Production Notes
Series producer Charles Marquis Warren based Rawhide on three sources: 1) Cattle Empire, the movie that he directed in 1955 and for which Endre Bohem was a screenwriter and Paul Brinegar, Steve Raines and Rocky Shahan were actors; all also worked in Rawhide. 2) Chisholm Trail, the classic novel by Borden Chase that inspired the John Wayne epic motion picture Red River. 3) As noted above, another source of inspiration for Rawhide was a diary that was written by trail boss George C. Duffield during a cattle drive from San Antonio to Sedalia in 1866. The narrations with which Gil Favor begins each episode are similar in style and breadth to the entries in Duffield's journal, lending the show an extra measure of authenticity.
The premiere episode of Rawhide reached the top 20 in the Nielsen ratings.
The show had a grueling production schedule, being mostly weekly with a three to four month break between seasons. After the first season of 22 episodes, seasons 2-7 were each 30 episodes. Oftentimes, the only way the lead actors could get a break was if they were said to be off on business. On rare occasions, the show would feature a small number of the actors and some misfortune, maybe in a town, which would give the others time off.
Eric Fleming drowned at the age of 41 when a canoe flipped over on location while filming the movie High Jungle in 1966.
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