I'll be your huckleberry ...

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From what I've heard (and this is the most plausible explanation I've encountered), Tombstone got the quote wrong. He didn't say "I'll be your huckleberry," he said "I'll be you hucklebearer," which was slang for pallbearer. Of course with his southern drawl, hucklebearer would sound a lot like huckleberry.

Ryan
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Im southern (Georgia) and when i talk it sounds like that, huckelbearer! Lol thanks ive never really been around anyone who aint southern so ive never relized that before,
 
post # 18 by Rallyhound
Doc was sooo cool in Tombstone that every so often I find myself in front of the mirror wearing a duster, My coach gun peering from under the front flap of the coat. My girl thinks I`m nuts.
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Rally, 'roll-playing' can be a very healthy and enjoyable thing but should remain in the privacy of your home:D:D:D.
 
That old saying makes me feel young again!! :p

Yes, it means "I'm the man for your job, challenge, etc."
 
Why don't one of you guys, (Rallyhound seems the logical choice ;)), just look at the credits of the movie and send a letter to the writer of the screenplay and ask him/her what was said in the script and what it meant.

Something like this;

Dear Sir or Madam,
For three years some friends and I have been arguing over some dialogue in a movie you wrote called "Tombstone". Can you clear this mystery up for us as it has cost too much time lost in researching, blogging, rewatching the movie and even playing dress-up. Help us please!
What does Val mean when he says...

Go to the horses mouth, so to speak... any volunteers? :D
 
But RDak seems to have already responded with an explanation that makes complete sense.

Wish they would put that movie on BluRay :D
 
I did some research on this topic by watching "My Darling Clementine" with Henry Fonda (W. Earp) and Victor Mature (Doc H.). Victor Mature didn't use the phrase at all, so historically it probably never occurred.

However this quote from wikipedia is helpful:

Huckleberry "Huck" Hound is a blue dog that spoke with a Southern drawl, with a relaxed, sweet, and well-intentioned personality. He first appeared in the series The Huckleberry Hound Show.

The term "Huckleberry" can be a slang synonym for a rube or an amateur, and that seems to fit Huck's personality. Most of his shorts consisted of Huck trying to perform jobs in different fields, ranging from policeman to (ironically enough) dogcatcher, with backfiring results, yet usually coming out on top, either through slow persistence or sheer luck.
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I believe Val Kilmer probably grew up watching Huckleberry Hound on Saturday mornings while he ate his Froot Loops or Sugar Pops.

The T-shirt is available on zazzle, revolver and all...

http://www.zazzle.com/im_your_huckleberry_tshirt-235029434732032425
 
I'm your huckleberry.

The movie Tombstone came up in conversation today and naturally Kilmer's Doc Holliday line, "I'm your huckleberry".

A search of the term, quote and other information lead me to TFL forums and this thread.

Being as I haven't been on in a while and this thread hasn't been rehashed in a longer while, I thought I'd be the huckleberry that brought it up again.

pax, amor et huckleberries, Nuke Submariner
 
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nuke submariner, welcome to The Firing Line! (Yes, I see that you've been a member for a while, but I guess this was your first post.)

Clearly, this thread has a tendency to rise from the dead, but as it is not firearms-related, I think it's time to put it in its final resting place.
 
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