Clint Walker, who played a gentle giant on the classic 1950s ABC Western Cheyenne, has passed away. The show ran for seven seasons.
Clint would occasionally—and only when absolutely necessary—show off his tremendous muscle on the show. He was 90.
According to his daughter Valerie, Walker passed away from congestive heart failure on Monday in Grass Valley, California. He was best known for his roles in the films “Send Me No Flowers” (1964), “None But the Brave” (1965), and “The Dirty Dozen” (1967), all of which were set during World War II.
Walker’s stunning 6-foot-6 height, 250-pound weight, 48-inch chest, and 32-inch waist made him a popular choice for roles in Westerns and action pictures.
Off-screen, he was just as tough (and lucky). He was declared dead after a ski stick punctured his heart in a 1971 accident at California’s Mammoth Mountain, but he miraculously recovered. However, he managed to pull through the ordeal and is now a thriving Hollywood actor.
U.S. actor Clint Walker, who went yesterday at age 90, had a career that spanned over seven decades.
Since not everyone is aware of the specifics of Clint Walker’s death, this page details the Circumstances of His Demise.
Clint Walker’s Untimely Death
American actor Clint Walker, who was 90 years old when he died, has passed away. According to the sources, Clint Walker died of congestive heart failure.
In his native United States, actor Clint Walker lived to the ripe old age of 90. Congestive heart failure was listed as the official cause of death for Clint Walker.
More About Clint Walker
Warner Bros. cast Walker as Cheyenne Bodie, a principled cowboy nomad in the years following the American Civil War who was raised by the Cherokees responsible for the deaths of his parents, in 1955.
This was the first television Western to run for an entire hour. The first episode of Cheyenne, produced by Roy Huggins (who previously worked on Maverick and The Rockford Files), premiered on Warner Brothers Presents in a three-way rotation alongside Casablanca and Kings Row, both of which were based on movies.
I suppose they had all the leading males available in Hollywood to test for Cheyenne two days in a row, and they had me test alongside them,” Walker said in a 2012 interview for the Archive of American Television.
As the first day of school approached, I was filled with dread. I could make out everyone I’d ever seen in a photograph, and I remember thinking, “I don’t stand a chance.”
It was on the second day of the interview that I told myself, “If I’m not going to get the job, I might as well enjoy myself.”
And I did just that. About four days later, when Jack Warner was recapping the events, he looked at me, pointed, and said, “That is Cheyenne.”
In 1958, the now-famous Walker went on strike over a contract disagreement. Warners found a replacement for Walker’s Bronco Layne, the character he had previously portrayed with Ty Hardin.
After Walker successfully renegotiated the conditions of his contract and returned to the series in 1959, Hardin was granted his own show. At the end of its run in December 1962, Cheyenne had aired for 103 episodes.
Walker, a baritone, also contributed his voice to the song “Cheyenne,” and in 1959, he and the Sunset Serenades released an album titled “Inspiration,” which comprised covers of classic folk tunes and ballads.
Walker’s twin brother, Norman Eugene, was born on May 30th, 1927 in Hartford, Illinois. He made his own weights out of concrete, enlisted in the Merchant Marine at 17, and worked as a sailor, on a riverboat, at a paper mill, and in an oil field.
Working security at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, he was approached by members of the film industry who encouraged him to relocate to Hollywood.
It’s hardly shocking that Walker’s first film performance was an uncredited portrayal of Tarzan in the Bowery Boys’ picture Jungle Gents (1954).
He had heard that strong guys were needed for Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 epic The Ten Commandments.
Walker was on his way to Paramount to meet with the scary director when he stopped to help a woman repair a flat tyre on the road.
Walker reported that when he arrived, DeMille had stated to him, “You’re late, young guy.” After the actor explained the situation to DeMille, the director replied, “Yes, I know all about it.” I genuinely value your help, and that [woman] used to be my secretary.
It Was Decided to Include a Brief Cameo Appearance for Walker in the Film.
As a result of his rising stardom, Cheyenne was cast as the title character in the 1959 film Yellowstone Kelly, in which he played a fur trapper who, out of loyalty to the Sioux, refuses to join the U.S. Cavalry in an attack on the tribe in 1876.
Between Fort Dobbs (1958) and Gold of the Seven Saints (1971), this western was presented (1961).
Although Sinatra not only appeared in but also directed the World War II epic None But the Brave, Walker was given secondary status to Frank Sinatra.
The setting is the South Pacific. The following year, Walker portrayed Big Jim Cole in the adventure picture The Night of the Grizzly (1966), which he has called his favourite film role.
The Dirty Dozen was Lee Marvin’s breakout role, in which he played a destitute lieutenant who must lead a group of 12 condemned soldiers with little to lose on a mission of dirty duty: penetrating a German fortification.
Martin Scorsese directed the Oscar-winning film that took home the top prize during the ceremony. Walker played the role of Samson Posey, a convicted murderer serving a life term in jail.
Marvin’s finest moment comes when he gets Walker to lose his temper, assaults him with a knife, and then manages to disarm the much larger man.
(In the 1998 Joe Dante–directed animated film Small Soldiers, Walker provided the authoritative voice of Nick Nitro. Some of the other actors in Dirty Dozen include Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, and George Kennedy.
The gregarious Walker also showed up in lighter types of entertainment, the most noteworthy of which being the Rock Hudson, Doris Day, and Cary Grant vehicle Send Me No Flowers (1964), in which he had a co-starring role.
After the midpoint of the 1960s, he kept a steady work schedule, appearing in films including Sam Whiskey (1968), More Dead Than Alive (1969), and The Great Bank Robbery (1970).
He co-starred with Charles Bronson, who played Wild Bill Hickok in the cult classic The White Buffalo (1977), in which they both played minor roles in the pursuit of an albino buffalo.
Conclusion
Walker had roles in a number of 1970s telefilms, including Yuma, Hardcase, The Bounty Man, and Pancho Villa (1972).
He starred in the short-lived Alaskan drama series Kodiak. He portrayed the title character, an Alaska state policeman, in the show.
The American actor Clint Walker entered this earth on May 30, 1927. He was 90 years old when he passed away.
Some sources put Clint Walker’s wealth at $4 million. His death occurred on May 21, 2018.