of congestive heart failure on July 18, 1886. He was once one of the wealthiest authors in America, but his wife had to sell his beloved home, the "Eagle's Nest", to pay his debts. Buntline's novels may have had unintended consequences. Some avid readers became thrilled with the exploits of western outlaws and to them, the novels glamorized crime. The female bandits Little Britches and Cattle Annie, for instance, read dime novels, which allegedly aroused their interest in the Doolin gang and may have propelled them into a youthful life of crime. The Buntline Special Stuart N. Lake, in his largely fictionalized biography Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal (1931), wrote that Earp and four other well-known Western lawmen—Bat Masterson, Bill Tilghman, Charlie Bassett, and Neal Brown—each received a Colt Single Action Army revolver as a gift from Buntline, in thanks for their help in contributing local color to his Western yarns. The revolvers were said to be chambered in .45 Colt with 12-inch barrels, removable shoulder stocks, standard sights, and wooden grips into which the name "Ned" was ornately carved. These revolvers came to be known collectively as the Buntline Special. According to Lake, Earp kept his at the original 12-inch length, but the four other recipients of the revolvers cut their barrels down to 7½ inches. Modern researchers have not found any evidence in secondary sources or primary documents of the guns' existence prior to the publication of Lake's book. Lake expended much effort trying to track these guns through the Colt company, Masterson, and Earp's contacts in Alaska. Researchers have not found any record of an order received by Colt and Buntline's alleged connection with Earp has been largely discredited by William B. Shillinberg, who presented a detailed case to confute the Buntline Special legend. Massad Ayoob, in Greatest Handguns of the World, stated that "historians debate whether Wyatt Earp owned a 'Buntline Special' (author is inclined to believe that he did), but Colt manufactured many in the latter half of the 20th century". Portrayals in popular culture The portly comedic character actor Dick Elliott played "Major Ned Buntline" in the 1935 film Annie Oakley with Barbara Stanwyck in the title role. Academy Award Winning actor, Thomas Mitchell, played Ned Buntline in the 1944 film Buffalo Bill. From 1955 to 1958, Lloyd Corrigan played Buntline in six episodes of the ABC Western series The Life and Legend of Wyatt