User Reviews

When "Cheyenne" debuted on 9/20/1955, "The Lone Ranger" had already been running for six seasons and had two more to go. Warner Brothers, specifically Jack Warner, tapped Clint Walker to be it's first TV Western hero, and raised the bar a considerable notch over the series made famous by Clayton Moore (and John Hart for one season). Walker was a no nonsense but laid back hero, almost droll by comparison with 'B' movie Western stars that preceded him, and that almost certainly added to his fame and popularity as Cheyenne.

The Season I DVD compilation includes all fifteen episodes of the series' first season 1955/56. Series guest star James Garner appeared in three of them, as many as L.Q. Jones, who portrayed Cheyenne's map making sidekick Smitty in three of the first four shows. Garner's character was different each time out. Other notable guests in the first season included Myron Healey, Dennis Hopper, Barton MacLane, and even a young Michael Landon in an uncredited appearance.

One of the interesting things about that first season is that two of the episodes were direct lifts of movies starring Humphrey Bogart. 'The Argonauts' (#1.3) swipes scenes and dialog from "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" in a similar story of greedy gold prospectors, but at least credits B. Traven as the author of the novel on which both were based. However 'Fury at Rio Hondo' (#1.12) credits James Gunn with writing that story, but nowhere mentions Ernest Hemingway as the author of "To Have And Have Not". Once again, the story's plot and characters parallel the Bogart film; the Lauren Bacall role is handled by Peggie Castle, but she doesn't quite cut it as the sexy nineteen year old Bacall did in the original movie. For his part, Bodie was no Bogey.

On that score, Clint Walker was competent as the laconic drifter Cheyenne Bodie, but like George Reeves in "The Adventures of Superman" TV series, he didn't have a lot to work with, and didn't rise much above the material, unless you consider his six and a half foot stature. Don't get me wrong, I like both Walker and "Cheyenne" and enjoy the shows, but if you consider the acting, the best you can say is that it was uneven. And the episodes, some were almost comical trying to be serious. Consider Episode #1.11, 'Quicksand', in which Cheyenne challenges a Comanche Chief in a battle to the death in a bed of muck. They start out standing upright, and slowly start to sink inch by inch until each proves the point that they would rather die than be proved a coward. Then, when the Comanche chief mounts his horse to ride away, he's no longer covered by mud!

As big as Walker was, it's interesting to see him cast opposite actors who came close to him in size; Don Megowan comes to mind from Episode #1.13 - 'Star in the Dust', as a sheriff who hires Cheyenne on as a deputy. That's one example, but it happened with some regularity. Kind of makes you wonder where all those big bad guys came from in the Old West.

The Season I DVD set contains a nice 'Legacy of Cheyenne' feature in which the seventy nine year old Walker talks about his early life and 'discovery' by Van Johnson, who put him in touch with an agent. That contact eventually led to a role as a Sardinian Captain of the Guard in "The Ten Commandments". Warner Brothers took an interest based on that role, and bought his contract from producer Hal Wallis with the Cheyenne role in mind. Originally, the show aired as part of an anthology series on the ABC network; other posters on this board have done a nice job of outlining that history.

My favorite show of the series - Episode #7.1, debuting the 1962 season, titled "The Durango Brothers". Mama Hortense Durango (Ellen Corby) enlists her three renegade sons (Jack Elam, Charlie Briggs, and Mickey Simpson) to kidnap Cheyenne in order to marry him off to sister Lottie (Sally Kellerman!!!) - it's hilarious! Needless to say, Cheyenne finishes the show, the season and the series still single.

"Cheyenne" began a great Western tradition at ABC, to be followed not only by that network, but CBS and NBC as well. Not many though, could ride as tall in the saddle as the original, and Clint Walker can rest easy knowing that there aren't many TV heroes that are admired as much as Cheyenne Bodie.

*Addendum - posted 12/13/09 - From Episode #64, Season 4 - "Gold, Glory and Custer, Requiem" - Cheyenne Bodie's Indian name from the Southern Cheyenne is revealed to be 'Touch the Sky'. Seems more than appropriate.

I was 5 years old when Cheyenne premiered in 1955. My parents and I were glued to the screen every week. Clint Walker was a mountain of a man. He was 6'6" tall with broad shoulders, big chest and a tapered waist that made him look like an Adonis like figure. He had the Hollywood good looks that were rivaled by few in any western. His character could be rough when necessary, quick on the draw and yet gentle, kind and forthright in other situations. His moral compass never wavered, as he always did the right thing in life, despite the perils in front of him from others who were only concerned with themselves and person gain. Cheyenne was polite to women, kind to children and a great role model for many in life. His character was a drifter for the most part by design as he explored the west and held a variety of jobs: Marshall, deputy sheriff, cattle foreman, military scout, mapmaker, wagon train guide, to name a few. I have been watching reruns of Cheyenne for the past year and it brought back memories of why I loved the show during my youth. I was also tickled to find out that Clint Walker turned 89 in 2016, as to me he is a western icon and a gentle and kind human being.

Along with Jay Silverheels (Tonto in Lone Ranger), he was a Native actor presenting a positive image of Natives at a time when that was still rare.

