Once described as “the biggest, finest-looking Western hero ever to sit on a horse, with a pair of shoulders rivaling King Kong’s,” Clint Walker almost single-handedly started the western craze on TV in the mid-1950s as Cheyenne Bodie in the series, Cheyenne.

The fictional character of Cheyenne Bodie, was a roaming cowboy hero in the post-American Civil War era. While the series regularly capitalized on Walker’s rugged frame with frequent bare-chested scenes, it was also well written and well acted. Walker’s pleasant baritone singing voice was also occasionally utilized on the series and led Warner Brothers to produce an album of Walker doing traditional songs and ballads. The series was a huge hit, running for eight seasons, from 1955 to 1962, and spawned countless other western series, from Warners and other studios.