Chuck Connors

Actor, Major League Baseball Player, Professional Basketball Player. He appeared in over 40 films but won his greatest fame as TV's "The Rifleman". Born in Brooklyn, the strapping, 6'5" Connors attended Seton Hall College and served in the U.S. Army during World War II (WWII). After his discharge in 1946, he briefly played professional basketball with the newly-formed Boston Celtics and the Rochester Royals (now the Sacramento Kings), and baseball with his hometown Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs. After spending most of his sports career in the minor leagues, he decided to try his luck with acting. He made his screen debut with a bit in the Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn sports comedy "Pat and Mike" (1952), and larger parts in B movies followed. Connors' fine performance as Burl Ives' worthless son in "The Big Country" (1958) led to his starring role in "The Rifleman", which was the top-rated television show in its first season. He played Lucas McCain, a New Mexico homesteader raising a son on his own and keeping the peace with the aid of his trusty Winchester rifle. The series ran from 1958 to 1963 and had an international following. Connors' later work was routine, with the exception of the science-fiction thriller "Soylent Green" (1973), and his Emmy-nominated turn as a lusty slave-owner in the miniseries "Roots" (1976). Connors was a longtime friend of Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, and vigorously campaigned for their Presidential bids. At a 1973 party at President Nixon's San Clemente retreat, the actor was greeted with a bear hug by Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev, who was a big fan of "The Rifleman". But Connors resisted the urge to go into politics himself. "Being around so many politicians, I became a little cynical about politics in general", he admitted. A heavy smoker, Connors died of lung cancer. He didn't seem to mind being chiefly remembered as Lucas McCain. "It's no problem at all for me", he said. "My whole ability to make a living is derived from the fact that I was 'The Rifleman'".