The 10 Greatest Classic Western TV Heroes, Ranked

If you're anything like this author, then you probably love a good, old-fashioned horse opera. Classic television Westerns are unlike anything the genre produces for the medium today, with upright heroes, clear villains, and timeless tales that feel foundational to the Western as a whole. Of course, even our favorite classic Western TV protagonists didn't all fit the same exact mold, though we loved each of them anyway.

Whether you prefer Gunsmoke or The Lone Ranger, there is a Western TV hero for everybody, and so we took to ranking some of the very best. Of course, our list here was limited, so we ranked as many as we could without having to include every Western program of the day. Who is your favorite Western TV hero? Let us know as you read through our ranking of the best classic protagonists that traditional Western shows had to offer.

13 Bat Masterson ('Bat Masterson')

The titular hero of his three-season drama, Gene Barry's Bat Masterson is an iconic gambler, gunslinger, and adventurer who spent years entertaining audiences on NBC. Not exactly the traditional depiction of a Western hero, Bat trambled around the Old West in search of new flame and adventure, armed with a sword-concealing cane on top of the iron attached to his hip. He dressed to impress and certainly did a lot of impressing as well in his half-hour adventures.

Clever, gentlemanly, and a bit more elegant than the usual "rough-around-the-edges" types, Bat redefined the role previously played by Mason Alan Dinehart on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, making Bat Masterson its own entirely separate thing. Bat more often relied on his brain to get him out of each new batch of trouble than his brawn, helping solidify the "gentleman cowboy" archetype. He certainly had enough on-screen charm.

12 Ben Cartwright ('Bonanza')

The patriarch of the Cartwright family and the owner of the Ponderosa Ranch, Lorne Greene played Ben Cartwright for all 14 seasons of Bonanza. Tough, capable, and full of no-nonsense swagger, Ben was a heavy hitter around Virginia City and everyone knew he meant business. Keeping three sometimes unruly boys in check at all times is no small thing, and Ben did it with plenty of style.

Even if he wasn't the most lovable of the Cartwrights, Ben was the type of father that would just as soon push his sons as he would help them out of a jam. Walking a fine line between challenge and charity, he raised his boys to run the empire he almost singlehandedly built. Greene could sing too, further reinforcing the "singing cowboy" trope that dominated the genre back in its golden age.

11 Gil Favor (‘Rawhide’)

While Rawhide may be known best today as the show that made Clint Eastwood's career, the cowboy drama was actually headlined by Eric Fleming for the bulk of its run. In fact, trailboss Gil Favor is arguably the more important of the two early on in the program, with a simple stare and a commanding presence that pushes his men further west. "Get 'em up, move 'em out" was the show's infamous call, and Gil Favor certainly lived up to it.

Although Fleming left Rawhide before the show was canceled, the program proved that it couldn't quite survive without him. There's no doubt that Gil Favor remains one of the most beloved heroes of classical Western television. He's got that cowboy look and style to him that makes you believe that, no matter what comes, he'll always do the right thing. Thankfully, he never let us down.

10 Cheyenne Bodie ('Cheyenne')

The first Western hero to headline an hour-long television program, Cheyenne Bodie was the leading character in Cheyenne, which ran for an impressive seven seasons on ABC. Played to perfection by Clint Walker, Cheyenne's calming presence and towering demeanor were quite the combination for television audiences. He was a good man through-and-through who aimed to see justice done and wrongdoers punished. Talk about a classic Western hero.

Appearing in all but one episode of his eponymous series (a backdoor pilot for the short-lived The Dakotas), Cheyenne never let any villain get him down. Largely opting to work alone, the titular hero was a trendsetter who changed the television Western forever, pushing the narrative boundaries of what these weekly horse operas could do. He's certainly a hero in our book.

9 The Lone Ranger (‘The Lone Ranger’)

Whether you preferred Clayton Moore or John Hart as the domino-mask-wearing cowboy, there's no denying that the Lone Ranger has made an impressive impact on pop culture. Even if The Lone Ranger itself was aimed more toward younger audiences, the power in the Ranger's "hi ho Silver!" has continued to fuel plenty of Western yarn all these years later. Later adaptations would never quite recapture what made the original series great.

