Billy the Kid story. Classic case of little guy against the big guy in the Santa Fe ring. The bad boy against the evil men. 🤠 👢

[@arkangelnorthman]

i have a story relating to Billy if any of you historians want to hear it....

[@seventies5193]

Thanks for posting this. 1. And Is Brushy Bill Roberts Billy The Kid ? :) - 2. The expensive photo is clearly skewed and you get a weird head from Henry, i mean Billy. Or not ?😀

[@bradgaines]

The women in this video remind me of those women who fall in love with serial killers.

[@davidcuellar9936]

I'll make you famous.

[@davidmuir7711]

There is not evidence enough to convincingly posit that there ever was a “Billy the kid”. Sort of like Jesus.

[@MarkAS56]

Nolan's epic Lincoln County War: A Documentary History is still one of my top few favorite old west books.

[@jondoe4667]

I didn't start reading for pleasure until I was an adult. Now I love when I randomly catch book ideas here and there😁🇺🇲

[@kayber76nerdculture]

This was awesome because everybody that spoke, I could relate too. I was pulled in literally by the same concepts and I’d love to meet everyone speaking in this video. I have a bucket list and Lincoln County is on it, along with Tombstone. Such good info here. I love writing western stories and the old west is one of my favorite time periods.

[@AIRRAID2]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@boris1932]

It's funny, I think back many years ago when I gave a speech in college about Billy The Kid -- I argued in the speech , that Billy was quite a complicated figure and a lot of negative things said about him were wrong. I made him into more of a man of his times that stood for truth and right. When he took up the cause of Tunstall, that really showed what he was made of. I didn't get a very warm reception with my viewpoints then. Guess I was a little bit ahead of the curve.

[@Bumper776]

Do you suppose that the fact that he murdered three law enforcement officers might have had something to do with the audience not agreeing that he stood for truth and right?

[@boris1932]

@@Bumper776 Of course back in those days there could be the opinion that there was not much difference between the law and outlaw. Still doesn't justify murder. But putting some perspective of what went on in the wild west time period.

[@jackdelay6558]

What a wonderful group of educated folks on the subject of Billy the Kid. I loved all their insights and opinions.

[@BoneyWhy]

What's the big deal with this production? They're all just repeating themselves over and over again. They're just saying "Oh, Billy was a mystery and yet he was blah blah blah." Nothing new. What a waste of time!

[@MrBrutal33]

He wasn't a 'gunfighter' just a common criminal whose deeds have been amplified out of proportion.

[@aliassombrerojack3438]

Enjoyed the chat fellow regulators

[@MarkAS56]

Boy what I'd give to have been with all those guys just to sit and listen

[@ericcrawford3453]

Me too!

[@scottnix4991]

There was never a wanted poster on the Kid. Only a blurb in a Santa Fe newspaper.

[@michelob.]

Has everyone been watching the new Epix series Billy The Kid? WOW it’s just awesome! I love it! Hope there’s a season 2! This was very interesting! Sounds like me! I just have such a passion for these old west figures! It drives me crazy sometimes that we truly don’t know if he was killed by Garrett. Maybe someday I’ll be the one to find the truth lol 😂 ps ive enjoyed over the years watching all the documentaries that everyone here has been in! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and passion this great subject we all love so much

[@AIRRAID2]

I'm sure going to. 🤠👍🏻

[@michelob.]

@@AIRRAID2 did you check it out? Isn’t it great!?!?

[@greg19071961]

Love the Epix series...hope there is a season two! ❤🤠

[@AIRRAID2]

@@michelob. 👍🤠👍

[@Yup71719]

Not a fan, the actor has less Charisma then a head of salad

[@cameronmccreary4758]

Billy wasn't a murderer? "Hi Bob, (boom boom).

[@ermano58]

Thats not murder he was imprisoned under false murder charge to be hung on false murder charge by a corrupt system anyone under those circumstances would have done anything to get outta there im the judge thats justifiable

[@Rollin_L]

It is always interesting to me to have the discussion of whether Billy the Kid was a "good guy" or a "bad guy." In territorial New Mexico- and particularly during the events that led to and included the Lincoln County War- exactly who IS a "good guy?" For all we know, maybe McSween and Tunstall were decent folk. Before Tunstall's murder, there is no record I've heard of that suggests otherwise. On the other hand, I don't know that anyone has argued that the Dolan/Murphy faction were anything but thugs of the sort that would readily compare to the 20th Century Italian mob. Billy, for all his early history of horse or cattle thievery, was a fairly petty criminal in a circumstance where he had few if any options, as it was for others in such circumstance. Particularly being so young and without family to steer him better. His first killing in Arizona is, by all accounts, legitimate self defense. But once Tunstall, perhaps Billy's only stable and healthy influence since being orphaned, is taken from him by an undeniably vicious, gang-like business and political machine, exactly what course does the young man have? While I suppose he could have left the area to look for a new opportunity, that brutality called out for a response. There was no real law available, with the Santa Fe Ring running much of the territory. He was just not the kind of person to walk away from a terrible wrong, no matter what it might cost him. Does anybody weep for Sheriff Brady, a cold blooded killer himself and pawn of the machine? Who among those Billy killed at that point were any better than he? Who was a "good guy?" And how many of us would at least like to think we would have been right along side with the Regulators had we experienced what they had? Maybe Billy the Kid was not a "good guy," but I don't see any evidence to suggest anyone else was either.

