''Rawhide'' is an American

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 ...

TV series starring

Eric Fleming 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 television series '' Rawhide''. Early life Fleming was born as Edward Heddy Jr. in Santa Pau ...

and

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...

. The show aired for eight seasons on 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 ...

network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959, to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965, until December 7, 1965, with a total of 217

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

episodes. The series was produced and sometimes directed by Charles Marquis Warren, who also produced early episodes of ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

''. The show is fondly remembered by many for its theme, " Rawhide". Spanning years, ''Rawhide'' was the sixth-longest running American television Western, exceeded only by 8 years of ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...

'', 9 years of '' The Virginian'', 14 years of ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...

'', 18 years of ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

'', and 20 years of ''

''.

Synopsis

Set in the 1860s, ''Rawhide'' portrays the challenges faced by the drovers of a

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 ...

. Most episodes are introduced with a monologue by Gil Favor (Eric Fleming), trail boss. In a typical ''Rawhide'' story, the drovers come upon people on the trail and involve themselves in other people's affairs, usually encountering various corrupt individuals. Many times, one or more of the crew venture into a nearby town and encounter some trouble from crooked townspeople or lawless politicians from which they need to be rescued. Rowdy Yates (Clint Eastwood) was young and at times impetuous in the earliest episodes, and Favor had to keep a tight rein on him. Favor is a savvy and strong leader, who always plays "square" with his fellow men – a tough customer who can handle the challenges and get the job done. (Producer Charles Warren called on the diary written in 1866 by trail boss George C. Duffield to shape the character of Favor.) Although Favor had the respect and loyalty of the men who worked for him, the people, including Yates, are insubordinate to him a few times, after working too hard or after receiving a tongue lashing. Favor has to fight at times and usually wins. Some ''Rawhide'' stories were easy in production terms, but the peak form of the show was convincing and naturalistic, and sometimes brutal. Its story lines ranged from parched

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

s to

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

, ghostly riders to

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

cattle raiding Cattle raiding is the act of stealing cattle. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examination of the English language and English ...

, bandits, murderers, and others. A frequent story line was the constant need to find water for the cattle. The scout spent much of his time looking for water, sometimes finding that water holes and even rivers had dried up. In some ways, the show was similar to the TV series ''

'', which had debuted on NBC on September 18, 1957. For example, neither the wagon train nor the herd moved very much. ''Rawhide'' frequently dealt with controversial topics.

Robert Culp Robert Martin Culp (August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010) was an American actor widely known for his work in television. Culp earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on ''I Spy'' (1965–1968), the espionage television se ...

played an ex-soldier on the drive who had become dangerously addicted to

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

. Mexican drover Jesús faced

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

at times from outside of the crew. Several shows deal with the aftermath of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, which ended four years earlier. The "Poco Tiempo" episode reveals that Yates' father's name was Dan, that Yates came from Southwestern Texas, that he joined the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

at 16, and that he was later held in a federal prison camp. Favor also served in the CSA as a captain. "Incident on the Edge of Madness" in season one, guest-starring

Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...

, had Favor's old commanding officer attempting to enlist the aid of Favor and his men to start the "New Confederacy of

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

" much to Favor's dismay. In that same episode, Favor and Nolan were revealed to have been in the Confederate forces up on Marye's Heights at the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

, and they "felt shamed" at killing so many Union soldiers. Some American Indians demanded cattle as payment for going through their land. Rough characters were in the shows, and in one episode, Gil Favor is tortured by having his face held near a fire. In "Incident of the Town in Terror", people think that a sick Yates has "the plague" (anthrax), and they enforce at gunpoint a

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

of the cattle drovers outside the town. Also, cattle rustlers were around, including Commancheros. On occasions, ''Rawhide'' was eerily atmospheric. "Incident with an Executioner" featured a mysterious dark rider (

Dan Duryea Dan Duryea ( , January 23, 1907 – June 7, 1968) was an American actor in film, stage, and television. Known for portraying a vast range of character roles as a villain, he nonetheless had a long career in a wide variety of leading and second ...

