View source for Chuck Connors

{{short description|American athlete and actor (1921–1992)}}
{{for|persons of a similar name|Charles Connors (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Chuck Connors
| image              = Chuck Connors The Rifleman 1962.JPG
| caption            = Publicity still of Connors for ''The Rifleman'' in 1963
| birth_name         = Kevin Joseph Connors
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1921|04|10|mf=y}}
| birth_place        = New York City, U.S.
| death_date         = {{nowrap|{{Death date and age|1992|11|10|1921|04|10|mf=y}}}}
| death_place        = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| resting_place      = 
| height             = 6 ft 5 in
| years_active       = 1952–1992
| occupation         = Actor, athlete
| spouse             = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|Elizabeth Riddell|1948|1961|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|[[Kamala Devi (actress)|Kamala Devi]]|1963|1972|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|Faith Quabius|1977|1980|end=divorced}}}}
| children           = 4
| module =
{{Infobox baseball biography|embed=yes
| name = Chuck Connors
| image = Chuck Connors Brooklyn Dodgers.JPG
| caption = Chuck Connors as a Brooklyn Dodger.
| position = [[First baseman]]
| bats = Left
| throws = Left
|debutleague = MLB
| debutdate = May 1
| debutyear = 1949
| debutteam = Brooklyn Dodgers
|finalleague = MLB
| finaldate = September 30
| finalyear = 1951
| finalteam = Chicago Cubs
|statleague = MLB
| stat1label = [[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
| stat1value =.238
| stat2label = [[Home run]]s
| stat2value = 2
| stat3label = [[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
| stat3value = 18
| teams =
* [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] (1949)
* [[Chicago Cubs]] (1951)
}}}}

'''Kevin Joseph''' "'''Chuck'''" '''Connors'''<ref>"New York, New York City, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947", ''FamilySearch'' (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WWR6-3RMM : Sat Mar 09 13:31:07 UTC 2024), Entry for Kevin Joseph Connors and Student College, 15 Feb 1942.</ref> (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have played in both the [[National Basketball Association]] ([[Boston Celtics]] 1946–48) and [[Major League Baseball]] ([[Brooklyn Dodgers]] 1949, [[Chicago Cubs]], 1951). With a 40-year film and television career, he is best known for his role as Lucas McCain on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] series ''[[The Rifleman]]'' (1958–63).<ref name="obit" />

== Early life and education ==
Connors was born on April 10, 1921 in the [[Boroughs of New York City|borough]] of [[Brooklyn]] in New York City, to Marcella ({{nee|Lundrigan}}; 1894–1971) and Alban Francis "Allan" Connors (1891–1966), immigrants of Irish descent from [[Newfoundland and Labrador]].<ref name="1930 Census">[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RCQ-4WY?cc=1810731 "Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930"], Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, April 12, 1930; Enumeration District 24-1031. Bureau of the Census, United States Department of Commerce. Digital copy of original enumeration page of cited census available at FamilySearch, an online genealogical database provided as a public service by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah; retrieved July 24, 2017.</ref> He had one sibling, a younger sister named Gloria Marie Connors Cole (1923–2020).<ref>"United States, Census, 1930", ''FamilySearch'' (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4N5-CY8 : Thu Jan 16 02:47:56 UTC 2025), Entry for Allen Connors and Marcella Connors, 1930.</ref><ref>"United States, Census, 1950", ''FamilySearch'' (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XTG-NKQP : Wed Mar 20 16:09:23 UTC 2024), Entry for Allan Connors and Marcella Connors, 10 April 1950.</ref> Raised as a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], Connors served as an altar boy at the [[Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Brooklyn)|Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help]] in Brooklyn.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home - Our Chuck Connors |url=http://www.ourchuckconnors.com/home.html |access-date=September 17, 2022 |website=Our Chuck Connors.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://walkoffame.com/chuck-connors/ | title=Chuck Connors | date=October 25, 2019 }}</ref>

