‘Cheyenne’ Star Clint Walker Survived a Freak Accident That Pierced His Heart

Standing at 6 feet 6 inches, Clint Walker was the ultimate TV cowboy. As the star of the hit Western series Cheyenne, he was the gentle giant who could throw a punch that would send bad guys flying all the way across a dusty saloon. Premiering in 1955 on ABC, Cheyenne was the first hour-long Western series on TV, setting the standard for almost every Western that followed.

Walker’s Cheyenne Bodie was a good-hearted cowboy who traveled the post-Civil War West righting wrongs and defending the innocent. Journalist Ed Gross, writing for Woman’s World magazine, quoted Walker as saying this about the character he played, “He had a strong sense of justice, and he couldn’t bring himself to stand around or tolerate somebody being abused.”

With his quiet demeanor and believable screen presence, Walker did not need to say much to command a room. TV audiences just could not get enough of the show, which ran for seven seasons, turning Walker from an unknown former merchant marine and Las Vegas bouncer into one of the biggest stars in the world.

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Fast forward to the year 1971. By that time, Walker was 43 years old. Cheyenne had long since wrapped up, and he had starred in classic films like The Dirty Dozen. Enjoying life as a successful Hollywood veteran, he was a physically active guy who loved the outdoors. In May 1971, Walker decided to hit the slopes for a skiing trip at Mammoth Mountain in California.

While making his way down the mountain, Walker suddenly took a spill. The kind of skiing accident that happens to almost everyone. The kind where you get right back up, dust off the snow, and start skiing again. However, when Walker tumbled, one of his ski poles was positioned in just the wrong way. The blunt end of the pole hit the ground, and as his massive frame fell forward, the sharp point pierced his chest and impaled his heart.

For most folks, that would be the tragic end of the story. A relatively innocent fall had turned into a freak accident that, more often than not, a person simply doesn’t walk away from. And when the ski patrol finally got to him, things were looking pretty darn grim. Walker was rushed down the mountain and taken to the hospital. While being transported, the response team attending to his care believed him to be dead because his heart had stopped beating.

As doctors rushed Walker into emergency surgery to try and repair the massive trauma to his chest, they learned something very quickly: never count out Clint Walker. Against all medical odds, he somehow survived. Walker’s heart, damaged as it was, refused to give up. Just like a Timex watch, it just kept on ticking.

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Not only did Walker survive an injury that should have been instantly fatal, but his recovery was also nothing short of superhuman. Just two short months after having his heart pierced by a ski pole, Walker was back at work standing tall in front of the cameras as if absolutely nothing had happened.

Talking to Vernon Scott, writing for UPI after the accident, here’s how Walker said it had changed him: “An accident like that gives you a new set of values. It makes you see who you are and where you are in life. Some things aren’t as important anymore.”

Walker went on to enjoy an incredible, remarkable, long, and healthy life after that terrifying brush with death. He continued to act in movies like Baker’s Hawk and made guest appearances on TV shows like The Love Boat. When he was not making movies and TV shows, he loved attending Western conventions and talking with the fans who still loved him so dearly.

Walker remained with us until 2018, passing away from congestive heart failure just days before what would have been his 91st birthday. Heck of a life for a feller who, at least for a moment or two, was believed to have died on a snowy mountain way back in 1971.