) seen on the hillside following the herd, "Incident of the Haunted Hills" featured a sacred Indian burial ground, "Incident of the Druid Curse" and season two's "Incident of the Murder Steer" (where anyone sighting a rogue steer with "Murder" carved on its side soon after dies, based on an actual legend of the Old West). The series also featured episodes with

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

s, cattle with horns lit up by

St. Elmo's fire St. Elmo's fire — also called Witchfire or Witch's Fire — is a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge from a rod-like object such as a mast, spire, chimney, or animal hornHeidorn, K., Weather Element ...

at dusk, cowboys struck by lightning, plus a strange, totally enclosed

gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

wagon, apparently steering itself, repeatedly turning up, all stand out as curiously "spooky" tales for a bustling dusty cattle drive; the show's often stark incidental music suited these stories perfectly. In episode 67, "Incident Near the Promised Land" (most episode titles began with "Incident" until Bruce Geller and Bernard L. Kowalski became the producers for season six), the cattle drive finally reached Sedalia for the first time in the series. Unusually, episode 68 continues on from that, where the cattle have been sold and the men celebrate in town and decide on their futures with even Favor thinking of leaving the business. Instead of the usual ending, wherein Favor gives the command "Head 'em up! Move 'em out!" and the cattle move off, this episode had the end titles over a view of a Sedalia street. Episode 69 has Favor visiting his two daughters, Gillian and Maggie, who live with their aunt Eleanor Bradley in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In episode 70, a number of the men are back together and heading back to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

about 650 miles away, with a herd of horses (used in the titles) instead of cattle. Episode 71 has a new cattle drive ready to go, but the owner of 1600 of the cattle wants to be in charge, so Favor reluctantly signs on as a ramrod, but after problems, Favor becomes boss again at the end of the show. These five episodes made up one storyline instead of the usual single-episode stories, which could have been set anywhere in the West. Favor had many bad moments in the series, but none worse than the "Lost Herd" episode. Close to drive's finish, Favor wants to beat another herd to town to get the best prices. He takes a narrow shortcut; due to thunder and lightning, the herd stampedes over the cliffs, leaving him just 9 out of 3000 cattle when the drive reaches town. He does not have the money to pay the drovers and has to face the owner (

Royal Dano Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 - May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic L ...

) whose cattle he has lost, knowing that he might never work in the business again. From the second season, episodes began to feature individual cast members, notably Clint Eastwood's Yates (sole star in "Incident on the Day of the Dead", which opens season two); later, both Scout Pete Nolan ( Sheb Wooley) and even cook G. W. Wishbone (

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 ...

) were featured as leads, while Fleming's Gil Favor remained in overall charge. Pete Nolan (Wooley), the scout, departs as a regular cast member after "The Deserter's Patrol" (season four, episode 18, 9 Feb 1962), but returns for a single episode "Reunion" (episode 26, 6 April 1962), and for a further nine episodes in season seven from "Texas Fever" (episode 18, 5 February 1965).

Charles H. Gray Charles H. Gray (November 27, 1921 – August 2, 2008) was an American television and film actor. Gray was best known for his work in the TV series '' Highway Patrol'' as Officer Edwards, trail scout Clay Forrester in '' Rawhide'' and as Wil ...

's character Clay Forester, having played a villain in three episodes of season four (from "The Inside Man", episode six), then reforms and replaces Nolan as scout from "The Greedy Town" (season four, episode 19). Gray remained in the regular cast for the rest of seasons four and five (though in a number of later episodes, he is credited but not seen). John Ireland Raymond St

In the eighth and final season of ''Rawhide'', Fleming left the series after an apparent disagreement with the producers. ''Rawhide'' had fallen in the ratings, from sixth in 1960–61 to 13th, 22nd, then 44th. Eric Fleming, who played Favor, was let go. "They fired me because they were paying me a million dollars a year" (actually $220,000), Fleming told ''TV Guide'' in 1965. Cast members Sheb Wooley, James Murdock, Rocky Shahan, and Robert Cabal were also let go. Eastwood was promoted to series star as Yates finally becomes the trail boss. This outcome was hinted at in earlier episodes when Favor indicates he is training Yates to replace him as trail boss. The impression given is this was a later cattle drive with Yates now in charge, at a time after Favor had either "retired" or given up as boss, presumably having made his money or opted for a career change, since no mention is ever made onscreen of him or the reason for his absence in the final season's episodes. In its casting of the series,