His father became a citizen of the United States in 1914 and was working in Brooklyn in 1930 as a [[longshoreman]], and his mother had also attained her U.S. citizenship in 1917.<ref name="1930 Census"/>

Connors was a devoted fan of the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] despite their losing record during the 1930s, and hoped to join the team one day. A talented athlete, he earned a scholarship to the Adelphi Academy, a preparatory school in Brooklyn, where he graduated in 1939. He received offers for athletic scholarships from more than two dozen colleges and universities.<ref name="McCain Ranch">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090327061416/http://www.riflemanconnors.com/Chuck_Connors.html Chuck Connors biography]}}, "Welcome to the McCain Ranch" website dedicated to the history and content of the television series ''The Rifleman''; retrieved July 24, 2017.</ref> He attended [[Seton Hall University]] and played both [[Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball|basketball]] and baseball at the school.

Since childhood, Connors had disliked his first name, Kevin, and sought another name. He tried using "Lefty" and "Stretch" before finally settling on "Chuck".<ref name="profile">[http://www.ourchuckconnors.com Profile], ourchuckconnors.com; accessed March 7, 2015.</ref> The name derived from his time as a player on Seton Hall's baseball team. He would repeatedly yell to the pitcher from his position on first base, "Chuck it to me, baby! Chuck it to me!" The rest of his teammates and spectators at the university's games soon caught on, and the nickname stuck.<ref name="McCain Ranch"/>

Connors left Seton Hall after two years to accept a contract to play professional baseball.<ref name="McCain Ranch"/> He played on two minor league teams (see below) in 1940 and 1942, then joined the United States Army following America's entrance into [[World War II]].<ref name="baseball ref">{{Cite web|title=Chuck Connors Minor Leagues Statistics & History|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=connor001kev|access-date=November 10, 2021|website=Baseball-Reference.com|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Army recs">U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records 1938–1946, National Archives and Records Administration. Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938–1946 [Archival Database]; ARC: 1263923. World War II Army Enlistment Records; Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 64; National Archives at College Park. College Park, Maryland, U.S.A.</ref> During most of the war, he served as a tank-warfare instructor at [[Fort Campbell]], Kentucky, and later at [[West Point]] in New York.<ref name="profile"/>

==Sports career==

=== Minor League Baseball (1940–1952) ===
In 1940, following his departure from college, Connors played four baseball games with the Brooklyn Dodgers' minor league team, the [[Newport Dodgers]] ([[Northeast Arkansas League]]). Released, he sat out the 1941 season, then signed with the New York Yankees farm team, the [[Norfolk Tars]] ([[Piedmont League]]), where he played 72 games before enlisting in the Army at [[Fort Knox, Kentucky]], at the end of the season, on October 10, 1942.<ref name="baseball-reference.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=connor001kev|title=Chuck Connors Minor Leagues Statistics & History - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref name="Army recs"/>

Following his time in the Army, Connors played for the [[Newport News Dodgers]] (Piedmont League) in 1946, the [[Mobile Bears]] ([[Southern Association]]) in 1947, the [[Montreal Royals]] ([[International League]]) from 1948 through 1950, and the [[Los Angeles Angels (PCL)|Los Angeles Angels]] ([[Pacific Coast League]]) in 1951 and 1952.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/stats/p-a687f416|title=Chuck Connors Minor League Stats|website=Stats Crew|access-date=July 15, 2023}}</ref>