[@Montgomeryyy]

I think in those times nearly everyone walked in the gray area of "good" and "bad". But there's many instances of Billy attempting to be the bigger person. Trying to make amends with people, seeking out an amnesty, returning stolen horses/cattle, promising to live an honest life if given the chance. Nobody gave him that chance. I think if he had all the resources to live a good, honest life, he would've. The only reason he turned to crime was because he was desperate. I don't think he was a bad guy, he just bad astronomically bad luck in life.

[@Rollin_L]

@@Montgomeryyy I agree 100%. One of the true villains of the Billy the Kid story is Lew Wallace. This man who claimed to be a Christian refused to honor his word and left Billy languishing in jail for reasons we will never know. Billy honored his commitment, allowed himself to be arrested, testified as promised, but was betrayed. Is it any wonder he resorted to another jail escape and back to his only means of survival? His choices were often given him out of circumstances beyond his control.

[@Montgomeryyy]

@@Rollin_L Which also got him in trouble with the gang he testified against. I can't imagine how he felt. And it happened to him so many times too. He'd try to make peace by being honest and doing the right thing and would just get himself into deeper shit than he was in originally.

[@BoomerMcBoom]

Given his childhood and upbringing, he was exceptionally honorable. More so than his supposed ‘betters’.

[@SithWithNoName]

Excellent program. ¡Gracias!

[@plymouthduster225]

My grandpa was a huge western movie fan. Mostly of John Wayne movies. But he had others on VHS and I guess maybe I was about 8 years old and I watched the 1943 film The Outlaw with Grandpa. Of course after the movie was over my grandpa told me the real story of Billy The Kid. Grandpa and myself included were never believers of the whole Brushy Bill Roberts story. I always wanted to believe that Billy lived to be an old man. But sadly I never found anything to convince me that he did. I believe that he did die at the young age of 21. But I am curious Bob is the book The Death of Billy The Kid by John W. Poe very historically accurate? I have wanted to buy but I enjoy reading the true stories not fiction about Billy the Kid.

[@HarpsichordHymnsTimRemington]

Fascinating documentary! Thank you for creating and sharing this.

[@MLukacs]

Thank you, Bob! This paints an interesting perspective on Billy the Kid through a variety of sources.

[@AIRRAID2]

Swear I heard Rolling Stones - Painted in black there in the beginning nice tune .😃 Fantastic 🤠 scenery. Take care Bob // Patrik 🥊❤️🥊

[@blueduck5589]

If Billy the Kid had gone by his real name, Henry McCarty, nobody would know or care who he was.

[@cherimolina2121]

I think he grew up somewhat abused by the "cast system" of immigrants. He could see right from wrong. At his age though his best bet were the men he hung out with to best keep himself alive.. and from any further "social" abuse. In the end he was the one who fought the corruption in the system. Honestly I believe we need more like him around now! I know many of you think I'm loco. You've probably never been wronged by the justice system, allowing the real bad person/people go free. And you can do nothing.

[@clintwhitehead6977]

I think it's really sad that some people who are hailed as experts are given a platform to give their opinions where the general public believes that some of these so called experts are telling them historically accurate facts and they don't know anymore about history than a rock. When some other knowledgeable people are in the same company as these so called experts it ruins their credibility. I would recommend people who want the truth go to these historical places and talk to real people in those areas and talk to them and weed out the good from the bad. Then these experts won't be able to fool people into believing they actually know something when they really don't. The people who live this history and this lifestyle cringe when we hear these people talk.

[@josephogrodnik4792]

Agree. What these experts are describing is their romanticized view of a criminal. They base their comments on dime novels and books that were published and embellished before they even knew who Billy The Kid was. Add Hollywood in to the mix, and the true history is distorted.

[@jimmymacias6335]

Amazing video enjoyed the Hell out of it Mr. Bell, how can I order the doc, wyatt, Billy book you wrote thanks for all your work SIR!!!!