Moore's Lone Ranger is, of course, the one everyone likely remembers, and for good reason, as he played the part the longest at 156 episodes, always opposite Jay Silverheels' Tonto. Although he's fallen out of public favor today — perhaps due to the 2013 reboot film — the Lone Ranger remains one of the most important television heroes of all time. He's easily the most instantly recognizable of the bunch.

8 Joe Cartwright (‘Bonanza’)

The youngest member of the Cartwright clan, Michael Landon got his big break on Bonanza as "Little" Joe Cartwright, the heir to the Ponderosa who stuck with the brand the longest. At the beginning of the series, Joe is quite hot-headed and willing to throw himself into the fire because he doesn't truly believe he'll get burned. He certainly knew how to get under Adam's (Pernell Roberts) skin. Yet, over the course of the show's 14 seasons, he grows, changes, and becomes something of a Western hero.

As Landon began developing Joe into the sort of character that he would later play on Little House on the Prairie, we could see how Bonanza allowed the youngest Cartwright to grow with the series. Unlike many of the static characters who remain the same throughout, there's a noticeable difference in who Joe Cartwright is at the beginning and at the end, and it's a good change we just have to honor.

7 Rowdy Yates (‘Rawhide’)

Of course, there were other Western heroes who actively developed over the course of an extended run on television, with Clint Eastwood's Rowdy Yates being one of them. When Eric Fleming eventually left Rawhide, ramrod Rowdy quickly became trailboss Rowdy as he was ushered into the place of the leading man, forced to take the reins of the whole cattle drive. Fortunately, he had been helping carry the series for a while at this point, and was certainly a draw with audiences from the get-go.

Another singing cowboy (who got his start in the music business because of this show), Eastwood paid his Hollywood dues here on the small screen long before he rose to international fame as the Man With No Name. Of course, Rowdy couldn't have been any further from Eastwood's most famous gunslinger, but that was part of why we loved him. Learning the ropes from Gil Favor made Rowdy Yates a better cowboy, one who eventually became the most recognizable face in all of Rawhide.

6 Major Seth Adams (‘Wagon Train’)

If you've seen enough Western movies, then Ward Bond is a face you will recognize even if you hadn't seen a single episode of Wagon Train. Although, if you were privy to the NBC-turned-ABC horse opera, then you'd no doubt recognize Major Seth Adams as well. Adams was a righteous man who did the best he could to get folks across the dangerous terrain that was the American West, helping pioneers settle the open plains. Tough-as-nails and handy with a gun, this trailmaster is worth his weight in gold.

When Bond tragically suffered a fatal heart attack midway through Wagon Train's run on television, he was replaced by John McIntire's Christopher Hale. While Hale was as good a trailmaster as any, he wasn't Seth Adams. Reruns of Wagon Train's early seasons would be rebroadcast as Major Adams, Trailmaster, while McIntire's reruns only aired under the alternate title of Trailmaster. There's a reason for that.

5 Josh Randall (‘Wanted: Dead or Alive’)

If you're looking for a Western hero with the cool-factor dialed up to eleven, then look no further than Steve McQueen's Josh Randall. A former Confederate, this Wanted: Dead or Alive protagonist would wander his way across the Old West in search of work as a bounty hunter. Armed with his signature Mare's Leg rifle and a look that could kill, McQueen got his start here on television before successfully breaking into the big time on the big-screen.

For three seasons on Wanted: Dead or Alive, Randall proved himself a bounty hunter with a heart of gold, always willing to do what's right no matter the personal cost. He's certainly the type of hired gun you'd want on your side, and has a quick-draw that his enemies never quite see coming. If you thought McQueen was cool in The Magnificent Seven, then you've likely never seen him on the small-screen.

4 Marshal Wyatt Earp (‘The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp’)

One of the earliest fictional depictions of Wyatt Earp, Hugh O'Brian tackled the role for an impressive six seasons on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. The traveling lawman wandered around Kansas and Arizona over the course of his time on ABC, predating Gunsmoke by less than a week. Still, his Dodge City was just as busy as the one seen on NBC, though Earp eventually proved himself too big for the iconic Kansas town, eventually moving on to Tombstone.

While O'Brian's take on Earp was more legend than life-inspired, it helped solidify the historical lawman's popularity in the minds of Americans. With a remarkable code of honor and plenty of exciting adventures under his gunbelt, this is one stellar U.S. Marshal who takes his job quite seriously. With a host of friends and allies by his side, Western television would not have been the same without Wyatt Earp.