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
Clint shows off his physique to fellow cast mates
Eric Fleming, Charles Marquis Warren (creator) and Clint Eastwood
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
Clint on set, 1965
Eric Fleming on set, 1963
