Western Rabbit Hole #2-Actor Gary Clarke
August 16, 2023. Another one of my favorite TV cowboys turns 90 years old today. Handsome Gary Clarke brought both humor and humanity to his character of Steve Hill on the first 3 season of The Virginian (1962–1964).
TV shows of the era did not always pay close attention to character arc or to backstory that had already been presented. Thus, Steve Hill got several different versions of where he came from and how he got to Shiloh. In one episode he was an experienced mountain lion tracker, and in another he was a wet-behind-the-ears youth just off the train.
There was no mention at all of where he had disappeared to at the beginning of season 3. He did make appearances in episodes 5, 7, and 9. He’s said in interviews that he got paid much better for those than he did as a regular character!
Steve Hill was not the first or last popular TV character to be dropped from a highly rated show at the whims of a producer. While other characters came and went, no other ranch hand ever quite filled Steve’s cowboy boots.
I like to think he finally fell in love with a woman who was worthy of him and that they rode off together to stake a claim and raise a family a little further out west. Steve did have trouble with the ladies, as was common for the genre. It’s nice to think Steve Hill was the exception.
