Once again, the age-old question returns: How much did this actor actually resemble the character he famously played on TV?

It's always a little surprising to discover that the actor behind a beloved character may be nothing like the person they brought to life on screen. When we fall in love with a character, especially one who appears episode after episode, season after season, it's only natural to hope the real-life version is similar.

Paul Brinegar, who played Wishbone on CBS's Rawhide, was one of television's most famous cooks — at least in the eyes of viewers.

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Wishbone presided over the chuck wagon throughout the show's eight seasons. He was cantankerous, as anyone might be if they were responsible for feeding a group of young cowhands.

But off camera, Brinegar had little interest in the culinary arts. In reality, he rarely cooked — unless there was a paycheck involved.

In 1964, the actor spoke with The Baltimore Sun about whether he had adopted his character's occupation as a new hobby.

"I'm interested in what I hear and read about cookery only as it might help me understand the character of Wishbone, and as it might help me with a book I've been planning to write, with a friend of mine, Tony Habeeb; he's a publicist for Screen Gems," Brinegar said.

While he may not have loved cooking at home, that wasn't going to stop Brinegar from capitalizing on his newfound fame as TV's most famous cook.

"We've been collecting what we think are usable recipes," Brinegar said. "And not just because they're old-time ones, which the average man can whip up easily. We're looking for more things like the buckwheat mix my mother made, and which she got from my father's grandmother."

"We also have found some good recipes for sourdough," Brinegar continued. "We won't go in much for seasonings, or subtleties like that; we have no way, really, of testing them. There will be only simple things, primarily for campers or for backyard cooking."