Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates		Pete Nolan as Sheb Wooley
James Murdock as Mushy		Eric Flemming as Gil Favor
Quince	Cook	Scarlet

Rawhide

Based on George Dutfield's 1866 diary, Rawhide told the tale of a team of cowboys on a cattle drive from San Antonio, Texas, to Sedalia, Kansas, during the same period. The drovers were led by Gil Favor (Eric Fleming) but the series is probably best remembered these days for the character Rowdy Yates, a part played by up and coming mega-star Clint Eastwood. (It was this role which brought Eastwood to the attention of spaghetti western director Sergio Leone). Other characters included Wishbone (Paul Brinegar), Mushy (James Murdock), and Pete Nolan (country singer Sheb Wooley, who had a 1958 hit with 'Purple People Eater'). 217 episodes of 50 minute duration. CBS TV 1959-66.

The year was 1958 and in America the tubes were saturated with westerns. The public's appetite was insatiable. Every night, people were glued to the likes of 'Cheyenne', 'Maverick', 'Bronco', 'Lawman', 'Gunsmoke', 'The Rifleman', 'Wyatt Earp', 'Sugarfoot', 'Have Gun Will Travel' and the real biggie of the time 'Wagon Train' with Ward Bond. Amidst all this was Charles Marquis Warren, writer, producer, director, especially of Westerns. He had been instrumental in adapting 'Gunlaw' (which became 'Gunsmoke') from radio to television in 1955. Warren had just finished working on the western film "Cattle Empire" with Joel McCrea when C.B.S. was looking for an answer to 'Wagon Train'. Warren was approached and asked to come up with an idea for a Western series to capture the public's imagination. This of course was a major obstacle in itself, just about every conceivable sort of Western show had been done, or at least was being done right now! However Warren had enjoyed "Cattle Empire" and decided he would depict a show that centered around a long, hazardous cattle drive, featuring the drovers and their daily problems, plus of course, the many characters they would meet along the way. You could easily see a comparison to 'Wagon Train', but whereas that show would often degenerate into a glorified soap opera, 'Rawhide' would generally retain a gritty edge and sustain realism, seldom seen on the televisions of that era. Actually, 'Rawhide' had three sources aside from Warren's contribution. Warren obviously took from the film "Cattle Empire", but for inspiration, he had a diary written by George C Duffield, who had been a drover in 1866, on a drive from San Antonio to Sedalia. This diary was a major aspect of 'Rawhide', especially during Warren's seasons. In these episodes, Gil Favor (Eric Fleming) would be seen at the beginning of each episode introducing himself, with what could easily be notes from his own diary. The next source, was Borden Chase's novel The Chisholm Trail, which in itself inspired the final source and the one most closely associated with 'Rawhide'. "Red River" was an epic Western with John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. To a certain extent (and with some embellishments), Eric Fleming took on the Wayne role and Clint Eastwood, the Clift role.

From the beginning there was no doubt Eric was the lead as the tough, taciturn trail boss. He possessed an awesome inner strength that came out in the character of Gil Favor. In fact as the seasons progresses his character was to toughen up even more. Second in command was Rowdy. Clint's role matured from the hot headed punk who originally was not featured much, but became an integral part of many story lines. Actually, some of Clint's finest moments on film can be seen in some of these shows. Sheb Wooley also proved adept and featured prominently until 1962 when he left to purse his music career. He was sorely missed and did return for a short while during the 1964-65 season as well as an appearance or two in between years. He was replaced for some time by Charles Gray as Clay Forrester who never inspired the affection one felt for Pete Nolan. Several years later when producer Warren left the show it was to signal the beginning of many changes. Some of the feel of authenticity was to be left behind. For example no more readings from Gil Favor's diary. However there was still many good episodes, some of them rather violent and some outrageous comedy. Endre Bohem was to take over as producer. It was promotion really, as he had been working with Warren on the show for some years. Therefore the characters remained much the same. However, the writing, storyline, and scheduling did not. Clint eventually went on to become trail boss and the leading star of the series. Clint 's salary improved, reaching the neighborhood of about $100,000 a year toward the end of the run. C.B.S. even offered to defer part of his salary, which he took them up on. It saved taxes, and the money accrued interest while the network held it for his. Yet Clint has been quoted as saying that towards the end, he grew tired of portraying Rowdy Yates due to the fact that he never got to play a character with him that he wanted. There was no darkness in him, not even some odd quirks. When the series was finally officially cancelled in 1966

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