Norman Eugene “Clint” Walker
May 30, 1927 – May 21, 2018
Just heard that Clint Walker has passed away at 90. Of course, he was Cheyenne Bodie in the terrific TV series Cheyenne. I’m a huge fan of his first starring feature, Fort Dobbs (1958, above).
In the early days of this blog, with Fort Dobbs making its way to DVD from Warner Archive, I was given the chance to interview Mr. Walker for my DVD review. He’d obviously been talking about Cheyenne all day and seemed happy to be talking about his first feature for a change. He was such a nice man. It was an honor to speak with him.
I’m heart broken to hear of his passing ;(
THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW STARS THAT WILL BE LOVED AND MISSED ALWAYS . GOD BLESS HIM AND HIS FAMILY ALWAYS
Sad news to hear of Clint Walker’s passing .RIP .The other day I was reading about Ty Hardin and apparently Warner’s brought him in as a possible replacement for Clint when he insisted on improvements to his contract.
So sorry for his loss. Feels like a relative just passed on. He was such a nice person.
I met him in 1972 on a plane going to Phoenix, Arizona. Very nice man, very humble too .
God bless the big man my dad named me after Clint back in 1963 which was an unusual name Clint for a kid from Rochdale England! Although it did make me popular at school especially with the girls. Thank you Clint for so many great films and of course Cheyenne which gave my dad the name for his only son. God bless💓
I too am very sad at the loss of this nice man. Loved the “CHEYENNE” TV series back when it was first on TV and I thought then and still think today it was one of the absolute best TV westerns.
I agree about “FORT DOBBS” too; an underrated western that stands tall today, like its star. RIP Clint.
So sorry to hear of his passing. Thinking a lot about him these past few weeks in watching some of the Cheyenne TV shows. He will be missed and fondly remembered.
Sad news indeed. Always loved the big guy. His size and gentle demeanor always reminds me of my dad. He made a lot of good films and of course was perfect as CHEYENNE. He might have made a good Superman or Doc Savage, as well. R.I.P., Mr. Walker.
what a great guy… RIP.
Hadn’t heard this. When I went to this site and saw the picture of Clint, I immediately thought, “Oh no”. So sorry my fear came true. He was not only great in Cheyenne but was an excellent commentator on the sorry state the US was in in the previous administration. Heard his insightful commentary often on Mark Levin’s radio show. A great American and perfect image of the good guy cowboy. Sort of a TV version of John Wayne.
Agreed.
I’m shocked at Mr Walkers passing.
I remember when I was a little boy watching Cheyenne I love him the and still do now
I’m a lot older now and I was just watching Cheyenne a couple of days ago I was rolling back the years it made me feel young again.
Clint Walker .
Rest in peace
From Patrick white and Family
Dublin Ireland
Super-nice guy. RIP, and condolences to Susan.
Not many stars left around these days whose passings really get to me, but Clint Walker’s is one that definitely does.
A great role model and hero
My very first idol. Cheyenne was my nickname for many years. 😢🙏❤️🌺
R.I.P. Mr. Walker. Everything I have read over the years concerning Mr. Walker and his interactions with fans showed that the traits of Cheyenne Bodie that he portrayed on the screen were the traits that he showed as Clint Walker the real person. Quiet, soft spoken, polite, and modest. Today’s so-called celebrities could learn a lot from Mr. Walker. I wish he had been given the opportunity to work with better scripts and directors during the 60’s and 70’s when he was in his prime. Movies like Fort Dobbs and Night of the Grizzly were the exceptions rather than the rule. He would have been terrific in the Golden Age of Westerns (1946 through 1962). Cheyenne was a great western tv series and Mr. Walker was truly ‘The Big Fella’. May God bless, Mr. Walker.
I am very sad to hear this news. Of course, as a fan, I’ll always have his work, so my loss isn’t that of his family. Nonetheless, it is funny how quickly some of our favourite people can become like family.
Nobody walked taller than Clint Walker. His passing feels like a personal loss. He single-handedly seemed to embody the myth of the Knight of the Plains and his less-than-distinguished post Cheyenne career is an indictment of the tastes and mores of modern Hollywood rather than the man himself. Having said that, Fort Dobbs, Yellowstone Kelly and Gold of the Seven Saints are all oustanding Westerns and The Bounty Man offers a tantalizing glimpse of what might have been. Happy Trails Clint, you can stride into the Afterlife with your head held high.
