Series Description

The Rawhide TV show was a 60 minute western, action series on CBS about a group of men who drove cattle to market in the old west. There were rustlers, wild indians and plenty of other dangers to deal with along the way. This TV show was the catalyst for Clint Eastwood's career.

Rawhide Cast

Clint Eastwood .... Rowdy Yates
Eric Fleming .... Gil Favor
Paul Brinegar .... Wishbone
Steve Raines .... Jim Quince
James Murdock .... Mushy
Rocky Shahan .... Joe Scarlet
Robert Cabal .... Hey Soos
Sheb Wooley .... Pete Nolan
William R. Thompkins .... Toothless
John Cole .... Bailey
Charles H. Gray .... Clay Forrester

Rawhide Theme Song

Title: "Rawhide"

Written By: "Ned Washington" and "Dmitri Tiomkin"

Performed By: "Frankie Laine"

Keep movin', movin', movin',
Though they're disapprovin',
Keep them doggies movin' Rawhide!

Don't try to understand 'em,
Just rope and throw and grab 'em,
Soon we'll be living high and wide.

My heart's calculatin'
My true love will be waitin',
Be waiting at the end of my ride.

Move 'em on, head 'em up,
Head 'em up, move 'em out,
Move 'em on, head 'em out Rawhide!

Set 'em out, ride 'em in
Ride 'em in, let 'em out,
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in Rawhide...

Rawhide Trivia

Clint Eastwood got his first starring role as Rowdy Yates on Rawhide. While visiting a friend at CBS studios, a studio executive saw him and thought he looked like a cowboy. His first 3 big films "A Fistful Of Dollars", "For A Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad, & the Ugly" were Spanish/Italian/German co-productions and, therefore, not originally produced in English. When those films came to the U.S., Eastwood insisted on dubbing his own voice tracks himself.

They must have let the Rawhide cast dress themselves or something because Eric Fleming (as Gil Favor) can be seen wearing jeans that are obviously Wranglers in several episodes. Nobody else, just Fleming! You can see the Wrangler rivets and the "W" on the pockets. Unfortunately, that doesn't conform with the time period of Rawhide as Wranglers weren't sold until 1947!

While Clint Eastwood got his first big break on the Rawhide TV show, he never again appeared in a role on television; not even as a guest star! He strictly played roles in movies thereafter. Clint had signed on to play one of the caped crusader's villains named, "Two-face" on the Batman TV show but it got canceled before his episode came up.

Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, California in 1986. Sixteen years later (2002) he was sworn in as the State of California's Park Commissioner. He showed the crowd his Commissioner's badge and said, "You're all under arrest".

Rawhide won a "Bronze Wrangler" from the "Western Heritage Awards" in 1961, 62, 64, and 65 for the best "Fictional Television Drama"!

Eric Fleming left Rawhide at the end of the seventh season and, therefore, so did trail boss Gil Favor. Clint Eastwood really got a chance to shine because his character, Rowdy Yates, took over as head man and organizing another cattle drive! Unfortunately that drive went to TV never neverland (well, at least it never ended) when Rawhide was removed from the CBS lineup in January of 1966. A totally different type of show about an animal reserve in Africa titled, "Daktari", took Rawhide's time slot and ran with it for 89 episodes over 4 seasons.

Rawhide Opening Narrative

Version #1: "It sounds simple when you start up ... get the herd to Abilene. Before you're halfway there, the cattle are the least of your worries. I know. Gil Favor, Trail Boss."

Version #2: "This is the landscape of Rawhide. Desert, forest, mountain, and plains. It is intense heat, bitter cold, torrential rain, blinding dust, men risking their lives, earning small reward, the life of challenge ... Rawhide!"