Eric Fleming (born Edward Heddy Jr.; July 4, 1925 – September 28, 1966) was an American actor known primarily for his role as Gil Favor in the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
''
Rawhide''.
Early life
Fleming was born as Edward Heddy Jr. in
Santa Paula, California
Santa Paula (Spanish for " St. Paula") is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa Pau ...
, the only child of Edward and Mildred (Anderson) Heddy.
Born with a
club foot
Clubfoot is a birth defect where one or both feet are rotated inward and downward. Congenital clubfoot is the most common congenital malformation of the foot with an incidence of 1 per 1000 births. In approximately 50% of cases, clubfoot aff ...
, he needed crutches to get around and was often severely beaten by his father. At the age of eight, he attempted to kill his father with a gun, which jammed. He left home shortly after, first to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, and then to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
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, where he lived roughly and associated with gangsters, doing odd jobs for them to make money. At the age of 11, after being wounded in a gunfight between some gangsters and hospitalized, he was returned home to his mother, who had recently divorced.
During
the Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion ...
, he dropped out of school and worked at various jobs until he joined the
Merchant Marine, before joining the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
in 1942 for
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. He was a
Seabee
, colors =
, mascot = Bumblebee
, battles = Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Cape Gloucester, Los Negros, Guam, Peleliu, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, Philippin ...
in the 88th Naval Construction Battalion as a carpenter.
He served until 1945 and became a petty officer second class.
He received severe facial injuries during a bet in which he was attempting to lift a weight and had to undergo extensive plastic surgery to reconstruct his forehead, nose, and jaw. Before this, Fleming had always thought himself "ugly" and considered the incident a "wonderful balance of values."
[Eric Fleming- Rawhide Star, actor](_blank)
trivia.ellenthorp.com; accessed May 1, 2018.
After his facial reconstruction, he returned to Paramount Studios, where he had been working as a construction worker, grip, and carpenter. He made a bet with an actor that he could do a better audition. He lost the bet and it cost him $100 and "I lost a lot of pride too, which hurt but the $100 hurt worse." Upon deciding that acting had cost him $100, and acting would get it back, he entered acting classes at the studio in the evenings.
Fleming's acting debut came in a road company production of ''
Happy Birthday''.
He appeared on stage in Chicago and in a number of successful
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
plays, including the musical ''Plain and Fancy.'' He began acting in television shows about the same time. Fleming then moved to
Hollywood and starred in several low-budget films, including ''Fright'', ''
Curse of the Undead
''Curse of the Undead'' is a 1959 American horror Western film directed by Edward Dein and starring Eric Fleming, Michael Pate and Kathleen Crowley.
Plot
In an Old West town, young girls are dying of a mysterious wasting disease. Dr. John ...
'', and the cult classic ''
Queen of Outer Space
''Queen of Outer Space'' is a 1958 American science fiction feature film shot in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. Produced by Ben Schwalb and directed by Edward Bernds, it stars Zsa Zsa Gabor, Eric Fleming, and Laurie Mitchell. The screenplay by C ...
''.
''Rawhide''
In 1958, the 6-foot, 3-inch () Fleming landed the starring role as trail boss Gil Favor in ''
Rawhide''. Set in the 1860s, ''Rawhide'' portrayed the challenges faced by the men of the
cattle drive
A cattle drive is the process of moving a herd of cattle from one place to another, usually moved and herded by cowboys on horses.
Europe
In medieval central Europe, annual cattle drives brought Hungarian Grey cattle across the Danube River ...
from
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
, to
Sedalia, Missouri
Sedalia is a city located approximately south of the Missouri River and, as the county seat of Pettis County, Missouri, United States, it is the principal city of the Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had ...
. Producer
Charles Marquis Warren called on the diary written in 1866 by trail boss George C. Duffield to shape the character of Favor: a savvy, strong, and fair leader who persevered and got the job done.
The top-rated
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
, with co-stars
Clint Eastwood,
Sheb Wooley, and
Paul Brinegar
Paul Alden Brinegar Jr. (December 19, 1917 – March 27, 1995) was an American character actor best known for his roles in three Western series: ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'', '' Rawhide'', and ''Lancer''.
Early years
Brinegar was b ...
, ran from 1959 to 1966. Fleming and Eastwood more or less rotated in playing the lead from week-to-week, but the former was always billed first. Fleming also co-wrote two ''Rawhide'' scripts—"Incident of the Night on the Town" (season three, episode 29) and "A Woman's Place" (season four, episode 25).
Fleming, Wooley (trail scout Pete Nolan),
James Murdock (Wishbone's clumsy meal assistant Mushy),
Robert Cabal
Harold Christopher McColgan (April 7, 1917 – May 11, 2004) was an American film and television actor. He was a regular cast member of '' Rawhide''.