Robert Carricart Robert Anthony Carricart (January 18, 1917 – March 3, 1993) was a French-American film, television and theatre actor. He was known for playing the role of Pepe Cordoza in the American Action fiction, action Drama (film and television), drama t ...

was originally cast as George Washington Wishbone but was replaced by

. Carricart only played the role for the series unaired pilot.

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...

as Jed Colby and Raymond St Jacques as Simon Blake also joined the ''Rawhide'' cast at this time, plus semiregular minor cast member David Watson as Ian Cabot. With Fleming gone, ratings plunged and the revised format only lasted 13 episodes before ''Rawhide'' was suddenly cancelled in midseason.

Cast members

Regular cast members included: *

as trailboss Gil Favor (seasons 1 to 7) *

as ramrod Rowdy Yates (seasons 1 to 7) (and trailboss in season 8) * Sheb Wooley as scout Pete Nolan (seasons 1 to 4, later season 7 nine episodes) *

as the cantankerous cook, George Washington Wishbone (seasons 1 through 8) *

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 ...

as the wrangler, Jesús "Hey Soos" Patines (seasons 1 to 7) * James Murdock as Wishbone's assistant, Harkness "Mushy" Mushgrove III (seasons 1 to 7) * Steve Raines as drover Jim Quince (seasons 1 to 7, ramrod in season 8) *

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 ...

as drover Joe Scarlet (seasons 1 to 7) *

Don C. Harvey Don Carlos Harvey (December 12, 1911 – April 23, 1963) was an American television and film actor. Life Born in Council Grove in Morris County in east central Kansas, Harvey began his acting career by performing on radio and in tent shows and ...

as drover Collins (seasons 1 to 4) *

John Erwin John Lee Erwin (born December 5, 1936) is an American voice actor best known for voicing He-Man and Morris the Cat. Career Erwin was the voice of He-Man in the Filmation productions ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' and '' She-Ra: Prin ...

as drover Teddy (seasons 1 to 4, 6 to 7) * John Hart as drover Narbo (season 4, two appearances in season 7) * William R. Thompkins as drover Toothless (season 2 to 7) * John Cole as drover Bailey (season 1 to 5, one appearance in season 6) *

Milan Smith Milan Dale Smith Jr. (born May 19, 1942) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Smith's brother, Gordon H. Smith, was a Republican U.S. Senator f ...

as drover Kyle (season 1 to 2) *

as Clay Forrester (seasons 4 and 5 only, one appearance in season 6) *

Paul Comi Paul Domingo Comi (February 11, 1932 – August 26, 2016) was an American film and television actor. Biography Paul Comi was born 1932 in Brookline, Massachusetts. Comi grew up in North Quincy, Massachusetts and joined the United States Army a ...

as Yo Yo (season 7 only) *

as Jed Colby (season 8 only) * Raymond St. Jacques as rider Simon Blake (season 8 only) * David Watson as Ian Cabot (season 8 only)

Notable guest stars

* Nick Adams *

Claude Akins Claude Aubrey Akins (May 25, 1926 – January 27, 1994) was an American character actor with a long career on stage, screen, and television. He was best known as Sheriff Lobo on the 1979–1981 television series ''B.J. and the Bear'', and l ...

