Billy The Kid: The True Story of the Notorious Outlaw | Full Documentary | American Experience | PBS

The orphan teen who became the most wanted man in the West. A fascinating look at the boy behind the myth, BILLY THE KID puts a human face on the legend who in just a few short years transformed himself from a skinny orphan boy to the most feared man in the West to an enduring icon. On April 28, 1881, twenty-one-year-old Henry McCarty, a.k.a. Billy the Kid, just days from being hanged for murder, outfoxed his jailers and electrified the nation with the latest in a long line of miraculous escapes. An outlaw with a deadly reputation, the young man was finally gunned down by the ambitious sheriff Pat Garrett just a few weeks later. The felling of one of the most notorious criminals of the age made front-page news and marked the end of Henry — but it was the beginning of one of the West’s most enduring legends. Demonized by the lawman that killed him, the Kid was soon mythologized by a never-ending stream of dime store novels and big-screen dramas, portrayed by everyone from Paul Newman to Roy Rogers to Emilio Estevez. But in all the tellings, Billy the Kid’s real story has been obscured. Official Website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe... © 1992 WGBH Educational Foundation 00:00 The Legend of Billy the Kid 04:21 Billy the Kid’s Origins: From New York Famine to Silver City, New Mexico 09:03 Henry McCarty Escapes Silver City Jail 12:23 Henry McCarty’s First Murder and Becoming “The Kid” 17:33 Inside the Origins of the Lincoln County War 24:33 The Regulators Vow Revenge for the Death of John Tunstall 27:04 Lincoln County War: Lawlessness in New Mexico Territory 29:50 Billy the Kid and the Hispanos of New Mexico 31:34 Governor Lew Wallace Breaks His Promise 34:17 How Billy the Kid Became an American Icon 36:17 Pat Garrett Traps BIlly the Kid at Stinking Spring 41:07 Billy the Kid’s Daring Escape from Jail 45:35 The Final Ambush in Fort Sumner 49:50 How an Outlaw Became a Legend #BillyTheKid #TheWest #WildWest #OldWest #NewMexico #Outlaw #TrueCrime #Myth #America #History #Documentary This program is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station: https://www.pbs.org/donate Subscribe to the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/AmericanExp... Enjoy full episodes of your favorite AMERICAN EXPERIENCE shows anytime, anywhere with the free PBS App: https://to.pbs.org/2QbtzhR FOLLOW AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Newsletter: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe... Facebook:   / americanexperiencepbs   Instagram:   / americanexperiencepbs   Threads: https://www.threads.net/@americanexpe...