American actor-singer Clint Walker, best known for his role as Cheyenne Bodie on the first hourlong western on television Cheyenne, passed away on May 21, 2018. His daughter confirmed his death, citing congestive heart failure as the cause. He was 90 years old. 

Norman Eugene “Clint” Walker was born on May 30, 1927 in Hartford, Illinois. At the age of 17, Walker joined the United States Merchant Marine in the final months of World War II. Thereafter Walker held odd jobs in Texas, California, and Nevada, including working as a sheet metal worker and a nightclub bouncer. After becoming a client of Henry Wilson, Walker was cast in Jungle Gents and The Ten Commandments. His imposing physique of 6 feet 6 inches caught the attention of Warner Bros., which was developing a western television series at the time. He was quickly cast as the lead roaming cowboy hero on the breakout hit Cheyenne, which ran for eight seasons between 1955 and 1963. 

Along with his work on Cheyenne, Walker starred in the Gordon Douglas’ Western feature film Fort Dobbs and Yellowstone Kelly. He later starred alongside Robert Duvall in Kraft Suspense Theatre, as well as Send Me No Flowers, The Night of the Grizzly, Maya, and The Dirty Dozen. Frank Sinatra also cast Walker as the lead in the only film Sinatra ever directed, None but the Brave. Returning to Westerns, Walker starred in More Dead Than Alive, Sam Whiskey, and The Great Bank Robbery. His later work included credits on The Phynx, Yuma, Hardcase, The Bounty Man, Snowbeast, The White Buffalo, Deadly Harvest, Hysterical, The Love Boat, The Serpent Warriors, The All American Cowboy, and The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw. 

In addition to receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Walker was also honored with the Golden Boot Award in 1997 and was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 2004. 

He is survived by his third wife, Susan Cavallari, and a daughter, Valerie, by his first wife, Verna Garver.