Eric Fleming’s tragic life before and after ‘Rawhide’

Actor Eric Fleming portrayed trail boss Gil Favor, on the television series Rawhide. Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi sang the theme song from the show during their hit movie, The Blues Brothers.

Gil was often referred to as Mr. Favor, and along with Rowdy Yates (Clint Eastwood was one of the main characters in the series. Fleming’s character was the leader of a cattle drive who faced numerous dangers and different challenges each week.

Rawhide ran for 8 seasons be on CBS from 1959-1957. It continues to be shown in syndication on networks like MeTV. Clint Eastwood went on to become a movie superstar but what happened to the man who portrayed his trail boss?

Eric Fleming was born Edward Heddy Jr. on July 4, 1925, and his life was quite tragic. He had a club foot, which hindered his ability to walk, and his father often beat him severely.

At the age of 8, Fleming tried to shoot his dad, but the gun jammed. He ran away from home and began doing odd jobs for gang members to survive. When he was 11, the boy was reunited with his mother, who had recently divorced his father.

He dropped out of school during the Great Depression and worked several jobs until he joined the Merchant Marine. In 1942, during World War II, he joined the United States army where Fleming served as a Seabee in a naval construction battalion where he received extensive facial injuries because of a bet.

He was attempting to lift a 200-pound (91 kg) weight that fell on him and caused massive damage. He had to undergo extensive plastic surgery to reconstruct his jaw, forehead, and nose. Fleming had previously considered himself to be ugly and considered the accident a "wonderful balance of values."

After facial reconstruction, Fleming returned to his job as a construction worker, carpenter, and grip at Paramount Studios. He obviously learned nothing from his previous experience because he made another bet.

This time, it was $100.00 that he could perform a better audition than a young actor. Fleming lost again, and in his anger over the $100, he made a decision that changed his life. He decided to take acting classes and obtain roles to earn his money back.

Fleming began working on Broadway and later had roles in a few low-budget films. The actor's big break came in 1958 when he was cast as trail boss Gil Favor in Rawhide.

Some reports say that in 1965, Fleming and several other cast members were fired, and in the final season, Clint Eastwood became the trail boss, but the show was canceled. Wikipedia explains it this way.

Eric Fleming left "Rawhide" due to an apparent disagreement with the producers. After his departure, the ratings plunged and the show's revised format lasted for 13 episodes before CBS cancelled it midseason in December of 1965 after eight seasons.

The actor later had a role in the Doris Day film The Glass Bottom Boat and also appeared on Bonanza.

On September 28, 1966, the actor was on location in Peru, shooting the film High Jungle, when yet another tragedy occurred. Fleming and co-star Nico Minardos were in a dugout canoe in the Huallaga River when the canoe suddenly overturned.

Minardos was able to swim to safety, but Fleming was swept away by the current and drowned at age 41, leaving behind his fiancée, Lynne Garber.

A club foot, being beaten by his father, running away, gang activity, and his face being crushed were all pretty brutal. Fleming lost the $100, which led him to pursue acting, being fired from Rawhide, and drowning was tragic.

Despite these adversities, fans of Gill Favor and Rawhide will continue to watch the iconic television western and have fond memories of the actor who was gone too soon. Truly, Eric Fleming had a tough rawhide of his own to endure so much.