[@TrueWestMagazine]

store.truewestmagazine.com/product-category/books/

[@wk4max]

@Fredric Nolan, Hey buddy greetings from Liverpool ,maxwell ,Wirral

[@michaelmolsbergen6498]

Geez Bob. Please come up with another thirty minutes for at least a full hour. What a great show. It was fun seeing the places in Lincoln that I had been too. We ate and slept at The Wortley and wandered the Old Courthouse. What a fun show guys. Well done.

[@davidsquire2107]

Most informative

[@brianbobbins6685]

Can't believe everything happened before he were 21, I really think he lived on . I guessing he was brushy, it has to be brushy?

[@dustyrustymusty3577]

My old granny used to put a lot of store in "gumption". Hard for me to believe she was born about the same year that the gunfight at the OK Corral took place. Oh, and she carried a gun.

[@trumptorianguard4617]

Women love outlaws, pirates and bad guys … like Clinton and B. Husain O.

[@scottnix4991]

There was never a wanted poster on the Kid. Only a blurb in a Santa Fe newspaper.

[@lanceroberthough1275]

Those women are obviously turned on talking about Billy the kid.

[@sartainja]

A fellow as famous as Billy the Kid with only one known picture - very ironic. Billy was the American version of Robin Hood. I think he was an hero not an outlaw.

[@peterthompson7424]

Billy was a straight up rebel. Against all Authority!

[@larry1824]

If his side had won the range war we may not ever have heard of him that much

[@madliberal7710]

Was Billy the Kid a soldier for Quantrill?

[@tonydeaton1967]

I wish these historians would weigh in on the Brushy Bill Roberts angle that never seems to go away and put it to rest once and for all.

[@BEEZYS-WORLD]

Rip uncle drew gomber

[@JorgeMendez-kn5ql]

Claude Dallas may be the last Western folk hero.

[@Rick_Cleland]

👀

[@colleenbonniwell4226]

koch bros bought it ...

[@allenantonio4389]

Hello Bob

[@dontaylor7315]

William Henry McCarty, alias Kid Antrim, alias Billy Bonney, alias Chivato, alias Kid Bonney, alias the Kid, was not known as "Billy The Kid" until a newspaper invented the name during the last year of his life. Bonney was his immigrant mother's maiden name. McCarty was her first husband's name. Antrim was the Kid's stepfather's name.

[@louislamboley9167]

I think people relate to Billy because the killings were vengeful and for many people justified. They were in a war and the killing was give and take. Billy was no worse than any of the members of both factions. He was good humored, and personable and people liked him easily. He liked to sing and dance and enjoyed music. He was also mean as a snake against his enemies. He never robbed a bank or held up a stage. He was a cattle rustler, but many did the same thing. He should have left the area when he last escaped. He had friends and help which could have assisted his leaving. That is the psychological enigma. Why didnt he run ?

[@glasair38sr]

He was familiar with the area, and he did thrive upon being ‘The Man’, somewhat. He was a ‘people guy’ (if he liked you..hehe), and always returned to the familiar. I’m sure Garret knew this as well. Hence the right place at the right time.

[@louislamboley9167]

@@glasair38sr Yes, he had been promoted to being the leader of the Regulators and this must have been a big boost for him. Although it was a process of elimination that got him there and his ranks were growing thin. It sounds like he really enjoyed the war and was hoping it would go on for a time. He did not see the writing on the wall. Everyone was financially ruined by that time. Garret gave him plenty of time to escape and if based on his behavior only reluctantly and under pressure went looking for him after being told of his where abouts. It's always struck me as odd that he would remain in the vicinity after loosing all his friends and having made good the escape. He apparently wanted to live. He had already been to Mexico and knew how to speak Spanish. I have no doubt it was Billy that Garret killed. Too many witnesses that saw the body. No one doubted it was him. I guess it adds to the mystery and fascination.

[@disgruntledpedant2755]

Seems like this was produced to boost the careers of gomber's wife and the broad that painted the terrible picture. She's probably the professor's grunter. Sad how geezers are easily manipulated with the threst of loneliness.

[@caryboyd2181]

Did Bob Bozbell do the cob

[@caryboyd2181]

Bozbell did the cover art?

[@hiltonmclaurin]

Chano Silva's interview in the late 1990s contradicts much of the narrative found here. Chano was a Marine in WWII on Okinawa and the grandson of Jesus Silva one of Billy's pallbearers and the brother of the infamous Vincente Silva in Las Vegas, NM.

[@nimitz1739]

Wait they found the photo in 1986 and people who know I’m saying it wasn’t a good picture of him? Who was alive in 1986 who knew Billy the kid?

[@artisaprimus6306]

The more I learned about Billy the Kid, the more interested I became. It almost seems he was cursed to suffer since childhood. He had to fight to survive as a child and then a young man. I love history and I considered what I would do or in his situation. Would I be brave or would I just leave the state after John Tunstils murder? He's a tragic figure in American history.

