Phil Rawlins

Phil Rawlins (May 28, 1930 – May 28, 2009) was an American film and television producer.

Phil Rawlins was born on May 28, 1930, in Glendale, California. He had a sister, Lisa Rawlins, an executive at Warner Brothers, who, at Phil's suggestion, helped create the State of California Film Commission, during the term of Governor George Deukmejian.

Rawlins went to school at Riverside Drive Elementary School, North Hollywood Jr. High, and North Hollywood High School, where he played basketball. While in high school, he started roping, often near the intersection of Saticoy Avenue and Woodman Avenue in Los Angeles, with Ben Johnson, another calf roper.

After high school, Rawlins attended Pierce College, Woodland Hills, California, where he built a rodeo team and led it to several wins.

Rodeo

Rawlins' rodeo team at Pierce College registered their first major win in an Arizona rodeo competition, which opened the door for the college in the competitive rodeo world.

At the age of 40, he joined the Senior Pro Rodeo Circuit Association (PRCA). Staying true to his passion for rodeo, he competed in nearly 40 rodeos a year, mostly in California and also at Calgary, Alberta; Cheyenne, Wyoming; Cow Palace, Pendleton, Indiana; and Salinas rodeo.

Film

Rawlins began his film career as a stuntman in the early 1950s. In his career, he doubled for Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, and Clint Eastwood (in Charles Marquis Warren's TV series Rawhide,) among others. In 1956, he doubled for Don Murray in Joshua Logan's Bus Stop, featuring Marilyn Monroe and Arthur O'Connell.

After around 10 years as a stunt performer, Rawlins made his directorial debut in 1960 as an assistant director for two episodes of the TV series The Texan, starring Rory Calhoun, Regis Parton, and Duncan Lamont. Later, he also occasionally served as a director for Warner Brothers productions.

His major credits as a director/assistant director include Roy Huggins's TV series 77 Sunset Strip (25 episodes in 1960-1964), two episodes of the TV Series Cheyenne(starring Clint Walker and Clyde Howdy), eight episodes in 1967-1968 for the TV series Star Trek (starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy), and 5 episodes (1960-1962) for the TV series Hawaiian Eye (starring‌ Poncie Ponce, Connie Stevens, and Douglas Mossman).

Rawlins also worked as an associate producer for 31 episodes of F Troop (1966-1967), and two feature films: John Milius' The Wind and the Lion (1975), and Buck Henry's First Family (1980).

In 1969, after living in the San Fernando Valley and at the Equestre Inn in Burbank, Rawlins moved to Placerita Canyon in Los Angeles County, California. In 1976, while flying to Boston, Massachusetts, he met his second wife Fran, a flight attendant. They married in 1982 and had two sons: film editor Clay Rawlins and cameraman Lex Rawlins.

Rawlins died at Newhall, a neighborhood of Santa Clarita, California, on May 28, 2009, at age 79.