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* Charles Bateman *

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* Shelley Berman *

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* James Coburn *

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* Jeff Corey * Broderick Crawford *

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* Leif Erickson *

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* Steve Forrest * Anne Francis *

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* Kim Hunter *

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* Douglas Kennedy * George Kennedy *

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Episodes

Background and production

Series producer Charles Marquis Warren based ''Rawhide'' on three sources: * ''Cattle Empire'' is the movie that he directed in 1958 and for which Endre Bohem was a screenwriter and

, Steve Raines,

, and

were actors; all also worked in ''Rawhide''. * ''Chisholm Trail'' is the classic novel by Borden Chase that inspired the epic motion picture ''Red River (1948 film), Red River'' starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. * The diary of trail boss George C. Duffield was written during a cattle drive from San Antonio to Sedalia in 1866. The narrations with which Gil Favor begins each episode are similar in style and breadth to the entries in Duffield's journal, lending the show an extra measure of authenticity. Filming for the first season of ''Rawhide'' took place at Universal Pictures, Universal-International Studios in Hollywood. The extensive railroad scenes in the third season were filmed in one month on the Sierra Railroad in Tuolumne County, California. The premiere episode of ''Rawhide'' reached the top 20 in the Nielsen ratings. The show had a grueling production schedule, being mostly weekly with a three- to four-month break between seasons. After the first season of 22 episodes, seasons two to seven were each 30 episodes. Often, the only way the lead actors could get a break was if they were said to be off on business. On rare occasions, the show featured a small number of the actors and some misfortune, maybe in a town, which would give the others time off. Eric Fleming drowned at the age of 41 when a canoe flipped over on location while filming the movie ''High Jungle'' in 1966.

Theme song

The theme song's lyrics were written by Ned Washington in 1958. It was composed by Dimitri Tiomkin and sung by pop singer

. The theme song became very popular, and was covered several times and featured in movies such as ''The Blues Brothers (film), The Blues Brothers'' and ''Shrek 2''.

Title sequence

The eighth and final season's title sequence was animated by Ken Mundie of DePatie-Freleng Enterprises.

Release

Home media

CBS Home Entertainment, CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount) has released all eight seasons of ''Rawhide'' on DVD in Region 1. On May 12, 2015, CBS DVD released ''Rawhide- The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1. In Region 2, ''Rawhide'' has been released in Scandinavia: Season 1, by Noble Entertainment, two boxes, 2009–2010, season one re-releasing in January 2014 by Soulmedia, seasons 2 and 3, by Soulmedia (season 2 in two boxes, and season 3 in four boxes). No more seasons will be released in Scandinavia. Revelation Films has released the first three seasons on DVD in the UK. Season 4 will be released on March 23, 2015, followed by season 5 on June 22, 2015. They are released as complete season sets rather than two volumes. In Region 4, Madman Entertainment has released all eight seasons on DVD in Australia, with each season in one box. Season 8, the Final Season, was released on October 5, 2011. DVD releases play heavily on Clint Eastwood's later fame, depicting him in the foreground as the chief character and crediting: "Clint Eastwood in...", but the original show credits for seasons one to seven actually depict the late Eric Fleming (as Gil Favor) being the lead cast member, with Eastwood as co-star (excepting a few later episodes where Eastwood is the sole star). On the Region 1 DVD sets, the episode "Incident of the Roman Candles" is included on both the Season One DVD set and the Season Two Volume One DVD set. Similarly, the episode "Abilene" is included on both the Season Four Volume Two DVD set and the Season Five Volume Two DVD set.

Response

Nielsen Ratings

Adaptions

Books

In 1961, Signet Books published a paperback original novel called ''Rawhide'' by Frank Chester Robertson, Frank C. Robertson based upon the television show. Eric Fleming as Gil Favor and Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates are both on the front cover of the book. The book follows Favor, Yates, Wishbone, and others as they try to get their herd to Sedalia ahead of a rival's herd. The book was published multiple times with the last run printed in 1986.

Comics

The TV show was also adapted into a comic book by Dan Spiegle, distributed by Dell Comics.

References

External links

*
''Rawhide''
at FiftiesWeb.com *{{epguides, id=Rawhide, title=Rawhide
The Eric Fleming Information Base
1959 American television series debuts 1966 American television series endings Television series set in the 1860s English-language television shows Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming Television series by CBS Studios 1950s Western (genre) television series Television shows adapted into novels Television shows adapted into comics 1960s Western (genre) television series