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[ReD NeCKersoN]

Here's a clip of the intro to RAWHIDE, an old tv show Chico & I used to watch as kids, and the inspiration for the name of my wq3 game server. (I play the theme song in my head every time I connect to the server!) Didn't have cable tv back in the 70's, but thank God western "re-runs" were popular back in those days. Those old shows were a big influence on me & my little brother, which is part of why I got involved with wq3 I suppose. I'll post some other old favorites from my childhood here in the coming days. Don't know if many Europeans will recognize shows like this, but I'll bet some of the "old farts" from America know where I'm coming from.

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Btw, Clint Eastwood got his first "real break" in Hollywood starring as Rowdy Yates in the RAWHIDE series which eventually led to his superstar status in the Dollars Trilogy.

Several big name actors turned down the starring role in A Fistful of Dollars. When searching for someone to play the "Man With No Name", Sergio Leone watched an episode of Rawhide to have a look at Eastwood, on Richard Harrison's recommendation. The rest is history.

[DeUgli]

Ah, yes. Rawhide. Hyaah! Hyaah!
A bit of trivia: One actor on that show was Sheb Wooley, who had actually worked as a cowboy. Every fan of character actors should know about ol' Sheb.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheb_Wooley

[ChainLightnin']

Mow, oops I forgot to put in my false teeth. Wow! I actually had a 78 record of that song when I was a kid. Frankie Lane is the singer. Yup, we saw the originals!

[EvilFutsin]

I sadly only remember Rawhide from the Blues Brothers sequence at the country 'n' western club. That's not to say I didn't know the show at the time, I honestly can't remember the first instance it was explained to me. o_O

Honestly, most of my western stuff when I was a kid came from kids' shows I'd watch (Gumby, for instance - anyone here remember Ricochet Pete? ). Mostly since whatever thing even remotely western that played on Nick @ Nite was the crappy stuff that wasn't even worth watching.

Given, I do get Encore Westerns, should probably settle down with some of those oldies. once in awhile.

Speaking of that Gumby episode...

[ReD NeCKersoN]

How about The Rifleman anyone? Another show my bro' & I used to watch every chance we got. I had a toy rifle that I'd spin around my hand, just like the Rifleman!

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I heard Chuck Connors was a star in the NBA before he got this starring role.

[DeUgli]

How about The Rifleman anyone?

That was a good show. I recently saw an episode, and I was impressed at how the Rifleman didn't use his gun until he had no alternative. (Of course, he almost always did end up gunnin' down some baddies.) He was also a single parent to his boy. That was unusual in a TV western, I think. No beer drinkin' with Miss Kitty for him.

Now, how about "Wanted Dead Or Alive"? Man! Steve McQueen carried a sawed off Winchester rifle in a holster. He wasn't hesitant about using it, either. Now that I think about it, his man-of-few-words presaged the Leone characters.

[ReD NeCKersoN]

Ahhhh, the Wild Wild West! Chico & I would race to the tv after school to catch re-runs of this old favorite. Man how we loved that show.

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It's funny, I vividly recall the lady getting punched after she drew the knife. They apparantly had two versions of the intro. Being a kid back then, I was pretty disappointed whenever he didn't belt her! I managed to find the footage I remember in this next video. You can see it around the 4 minute mark.

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Hehe. We loved that old Tarzan show too!