===Professional basketball (1946–1948)===
Following his [[military discharge]] in 1946, the {{height|ft=6|in=5}} Connors joined the Rochester Royals (now the [[Sacramento Kings]]) of the National Basketball League for their [[1945–46 Rochester Royals season|1945–1946]] championship season. For the 1946–1947 season, he joined the newly formed [[Boston Celtics]] of the [[National Basketball Association|Basketball Association of America]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/connoch01.html|title=Chuck Connors Stats - Basketball-Reference.com|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/connoch01/gamelog/1947/|title=Chuck Connors 1946-47 Game Log - Basketball-Reference.com|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}</ref> During his tenure with the Celtics in [[1946–47 Boston Celtics season|1946]], Connors became the first professional basketball player to [[Backboard shattering|break a backboard]]. He did so during pregame practice before the Celtics' first home game of their inaugural season with a shot and not a [[slam dunk]], which is what typically breaks a backboard in modern basketball.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Football |first=Billy |title=Backboard Shattering Dunks: Changing The Game |url=https://www.barstoolsports.com/podcast/3371084/backboard-shattering-dunks-changing-the-game |access-date=May 2, 2022 |website=www.barstoolsports.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=75 Moments in Boston Celtics History |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/75-moments-boston-celtics-history |access-date=May 2, 2022 |website=NBC Sports Boston |date=March 10, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> He played 53 games for Boston before leaving the team early in the 1947–48 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/1947.html|title=1946-47 Boston Celtics Roster and Stats - Basketball-Reference.com|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/connoch01/gamelog/1948|title=Chuck Connors 1947–48 Game Log - Basketball-Reference.com|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}</ref>

Connors is one of 13 athletes to have played in both the [[National Basketball Association]] and [[Major League Baseball]]. The 12 others: [[Danny Ainge]],  [[Frank Baumholtz]], [[Hank Biasatti]], [[Gene Conley]], [[Dave DeBusschere]], [[Dick Groat]], [[Steve Hamilton (sportsman, born 1934)|Steve Hamilton]], [[Mark Hendrickson]], [[Cotton Nash]], [[Ron Reed]], [[Dick Ricketts]], and [[Howie Schultz]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/baseball_and_basketball_players.shtml|title = Baseball (MLB) and Basketball (NBA) Players &#124; Baseball Almanac}}</ref>

Connors attended spring training in 1948 with Major League Baseball's Brooklyn Dodgers, but did not make the squad.<ref name="baseball-reference.com"/> He played two seasons for the Dodgers' AAA team, the [[Montreal Royals]], before playing one game with the Dodgers in 1949.<ref name="baseball-reference.com"/> After two more seasons with Montreal, Connors joined the [[Chicago Cubs]] in 1951, playing in 66 games as a first baseman and occasional [[pinch hitter]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/C/Pconnc101.htm|title=Chuck Connors's career page at|publisher=Retrosheet.org|access-date=November 4, 2013}}</ref> In 1952, he was sent to the minor leagues again to play for the Cubs' top farm team, the [[Los Angeles Angels (PCL)|Los Angeles Angels]].<ref name="baseball-reference.com"/>

===Sports career notes===
In 1966, Connors played an off-field role by helping to end the celebrated holdout (see [[reserve clause]]) by [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] pitchers [[Don Drysdale]] and [[Sandy Koufax]] when he acted as an intermediary during negotiations between management and the players.<ref>{{cite web|last=Katz|first=Jeff|title=Everybody's a Star: The Dodgers Go Hollywood|url=http://sabr.org/research/everybodys-star-dodgers-go-hollywood|website=SABR.org|publisher=Society for American Baseball Research|access-date=May 3, 2015}}</ref> Connors can be seen in the Associated Press photo with Drysdale, Koufax, and Dodgers general manager [[Buzzie Bavasi]] announcing the pitchers' new contracts.<ref>{{cite web|last=Thorp|first=Ellen|title=Chuck Connors: American Actor/Athlete, Rifleman Star|url=http://trivia.ellenthorp.com/chuck-connors-american-actorathlete-rifleman-star/|website=When Westerns Ruled|access-date=May 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510070713/http://trivia.ellenthorp.com/chuck-connors-american-actorathlete-rifleman-star/|archive-date=May 10, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Contrary to erroneous reports, Connors was not drafted by the [[Chicago Bears]] of the [[National Football League]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?type=team|title=NFL.com Draft 2018 - NFL Draft History: Full Draft Year|website=NFL.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/chi/draft.htm|title=Chicago Bears All-Time Draft History - Pro-Football-Reference.com|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://drafthistory.com/teams/bears.html|title=Chicago Bears|website=drafthistory.com|access-date=June 7, 2019|archive-date=August 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828203300/http://drafthistory.com/teams/bears.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Career statistics===
{{NBA player statistics legend}}