In fact, the series went farther than Lone Ranger. It directly confronted prejudice at a time when few series on TV did so.

Walker through his character Cheyenne Bodie strove to be a positive role model for kids. Commendable and moral, something Walker tried for with most of his roles.

Walker passed away recently, living on the Navajo reservation for the final years of his life. He will be sorely missed.

"Cheyenne" series and Clint (Norman Eugene) Walker Review by Rose Jenkins, May 30, 2022 ===== Somehow, I missed the "Cheyenne" series when it was on television, and never saw it featured in any of the cable channels we had at one time or another. However, I "discovered" the series early this year (2022) on one of my rampages of channel switching trying to find something worthy to watch, and happened upon a "Cheyenne" segment. I saw just a fragment, but it was enough to prompt me to see more.

How the "Cheyenne show" came into being -- Producer William Orr, and story developer, Roy Huggins, got the ball rolling at Warner Bros. (for the ABC network). Cheyenne was the first hour-long adult western, addressing issues that were incorporated into compelling stories, like the ending of the Civil War and its aftermath on Southerners; unleashing the Union army to "tame the west," i.e., moving tribes into reservations; and always, it seems, how the White man most often broke faith with Indian tribal leaders, overturned treaties, confiscated Indian lands; renegade whites who sold alcohol and guns to the Indians; Mexican-American border problems, and so on. But there were bridges built into all these conflicts, courtesy of the producers, writers, and the remarkable character and work by Walker. Lots of drama in all of these topics, too often glossed over in our scrubbed grade school education. Plus, there is just the romance of "opening up of the West": cowboys, Indians, buffalo, cattle runs, outlaws, swindlers, riverboat and saloon escapades; stage coaches, trains, stampedes; mean, nasty and greedy people; and those wild, vast empty lands inhabited by strange landscapes, contorted rocks; and other broad stroke effects.

That was the landscape that Cheyenne Bodie traveled; a wanderer, a "top hand," ready to intercede to help anyone in trouble - a Good Samaritan on horseback, intersecting with these characters moving west and south. (Caveat, sometimes a bit reluctantly, though.)

Backstory (& Tribute to Cheyenne) -- The Cheyenne character is blood-brother to the Cheyenne Indian nation - made a blood-brother and raised by that tribe after Cheyenne's family traveling west in a wagon train were massacred, along with most of those in the wagon train. This, apparently, was something that did happen in tribal history: a conflict might arise between tribes, followed by war. Consider this a parallel to European history, with the constant warfare between kingdoms, fiefdoms, etc. In tribal wars, if there were survivors, frequently these were raised as members of the victorious tribe. The moral nature depicting the Cheyenne nation as noble, with honor, integrity; how to build inner and physical strength; live in harmony with the earth; and how to treat others fairly was something that served the white boy they raised as "Cheyenne" well. (I think I learned more about this period of time from the Cheyenne series than from the history lessons in school.)

Credit where it's Due -- With the happy marriage of producers willing to produce quality shows, very good writers, conjuring up characters and stories from historical happenings; directors calling forth those characters, and actors, fulfilling the written word and breathing life into those characters, it is lucky for those of us who value good entertainment that all these happened so splendidly in the Cheyenne series.

The casting of Clint Walker for the lead role was a master stroke, as Walker, a "good guy" in real life, embodied the manly virtues too often discounted and lacking in our world today. Rather like a "Silver Knight of the Plains": valiant, chivalrous, honest, strong, kind, forthright, modest, thoughtful...

Clint Walker's Special Magic -- There is alchemy in such portrayals - as when an actor embodies his character so completely, that an activation of an Archetype occurs. (In this case, a kind of Cowboy Hercules.) Clint Walker also had an ability to create an *emotional field*, one that seemed to induce women to be more womanly and men more manly - charisma that was a true gift of the Spirit.

His singing voice is a warm, fuzzy baritone, sweet and comforting, while his speaking voice had a kind of growly, molasses drawl that could get "barky" when dealing with difficult people. (For the record, just seeing him walk into a room is a treat. Also, for the record, to be balanced, if we appreciate the Divine Feminine, shouldn't we also appreciate the Divine Masculine?)

In one interview, Clint said that "people need heroes, someone to look up to, who they can model themselves after. And if a good model isn't there, a child will likely model themselves after a bad one." So true. Asked how he wanted to be remembered, he said, "... as one of the good guys.

For those who know something about Astrology -- Astrologically, consider that he has a Venus/Mars conjunction in Cancer, sign of emotional sensitivity (enhanced by both Venus and Mars being out-of-bounds - an excessive or pronounced energetic trait) trine Jupiter in Pisces (psychic sensitivity). Also, that Neptune in Leo, sextile his Gemini Mercury - driving inspiration farther afield. Larger than life...

Confession: After I saw that man in action, I became hooked on Clint -- and found his brand of acting suited to those action roles he was featured in, and the kind, good, strong, silent type -- so refreshing after being inundated with nasty-minded, misanthropic, dystopic stuff coming out of "Follywood" for quite a while now. And those geeky guys with no charms... ! Thus saith the feminine spirit. (Happy Birthday, May 30, 2022 -- in all the dimensions, Norman-Eugene-Clint Walker!) ###