[@Bob.W.]

Thx.

[@we7438]

Hey Bob, what do you think of Dave Stamey's song Skies of Lincoln County?

[@justintrimpey8862]

I have both young guns film's and I've been a fan of Western films and legends

[@luckylokomotiongarcias6152]

Billy the kid lives on & on greatest legend of the wild west... then it's Wyatt Earp

[@youaresomeone3413]

Billy the kid is my all time favorite out of anyone in history and my second is wild Bill and third is Doc Holiday.

[@warrendelay]

If this were held today Bell would invite "Q" to speak.

[@guydebacker1140]

Thank you mr Bell, i loved it, and thanks to prof. Hutton , i also loved the apache wars .

[@WildManMedia]

The Best video made on the kid . These people describe The effect of Billy like i felt it

[@marksummers463]

It would have been nice if this video actually told the story!

[@davidroberts5577]

Awesome, thanks for sharing this!

[@ChiefThundermoon]

Billy the Kid Epix channel

[@iceblue6971]

Great video and channel.

[@marjoriegarner5369]

what's all the yelling?

[@45-70Guy]

This is awesome content

[@tnt-hv6qw]

my hero

[@johnellison6021]

Enjoyed the video Bob

[@stevep4574]

Wonder what kind of Mexican food, if any, did Billy eat.

[@Montgomeryyy]

I know he loved fruit empanadas and had a huge sweet tooth in general. It can also be assumed that he ate plenty of other traditional Mexican dishes while living in a Hispanic community. I don't believe tacos or things like that really existed back then, but they used similar ingredients that you would find in these dishes.

[@johncox2865]

$2 MILLION, for that? God, too many people have too much money laying around collecting dust.

[@Rollin_L]

@The Scourge No, the heat is not getting to you. That is William Koch who bought the original tintype.

[@dickdavidson3616]

@@Rollin_L Your right. He certainly has the dough and loves to collect. Saw his wine collection on KZbin the other day, unbelievable!

[@chipmusick682]

Same guy just paid over 6 million for the gun Pat Garrett said he used to kill the Kid.

[@colleenbonniwell4226]

DELVE IN ....DO YOU REALLY WANNA KNOW ❓

[@colleenbonniwell4226]

I think y'all just want the legend

[@colleenbonniwell4226]

RIP BILLIE

[@SirKnight1096]

Billy the Kid is the most overrated Old West Outlaw, ever. They have Young Guns 3 in the works. An outlaw whose story fascinated me more was "Deacon" Jim Miller. Others more interesting are the James-Younger Gang, the whole family; Bill Doolin of Doolin-Dalton Gang, Belle Starr, the Dalton Gang, Butch and Sundance, Kid Curry, and I'd even put Doc Holliday and Luke Short up there. Then Billy the Kid. Can't forget interesting lesser knowns like Frank "Buckskin" Leslie, Cherokee Bill, and the Rufus Buck Gang. My favorite Lawdogs are Bass Reeves, Wyatt Earp and his brothers, Bat Masterson and his brother, The Three Guardsmen (Bill Tilghman, Heck Thomas, and Chris Madsen), Tom Tucker, and the Texas Rangers. My favorite Cowboy is Bill Pickett.

[@charliebecker9391]

I've watched this video. I gave it a Thumbs Down because the ,so called, Historians came across as Star Struck Children who ignore the fact that Henry aka Billy, was a cold blooded killer. To make a hero of such a person, when professing to be a Factual Historian, is absolutely absurd. An Oxymoron indeed. I laugh when I hear the comments that he was a True American. Maybe he had a lousy childhood, Maybe!! Many have, however; to portray an ignorant, good for little, killer as the Salt of the Earth, a True American, u personally find ridiculous. I question any opinion of those Historians interviewed on this video, wit exception to Bob Boze Bell, who did not paint a rosey picture of the Kid. I believe Sheriffs, Marshals, and outlaws had allot in common and it wouldn't and didn't take much for them to go either way. They're human and not unlike people of today. The difference is, back then, word of mouth and "Some" newspaper accounts informed you of such individuals. Today, we have the bias Press and TV News that write history, no matter how convoluted and bias. All in all, the so called experts in this video, with exception to Bob Bell, have accomplished little to add any validity to anything they publish. This is not meant to be mean, it is my opinion of what I viewed on this KZbin video. God Bless you all and best wishes.

[@chipmusick682]

@@charliebecker9391 Like it or not...BTK is a LEGENDARY figure in American history...maybe there's something about the story that you just don't understand.

[@Idahoguy10157]

BTK got 18th century attention. Newspapers and dime novels. If there’s a question to be asked it’s why all the attention since. IDK why… just accept an insignificant cowboy gone violent gets more attention than the names you’ve typed in.