 It is commonly given that this show was based on the  Dr. Sam Sheppard (qv) murder case of 1954. While the show does  feature some similarities to the case, Roy Huggins (qv)  consistently denied that he based Richard Kimble on Sheppard or the  fictional murder on the real one. Claiming that he was unfamiliar  with the Sheppard case until the series began, he said the show was  actually influenced by his love for Westerns, and he wanted to do a  series about a modern character roaming around the country in a  similar fashion to a mythic cowboy.