Selected filmography
Selected Television
References
External links
*
*
1917 births ...
(wrangler Hey Soos), and
Rocky Shahan
Rocky Shahan (March 4, 1919 – December 8, 1981) was an American actor and stuntman. He was a regular cast member of '' Rawhide''. In 1957, he had a rare integral & speaking part as Dodge’s stagecoach driver “Hank” in the ending of an epi ...
(drover Joe Scarlet) were all dismissed by Ben Brady during ''Rawhide''’s summer 1965 hiatus prior to shooting the eighth season. The recently installed sixth executive producer of ''Rawhide'' had been tasked with revitalizing the series and reversing declining ratings. Fleming boasted to ''TV Guide'' that "CBS fired me because they were paying me a million dollars a year" (only $220,000 to be exact).
With Eastwood promoted against his better judgment to trail boss, the cattle drive continued for 13 episodes before CBS chief
William S. Paley
William Samuel Paley (September 28, 1901 – October 26, 1990) was an American businessman, primarily involved in the media, and best known as the chief executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System ( CBS) from a small radio network into ...
preemptively axed it that December. Another cancellation factor, according to Eastwood, was that "''Rawhide'' had been the network's only show to get a rating on Friday night, so they switched us to Tuesday opposite a show with the same type of male audience, ''Combat!''" (ABC's gritty World War II drama starring
Rick Jason
Rick Jason (born Richard Jacobson; May 21, 1923 – October 16, 2000) was an American actor, born in New York City, and most remembered for starring in the ABC television drama ''Combat!'' (1962–1967).
Childhood
An only child of Jewish parent ...
and
Vic Morrow
Victor Morrow (born Victor Morozoff; February 14, 1929 – July 23, 1982) was an American actor. He came to prominence as one of the leads of the ABC drama series '' Combat!'' (1962–1967), which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstand ...
involving the Western Front).
''The Glass Bottom Boat'' and ''Bonanza''
Fleming rebounded with a supporting role as a suave spy in ''
The Glass Bottom Boat
''The Glass Bottom Boat'' is a 1966 American romantic spy comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Doris Day, Rod Taylor, and Arthur Godfrey, with John McGiver, Paul Lynde, Edward Andrews, Eric Fleming, Dom DeLuise, and Dick Mart ...
'', a
Doris Day comedy vehicle, and also guest-starred in three episodes of the number-one rated, family-themed NBC Western ''
Bonanza'' alongside
Michael Landon (as Little Joe Cartwright) and action director
William Witney
William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serials: '' Dick Tracy Returns'', '' G-Men vs. the Bl ...
. Effective as the sadistic Wes Dunn in the titular "Peace Officer" from season seven, Fleming was brought back by series creator
David Dortort
David Dortort (born David Solomon Katz; October 23, 1916 – September 5, 2010) was a Hollywood screenwriter and producer, widely known for his role as producer in two successful NBC television series: ''Bonanza'' (1959–73) and ''The High Chap ...
for the subsequent season to star as honorable Mormon rancher Heber Clauson in "The Pursued", a two-parter exploring religious persecution and intolerance. The first installment was aired only four days after Fleming's accidental death.
''High Jungle'' and death
Fleming signed to star in ''
High Jungle'', a two-part episode of the short-lived ''
Off to See the Wizard
''Off to See the Wizard'' is an American television anthology series, partially animated but mostly live action, produced by MGM Animation/Visual Arts and telecast on ABC-TV between 1967 and 1968 that was narrated by Hal Holbrook.
History
The se ...
'', also intended for theatrical distribution in Europe. Six weeks into the location shoot in Peru, Fleming and co-star
Nico Minardos
Nico Minardos (February 15, 1930, Pangrati, Athens – August 27, 2011, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California) was a Greek-American actor. He died in 2011 in Woodland Hills, California at age 81, from natural causes.
Work in Hollywood
His fi ...
were in a dugout canoe that overturned in the
Huallaga River
The Huallaga River is a tributary of the Marañón River, part of the Amazon Basin. Old names for this river include ''Guallaga'' and ''Rio de los Motilones''. The Huallaga is born on the slopes of the Andes in central Peru and joins the Marañón ...
. Minardos managed to swim to safety. Fleming was swept away by the current and drowned on September 28, 1966, at age 41, leaving behind fiancée Lynne Garber.
Selected filmography
Selected television appearances
References
External links
*
*
Eric FlemingUnited States Navy Memorial Log
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Eric
1925 births
1966 deaths
20th-century American male actors
Accidental deaths in Peru
American male film actors
American male television actors
Deaths by drowning
Filmed deaths of entertainers
Male actors from California
Military personnel from California
People from Santa Paula, California
United States Merchant Mariners
United States Navy non-commissioned officers
United States Navy personnel of World War II
Western (genre) television actors
Seabees