Cheyenne

Lots of TV westerns had a wanderer as the protagonist hero. You could write a limitless variety of stories that way. Cheyenne with its laconic hero Cheyenne Bodie was the first of many westerns that Warner Brothers produced for television. Clint Walker, all 6'7" inches of him was an ideal cowboy hero. Unlikely he'd ever be cast with John Wayne because the Duke liked looking up to nobody.

Walker was in fact more suggestive of Gary Cooper than Wayne. If he had been born 20 years earlier he would have been a great B picture cowboy hero. In fact it was Warner Brothers who realized that the B western did not die, but moved to television. Cheyenne was the first of a dozen or so westerns that Warner Brothers did for television. The most successful of which was Maverick because it's star James Garner had the biggest career undoubtedly.

When Cheyenne ended its run Walker found that westerns on the big screen were in eclipse. Possibly he should have looked for another television series. His best known big screen movie role was one of The Dirty Dozen.

Too bad Cheyenne was not done in color. It would get a lot of run on the TV nostalgia channels. As for Walker his Cheyenne Bodie was a jack of all western trades and did them all in Cheyenne's run.

Clint Walker was a model cowboy hero and deserves to be remembered as such.

When it comes to vintage American television shows from the glorious 1950s - It's the Westerns, in particular, that appeal to my preference for overall viewing.

And, with that said - It's definitely "Cheyenne" that gets my enthusiastic vote as being right up there in the top 5 of the all-time best.

And, of course, it goes without saying that actor, Clint Walker (1927-2018) was the absolute epitome of the big, burly, no-nonsense cowboy who could always be counted on to bring about fair-minded justice and put all of those mean and ornery sidewinders and saddle-tramps in their proper place.

At 6' 6" and a strapping 235 lb. of solid muscle, Clint Walker has got to be the ultimate, most impressive-looking cowboy ever to set foot in a 1950's TV Western that I've ever seen.

All rugged brawn and chiseled good looks, the 29 year-old Walker certainly cut a mighty impressive image playing the title character in this superbly produced Wild West cowboy show from yesteryear.

From 1955 to 1962 the ultra-masculine Walker starred in this phenomenally popular western program that (on a weekly basis) aired its 50-minute, action-packed episodes through the courtesy of Warner Bros. Studios.

A loner, a drifter, and a jack-of-all-trades, Cheyenne Bodie was not a man of many words, but he was known to be fair-minded and just - And, as an added bonus, this husky dude was certainly quite capable of settling scores with his fists as well as with a gun.

Always towering over everyone else in the cast, Clint Walker easily ranks right up there as one of my favorite TV cowboys of all time.

To a total cowboy-junkie, like myself, Clint Walker, as Cheyenne Bodie, was "the right stuff" - A man that Western legends are made of.

I too enjoy watching the old Cheyenne re-runs! He's truly the most beautiful man I've ever seen. The bare chest scenes are nice, but he seems to get beat up in every episode. That kills me, but I know he'll always triumph in the long run, after all it's his show! I have to force myself to remember he is now 81 years old. He has a web site where you can purchase autographed posters, and send emails. He seems to stay pretty active. I love watching all the old westerns on cable. The Rifleman, and the Big Valley are also among my favorites. The Westerns channel is the first place I go when I turn on the television, as long as I can beat my husband to the remote!

I have had a "crush" on this man ever since I saw the first "Cheyenne" TV show - I am now 62 years old and I still remember the goose bumps I would get just looking at him. And that voice - when I grew older I would pretend that he would whisper "sweet nothings" in my ear. The only reason I watched the show was to look at him - I couldn't tell you what any of the shows were about - but I remember him. I guess you could say that he was my first love. And to think that he used to live not far from me!!! Who knew???? The only other TV star that ever made me feel that way was Gardner McKay of "Adventures in Paradise". Talk about two opposites!