====BAA====
Source<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/connoch01.html|title=Chuck Connors|website=[[Basketball Reference]]|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]|accessdate=23 October 2022}}</ref>

=====Regular season=====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
|-
!Year
!Team
!GP
!FG%
!FT%
!APG
!PPG
|-
| [[1946–47 BAA season|1946–47]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1946–47 Boston Celtics season|Boston]]
|'''49'''
|.247
|.464
|'''.8'''
|'''4.6'''
|-
|[[1947–48 BAA season|1947–48]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1947–48 Boston Celtics season|Boston]]
|4
|'''.385'''
|'''.667'''
|.3
|3.0
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career
|53
|.252
|.471
|.8
|4.5
|}

====MLB====
{{MLB player statistics legend}}

=====Regular season=====
Source<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/connoch01.shtml|title=Chuck Connors MLB stats|website=[[Baseball Reference]]|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=28 May 2025}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable" margin: 5px; text-align: center; style=font-size:90%
|+ '''Career offensive totals'''
|- align=center
! Category
! [[Games played|G]]
! [[Plate appearances|PA]]
! [[At bat|AB]]
! [[Run (baseball)|R]]
! [[Hit (baseball)|H]]
! [[Double (baseball)|2B]]
! [[Triple (baseball)|3B]]
! [[Home run|HR]]
! [[Runs batted in|RBI]]
! [[Stolen base|SB]]
! [[Base on balls|BB]]
! [[Strikeout|SO]]
! [[Batting average (baseball)|AVG]]
! [[On-base percentage|OBP]]
! [[Slugging percentage|SLG]]
! [[On-base plus slugging|OPS]]
! [[On-base plus slugging|OPS+]]
! [[List of Major League Baseball career total bases leaders|TB]]
! [[Double plays|GIDP]]
! [[Sacrifice hits|SH]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
|Total
|67
|215
|202
|16
|48
|5
|1
|2
|18
|4
|12
|25
|.238
|.280
|.302
|.582
|55
|61
|1
|1
|}

{|class="wikitable" margin: 5px; text-align: center; style=font-size:90%
|+ '''Career defensive totals'''
|- align=center
! Category
! [[Games played|G]]
! [[Games started|GS]]
! [[Complete game|CG]]
! [[Inning]]s
! [[Total chances|TC]]
! [[Putout|PO]]
! [[Assist (baseball)|A]]
! [[Error (baseball)|E]]
! [[Double play|DP]]
! [[Fielding percentage|Fld]]
! [[Range factor|RF/9]]
! RF/G
|- align=center
! [[First baseman|First base]]
| 57
| 49
| 45
| 452.1
| 493
| 452
| 33
| 8
| 41
| .984
| 9.65
| 8.51
|}

==Acting career==
Connors realized that he would not make a career in professional sports, so he decided to pursue an acting career. Playing baseball near Hollywood proved fortunate, as he was spotted by an [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] [[casting director]] and subsequently signed for the 1952 [[Spencer Tracy|Tracy]]–[[Katharine Hepburn|Hepburn]] film ''[[Pat and Mike]]'', performing the role of a police captain. In 1953, he starred opposite [[Burt Lancaster]] as a rebellious [[United States Marine Corps|Marine]] private in ''[[South Sea Woman]]'' and then as an American football coach opposite [[John Wayne]] in ''[[Trouble Along the Way]]''.

===Television roles===
Connors had a rare comedic role in a 1955 episode ("Flight to the North") of ''[[Adventures of Superman (TV series)|Adventures of Superman]]''. He portrayed Sylvester J. Superman, a lanky rustic yokel who shared the same name as the title character of the series.