Just watched HARDCASE and THE BOUNTY MAN .Didn’t realise that Margot Kidder who just passed away was in THE BOUNTY MAN .
R.I.P. Mr Clint Walker.
Clint Walker the GENTLE GIANT WHO RODE TALL IN THE SADDLE. Clint Walker has always been a favorite of mine as far back as I can remember. Clint is Cheyenne Bodie and always will be. Cheyenne Bodie became Clint Walker who as an individual taught us by example lifelong lessons in doing the right thing. Clint became a force for good in the world and as a result had fans from all over the world, He loved his country, and was a loving and stand-up moral gentleman until the day he drew his last breath.
My condolences to his wife Susan, daughter Valarie and to the rest of his family. Clint Walker RIP.
With virtually all of the stars of 50’s Westerns now no longer with us,
we have to watch helplessly as the stars of the “Golden Era Of TV Westerns”
pass away.
It would seem that the other Clint and Burt are virtually the only ones left.
It is indeed good to see so many FWOTF regulars and new commentators
stop by to remember The Big Man.
I always remember my beloved Dell Cheyenne comic with the legend
“Slow To Anger Quick To Draw”
I recall Clint’s appearance on a UK TV chat show where he was promoting
SEND ME NO FLOWERS. Also on the show was Cilla Black who made it
pretty obvious that she found Clint “Highly Fanciable”.
John K,let’s not forget Kirk Douglas ,he’s still with us.
Yes Graham,
And some of the wonderful Western Women are still with us
namely Rhonda Fleming,Nancy Gates and Mara Corday.
John K, it is sad that the stars of the “Golden Age Of TV Westerns” are passing away from us. Although, there are still several with us, but unfortunately their many talents are no longer being used by TV or movies. I’m thankful that we can still view their wonderful performances in our “Golden Age Of Home Viewing” via DVD.
For those who are interested, you can view Clint Walker’s interviews done for the Archive of American Television in 2012, here at https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/clint-walker#interview-clips Be sure and start with chapter 1
His skiing accident and its aftermath resonated most
Did his daughter Valerie ever have children?
Oh, Clint’s daughter Valarie is a retired commercial air pilot. She was one of two of the first female air pilots for Western Airlines back in the 1970’s. Yes, Clint has a grandson.
The major TV western star still with us, thankfully, is Robert Fuller who was so good as Jess Harper in “LARAMIE” and is a strong supporter and lover of westerns.
Clint Walker was such a force of nature, like John Wayne, it’s hard to think of them slowing down, much less passing away.
RIP Cheyenne. One of my 1st TV crushes. Such a big handsome kind fella He will be missed.
Will Hutchins of SUGARFOOT is still with us.
Just switched on to internet, and this bad news is the first thing l have seen. Big Clint, one of my first TV western heroes, of course there were others, but he stood out for the obvious reasons, so big and a great voice, and a great character as Cheyenne.
He did make some very good westerns, but l always thought his film career eventually suffered because he was was so big, he was in his prime before the other big muscle men hit the screen, and became more acceptable. Just think muscle bound Dwayne The Rock Johnson seems to bring out a film every 2 months now.
In the UK, Cheyenne TV episodes played as second features in the late 50s, not certain if they were single episodes, or a couple of episodes edited together to make a B movie.
John K., l still have my Cheyenne Dell comics.
I do too, Mike.
Yes, this is quite sad to hear, another link to that era gone.
And just now I’ve heard that Vincent McEveety, who worked on a ton of TV shows, has also passed away.
Colin, this is the first that I have heard of Vincent M. McEveety’s passing. He is part of a family of directors, writers, and producers. Vincent directed FIRECREEK(1968) starring James Stewart, Henry Fonda, and Inger Stevens. Also, he directed 45 episodes of GUNSMOKE and the TV movie GUNSMOKE: RETURN TO DODGE(1987). The TV movie THE LAST DAY(1974) with Richard Widmark. So many others.
