‘Rawhide’ Turns 65, Go Behind the Scenes With Clint Eastwood to See Exclusive Color Photos
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’… You can thank Rawhide, which ran for 217 episodes from 1959 to 1965 on CBS, for rollin’ actor Clint Eastwood into a career as an onscreen sharpshooter
Set in the 1860s, the cattle-driving drama follows trail boss Gil Favor (Eric Fleming) and his excitable partner Rowdy Yates (Eastwood) as they face down bandits, wolves, and other threats. (It wasn’t all big scares; sometimes they just needed to find water for their cattle!) The gritty series featured an impressive ensemble of guest stars too, like Bewitched’s Elizabeth Montgomery, crooner Dean Martin, and future Mr. Spock, Leonard Nimoy to name a few.
Rawhide premiered on January 9, 1959, but was delayed since it had trouble finding a sponsor due to being an expensive series to make; each episode cost approximately $40,000 and was filmed in B&W. In honor of its 65th anniversary, we dug up some behind-the-scenes photos in color from the TV Guide archives, which surprisingly only graced the cover once! Another fun fact? Eastwood is the last remaining main character from Rawhide who is still alive.
The only time Rawhide graced the cover of the infamous TV Guide Magazine was in 1961
Russ Halford/TV Guide/Everett Collection
Clint shows off his physique to fellow cast mates
Russ Halford/TV Guide/Everett Collection
Russ Halford/TV Guide/Everett Collection
Eric Fleming, Charles Marquis Warren (creator) and Clint Eastwood
Gene Trindl/TV Guide/Everett Collection
William Wellman Jr., Julie London, Eric Fleming, (director Ted Post with back to camera) in ‘Incident at Rojo Canyon,’ on set, the Season 3, ep 301, aired on September 30, 1960
Sherman Weisbord/TV Guide/Everett Collection
Sherman Weisbord/TV Guide/Everett Collection
Clint on set, 1965
Ivan Nagy/TV Guide/Everett Collection
Eric Fleming on set, 1963
E.E. Reshovsk /TV Guide/Everett Collection
Clint Eastwood, Zeme North, Sheb Wooley and Debra Paget
TV Guide/Everett Collection
Eastwood just chilling in the shade on his horse in 1962
Julian Wasser/TV Guide/Everett Collection
Some of the stars of TV Westerns, many were filmed on the same set
Everett Collection
Jeff Richards (Jefferson City), John Smith (Cimarron City), Robert Carricart (Rawhide), Sheb Wooley (Rawhide), Steve Mcqueen (Wanted: Dead or Alive), Mort Mills (Man Without a Gun), Rex Reason (Man Without a Gun)
And of course, if you are anything like us you’ve had the theme song rolling through your head, we looked it up for you.
You can watch Rawhide on Hereos & Icons, MeTV, INSP and streaming on Pluto TV.
