Actor Eric Fleming, best known as the stern trail boss Gil Favor on the hit western series *Rawhide*, died on September 28, 1966, at the age of 41. He drowned after a dugout canoe capsized in a river in Peru, where he was filming a television location shoot. His body was recovered three days later. Fleming’s path to stardom was marked by early hardship.
Born Edward Heddy Jr. in Santa Paula, California, in 1925, he was born with a club foot and reportedly endured severe beatings from his father. Fleming later said that at the age of eight, he attempted to kill his father, an experience that led him to leave home. After drifting to Los Angeles and Chicago, where he took odd jobs, Fleming joined the Merchant Marine and later enlisted in the Navy during World War II.
He served as a carpenter in the 88th Naval Construction Battalion and rose to the rank of Petty Officer Second Class in 1945. A serious facial injury changed the course of his life. While making a bet, Fleming attempted to lift a 200-pound weight and suffered severe damage to his forehead, nose, and jaw. He underwent extensive plastic surgery to reconstruct his face, and the procedure gave him a new sense of confidence.
Fleming tried his hand at acting by making a bet that he could perform a better audition than another actor. He lost the wager, but the humiliating experience drove him to enroll in evening acting classes at Paramount Studios. His debut came in a road company production of the play *Happy Birthday*, followed by roles in Broadway plays and television. His appearance in low-budget films such as *Fright*, *Curse of the Undead*, and *Queen of Outer Space* led to his biggest role in 1958.
Fleming was cast as Gil Favor, the wise and formidable trail boss of the cattle drive series *Rawhide*. The show, set in the 1860s, aired from 1959 to 1966 and also starred a young Clint Eastwood, who alternated lead duties with Fleming. During the summer hiatus in 1965, producers let Fleming go, along with three other cast members, in an attempt to revive declining ratings. Fleming jokingly claimed that CBS fired him because they were paying him a million dollars a year.
Eastwood was promoted to lead, but the show lasted only 13 more episodes before CBS cancelled it that December. A contributing factor was a poor time slot opposite the gritty World War II drama *Combat*. After leaving *Rawhide*, Fleming appeared in the Doris Day comedy *The Glass Bottom Boat* and guest-starred in three episodes of *Bonanza*. He then signed on for the film *Off to See the Wizard*, shot partly in Peru.
Six weeks into the location shoot, he and a co-star were in a dugout canoe on a river when it capsized. His co-star swam to safety, but Fleming was swept away. Fleming’s body was recovered three days later. According to reports, his remains were donated to a medical school at the University of San Marcos in Lima and cremated afterwards.
He left behind his fiancée, Lynn Garber.