Vincent M. McEveety RIP
Living to 90 is a great thing, too bad he couldn’t make it to 100. I saw Clint on TV last year and he looked healthy. I received the Randolph Scott Powerhouse 5 disc pack today and here is my assessment:
Nice packaging with nice 60 page booklet. Mediocre quality discs. Blu Ray picture quality: Buchanan Rides Alone 10, Ride Lonesome 7, Comanche Station 9, Tall T – looks awful, heavy black pixelation, I will be returning. Decision at Sundown – 7. I will let you know if Powerhouse squawks about replacing Tall T disc.
That’s sort of good news/bad news about the Randolph Scott set. What country are you in Tom?
In UK, the release date was put back to May 28, and my set should arrive early June. Usually a release date is put back because of a problem, hopefully Tall T isn’t the problem!
Hi Mike. I’m also in the UK and my Randolph Scott set arrived on Tuesday direct from Indicator. I haven’t had a chance to check out the prints as yet, but I understand that these aren’t from new masters but are as good as it gets from what is available. The extras are outstanding but the outer packaging is poorly designed, consisting of a fairly crude cut out of Scott from the ‘Tall T’ poster superimposed on a turquoise sky (!). It gives the impression of a greenish brick with an orange band strapped round it. Despite that caveat, the set is an essential purchase.
Hello Nick, I’ve just checked Powerhouse site, and it says that orders made direct to Powerhouse are being mailed this week, a week earlier than Amazon etc.
That makes sense Mike. BTW are you the ‘M.J. Richards’ from Bromsgrove who just purchased a copy of ‘Singing Guns’ from my Amazon Trader page? If so, thanks very much!
Yes Nick, that’s me.
This reply will probably be out of order, as no reply option after your post.
Maybe we can’t keep replying!
I’m in USA. My older SD version of Tall T looks way better than the Powerhouse Blu Ray. They have done something wrong in the transfer. I emailed and haven’t heard back from them yet, so I will call them on Monday morning.
Tom-it’s a public holiday on Monday 28th.
Better try Tuesday.
I am VERY concerned regarding your opinion of THE TALL T
Indicator have generally been getting rave reviews regarding
their releases,.
I’m still waiting to see what Gary at DVD Beaver makes of it.
I pre ordered my copy off Amazon UK so will not receive mine
until June 4.
Indicator are going to get a ton of unwanted flak if the transfer
is a bad as you say.
I must admit Glenn at Cinesavant had “issues” with some of the
transfers…THE TALL T in particular.
Too bad that RIDE LONESOME was the only title remastered in
2K.
I would have thought with the importance of these films the
whole lot should have been 4K remastered.
TV’s The Virginian is also still among us. He’s old as the hills but still going.
The first episode of CHEYENNE , “Mountain Fortress” aired on September 20, 1955. Clint’s co-stars were L.Q. Jones(1927-) and Ann Robinson(1929-). They are both still with us. L.Q. was in FRENCH MOVIE(2016) and Ann is in TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN(2018), which will be out at Halloween.
Posts all in order, l didn’t realise we just have to click on the date to make a reply.
Powerhouse Five Tall Tales update – they emailed saying its probably my fault that their transfer of Tall T looks so bad. (Email allows people to say things they would never say to me in person.) I checked my blu ray and tv settings to make sure sharpness, contrast, etc. were all at neutral and I emailed them some screen shots to show how pixelated it is.
There are too many complaints and Powerhouse Indicator can get away with some of it as this is such a desirable package. Keep going after them.
That’s a rubbish reply from Powerhouse. I guess I might need to keep my original USA Budd Boetticher set after all.
I will dearly miss this man, I have followed his career since my childhood with CHEYENNE; ” BIG GHOST BASIN” was my favorite episode (1957), which kind of morphed into the feature ”NIGHT OF THE GRIZZLY” (PARAMOUNT-66)almost a decade later. DECADE LATER! To this fan, CLINT WALKER—- IS— -YELLOWSTONE KELLY,(WARNER BROS-59) and this film remains my favorite of his features. Thank you, CLINT WALKER. for ALL of the memories from over a half -century past. R.I.P.
Gary has his review up at DVD Beaver now. Not a lot wrong according to those captures, not as far as I can see anyway.
I wish my Tall T looked like DVD Beavers screen shots. I fiddled around with the settings and connections, but it still looks horrible. Honestly with the exception of Buchanan Rides Alone, this set isn’t much of an upgrade over the old Boetticher – Scott collection.