Connors was cast as [[Lou Brissie]], a former professional baseball player wounded during World War II, in the 1956 episode "The Comeback" of the religion [[anthology series]] ''[[Crossroads (1955 TV series)|Crossroads]]''. [[Don DeFore]] portrayed the Reverend C. E. "Stoney" Jackson, who offered the spiritual insight to assist Brissie's recovery so that he could return to the game. [[Grant Withers]] was cast as Coach [[Whitey Martin]]; ''Crossroads'' regular [[Robert Carson (actor)|Robert Carson]] also played a coach in this episode. [[Edd Byrnes]], [[Rhys Williams (Welsh-American actor)|Rhys Williams]], and [[Robert Fuller (actor)|Robert Fuller]] played former soldiers. [[X Brands]] is cast as a baseball player.

In 1957, Connors was cast in the [[Walt Disney]] film ''[[Old Yeller (1957 film)|Old Yeller]]'' in the role of Burn Sanderson. That same year, he co-starred in ''The Hired Gun''.<ref name="Chuck Connors — Lucas Mcain">The Rifleman The Original Series [http://www.therifleman.net/chuck-connors ''The Riflemen'' website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006065452/http://www.therifleman.net/chuck-connors/ |date=October 6, 2014 }}, therifleman.net; accessed March 10, 2015.</ref>

===Character actor===
[[File:Du Pont Show with June Allyson 1960.JPG|thumb|right|With [[Pippa Scott]] in 1960]]
Connors acted in feature films including ''[[The Big Country]]'' with [[Gregory Peck]] and [[Charlton Heston]], ''[[Move Over Darling]]'' with [[Doris Day]] and [[James Garner]], ''[[Soylent Green]]'' with Heston and [[Edward G. Robinson]], and ''[[Airplane II: The Sequel]]''.

He also became a beloved television [[character actor]], guest-starring in dozens of shows. His guest-starring debut was on an episode of [[NBC]]'s ''[[Dear Phoebe]]''. He played in two episodes, one as the bandit [[Sam Bass (outlaw)|Sam Bass]], on [[Dale Robertson]]'s NBC Western ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]''.

His other television appearances were on ''[[Hey, Jeannie!]]'', ''[[The Loretta Young Show]]'', ''[[Schlitz Playhouse]]'', ''[[Screen Directors Playhouse]]'', ''[[Four Star Playhouse]]'', ''[[Matinee Theatre]]'', ''[[Cavalcade of America]]'', ''[[Gunsmoke (TV series)|Gunsmoke]]'', ''[[The Gale Storm Show]]'', ''[[The West Point Story (TV series)|The West Point Story]]'', ''[[The Millionaire (TV series)|The Millionaire]]'', ''[[General Electric Theater]]'' hosted by [[Ronald Reagan]], ''[[Wagon Train]]'', ''[[The Restless Gun]]'' with [[John Payne (actor)|John Payne]], ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'', ''[[Date with the Angels]]'' with [[Betty White]], ''[[The DuPont Show with June Allyson]]'', ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]'', ''[[Night Gallery]]'' hosted by [[Rod Serling]], and ''[[Here's Lucy]]'' with [[Lucille Ball]].

===''The Rifleman''===
{{Main|The Rifleman}}
[[File:Chuck Connors Beverly Englander The Rifleman 1961.JPG|thumb|right|Connors during filming of a 1961 episode of ''[[The Rifleman]]'']]
Connors beat 40 other actors for the lead in ''[[The Rifleman]]'', portraying Lucas McCain, a widowed rancher known for his skill with a customized [[Winchester Model 1892#The Rifleman's Winchester Model 1892|Winchester rifle]]. This [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[Western (genre)|Western]] series, which aired from 1958 to 1963, was also the first show to feature a widowed father raising a young child.<ref name="Chuck Connors — Lucas Mcain"/> Connors said in a 1959 interview with ''[[TV Guide]]'' that the producers of [[Four Star Television]] ([[Dick Powell]], [[Charles Boyer]], [[Ida Lupino]], and [[David Niven]]) must have been looking at 40 to 50 thirty-something men. At the time, the producers offered a certain amount of money to do 40 episodes for the 1958–59 season. The offer turned out to be less than Connors was making doing freelance acting, so he turned it down. A few days later, the producers of ''The Rifleman'' took their own children to watch ''[[Old Yeller (1957 film)|Old Yeller]]'', in which Connors played a strong [[father figure]]. After the producers watched him in the movie, they decided they should cast Connors in the role of Lucas McCain and made him a better offer, including a five-percent ownership of the show.

