Clint Walker made a number of comedies during his career such as Send Me No Flowers (1964; with Doris Day and Rock Hudson), Sam Whiskey (1968; with Burt Reynolds), The Great Bank Robbery (1969; with Kim Novak), and The Phynx (1970)

Born Norman Eugene Walker in Hartford, Illinois, on May 30, 1927, actor Clint Walker served his country during the waning days of World War II. After his release from the service, Walker held various jobs until deciding to give acting a try. Standing 6’6″ tall and weighing about 230 pounds, rugged 28-year-old Clint Walker was signed in 1955 to play the title role in the Warner Bros. TV show Cheyenne. Prior to his signing, he had made only one film, the comedy Jungle Gents (1954; with Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall) in which he portrayed Tarzan. While most people remember Walker as primarily an actor in westerns, Walker made a number of comedies during his career such as Send Me No Flowers (1964; with Doris Day and Rock Hudson), Sam Whiskey (1968; with Burt Reynolds), The Great Bank Robbery (1969; with Kim Novak), and The Phynx (1970). Of course, some of these comedies were also westerns.

In 1955, Warner Bros. cast Clint Walker in Cheyenne, which aired on the ABC network during its original run, beginning with the September 1955 telecast. Until the show’s end in 1962, it was rarely aired week-to-week. The show was a part of a series entitled Warner Bros. Presents, the studio’s first experiment with television that included the shows Conflict, Sugarfoot and, later, Bronco with Ty Hardin. From the beginning, Cheyenne was by far the most popular of the rotating shows on Warner Bros. Presents. The hour-long show was shot with movie-quality production values, proving very expensive for the early television era.

Walker was instantly catapulted to stardom but, after two years in the role, he realized that the long-term contract he signed with Warner Bros. was too professionally and financially restrictive. Walker and the studio could not reach an agreement on contract negotiations, so Walker walked out on the show in mid-1958. His contract would not allow him to do any other work, so he was forced to remain idle until the two sides finally agreed on a contract in February 1959. The settlement reached between Walker and Warner Bros. was not ideal, and Walker’s appearances in film were limited by his contract. Walker wished for the show’s end, but its high ratings kept the show going through the end of 1962, when it was canceled. For Cheyenne’s final season, from September to December 1962, the show was finally aired on a week-to-week basis, since Sugarfoot and Bronco had been pulled. ABC brought back reruns of Cheyenne on Friday nights in the summer of 1963. It would be more than ten years before Walker would agree to another TV series.

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