This set from Powerhouse looks great but I already have these films on other DVDs ,so I would be double dipping or triple dipping in some cases if I purchased it.
Regarding the HANGING TREE BLU RAY ,I believe WB went to the original film negatives for this release.
I echo everyone’s sentiments about Clint Walker. A real man and a real star. He was my favourite television Western hero as Cheyenne Bodie in the late 1950s and I loved the theme song, too. If you are British and at least in your 70s like me, you’ll remember that quite a few of the early Cheyenne episodes were released to cinemas in Great Britain as supporting films by Warners and this often led to an unusual situation where an episode of Cheyenne was showing on television and at the cinema on the same night. I went to see Fort Dobbs on its initial release sixty years ago and thought it was great. He was billed in the advertising as Clint (Cheyenne) Walker and, although playing Gar Davies, he was Cheyenne Bodie in all but name. He was my hero as a youngster and it’s a pity that today’s boys don’t have a role model like Clint to look up to. I liked one critic’s remark about his stature, saying that Clint stood so high, that he had a covering of snow on his shoulders for six months of the year. Rest In Peace, Clint, Mr Big Guy and Mr Nice Guy.
Be very grateful if folks will continue to report back on their experience of the new Scott Indicator set when their copies arrive please. That would be very helpful. I have read Gary at DVD Beaver and his report is almost all positive!!
I’ve just read the first two customer comments about the DVD of NAKED IN THE SUN on amazon Germany and the opinion is that, although it’s in color, it’s very pale color with a blurred image throughout…although the sound quality is good. One customer is of the opinion that it was transferred from an old and very poor quality VHS tape. So no re-mastering there then.
THE TALL T BLU RAY FROM THE FIVE TALL TALES SET
My review is of blu ray quality, not the film itself, as we should all know it’s a great film. When the film starts, the title and credits sequence is a mass of moving grain, too much for my liking, which made me think this will a bad one.
Thankfully when the final credit “Directed by Budd Boetticher” leaves the screen, the picture quality improves a lot, and the grain, while still there, decreases to an acceptable level. It’s still there, and in some scenes, the blue sky and clouds are quite grainy. But overall there is an improvement over the standard DVD in the original Boetticher set. It’s not a great improvement, but colour and extra sharpness look very good, especially in second half of film set amongst the rocks of Lone Pine. I didn’t see any of the pixilation that Tom complained about.
As for extras on this disc, a touch disappointing for me. There is a very good Martin Scorsese over view; an excellent image gallery, with nice sharp stills and posters, and a good trailer. There is an isolated score extra, that is the film with music soundtrack only; I switched off after 10 minutes. OK for the completist, but not for me. There is an Elmore Leonard BFI interview that I was looking forward to. I got the impression it was a filmed interview, but it is audio only, and that plays while the film is on again. Unfortunately as interview not specific to the film, it becomes difficult to watch Randolph while Elmore is talking about crime novels. Finally there is audio commentary from Jeanine Basinger, I only listened to about 10 minutes, but will definitely listen to it all at later date, because so far it’s good and specific to what’s on the screen.
So yes, I think it’s a better picture than the version on the original standard DVD, but if you already have that Boetticher set, then maybe you don’t need it. But I have only watched the one disc in set so far, and whatever the other four films in the box look like, I’m happy to own it. OK, I did take a sneak peek at the 2k restoration of Ride Lonesome, and it looks very good.
It’s ridiculous that indicator didn’t do a better job of the Tall T transfer. It’s nothing more than using quality video editing and upscaling to get rid of the pixelation. I showed this movie to our local movie transfer guy and he said they did ZERO remastering and should not have released it ! Lame, lame, lame.
Mike ,what is the 80 page book like ?
The book is a worthy addition to the set. I would have like a few more pictures, but there are plenty to view in the image galleries, so it’s no big deal. Each film has a chapter, and I’m reading after I have seen each film, as there are plenty of spoilers. Although I have seen all films before, there are still a few scenes I’d forgotten, and I don’t want to read about them first.
Also chapters on Budd and Burt Kennedy.
Meanwhile…any comments on CLINT WALKER’S first 3 features with director GORDON DOUGLAS, (who wins my vote as my FAVORITE film director) ?. JUST a glance at his list of credits (starting with LAUREL AND HARDY’S SAPS AT SEA ’40) might surprise you!