''The Rifleman'' was an immediate hit, ranking number four in the [[Nielsen ratings]] in 1958–59, behind three other Westerns – ''[[Gunsmoke (TV series)|Gunsmoke]]'', ''[[Wagon Train]]'', and ''[[Have Gun – Will Travel]]''. [[Johnny Crawford]], an unfamiliar actor at the time, former [[Mousketeer]], baseball fan, and Western buff, beat 40 other young stars for the role of Lucas' son, Mark. Crawford remained on the series from 1958 until its cancellation in 1963. ''The Rifleman'' landed high in the Nielsen ratings until the last season in 1962–63, when it was opposite the highly rated return to television of [[Lucille Ball]] on ''[[The Lucy Show]]'', and ratings began to drop. The show was cancelled in 1963 after five seasons and 168 episodes.

[[File:Chuck Connors Johnny Crawford The Rifleman 1960.JPG|thumb|right|Connors with [[Johnny Crawford]], 1960]]

====The rifle====
[[File:Chuck Connors The Rifleman 1959.JPG|thumb|right|Connors in ''[[The Rifleman]]'', 1959]]
Three rifles were made for the show - two identical [[Winchester Model 1892#The Rifleman's Winchester Model 1892|.44–40 Winchester model 1892]] rifles, one that was used on the show and one for backup, and a Spanish version called an ''El Tigre'' used in the saddle holster.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.riflemansrifle.com/the_riflemans_rifle.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123155813/http://www.riflemansrifle.com/the_riflemans_rifle.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 23, 2007|title=The Rifleman's Rifle|access-date=November 4, 2013}}</ref> The rifle levers were modified from the round type to more D-shaped in later episodes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auctions/AuctionItem?AuctionId=43828|title=Chuck Connors Last Modified Winchester "Rifleman" Style Rifle (w/Connors' family letter and original case)|access-date=November 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226051638/http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auctions/AuctionItem?AuctionId=43828|archive-date=December 26, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Two rifles were specifically made for Chuck Connors by Maurice "Moe" Hunt and were never used on the show. He was a fan of the show and gave them to Connors. [[Arnold Palmer]], a friend and honorary chairman of the annual Chuck Connors charity golf event, was given one of the personal rifles<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auctions/AuctionItem?AuctionId=19584|title=Chuck Connors' Last Modified Winchester "Rifleman" Style Rifle|access-date=November 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226052035/http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auctions/AuctionItem?AuctionId=19584|archive-date=December 26, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> by Connors and it was on display at [[The World Golf Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.riflemanconnors.com/golf_hall_of_fame.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010073836/http://www.riflemanconnors.com/golf_hall_of_fame.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=October 10, 2008|title=The Rifleman's Rifle on display at the World Golf Hall of Fame|access-date=November 4, 2013}}</ref>

=== Typecasting and other TV roles ===

[[File:Chuck Connors Broderick Crawford Arrest and Trial 1963.jpg|thumb|right|Connors opposite [[Broderick Crawford]] in ''[[Arrest and Trial]]'', 1963]]

In 1963, Connors appeared in the film ''[[Flipper (1963 film)|Flipper]]''. He also appeared opposite [[James Garner]] and [[Doris Day]] in the comedy ''[[Move Over, Darling]]'' in the role earlier played by [[Randolph Scott]] in the original 1940 [[Irene Dunne]]/[[Cary Grant]] version entitled ''[[My Favorite Wife]]''.

As Connors was strongly [[typecast (acting)|typecast]] for playing the single-father rancher, he then starred in several short-lived series, including: ABC's ''[[Arrest and Trial]]'' (1963–1964), an early forerunner of ''[[Law & Order]]'' featuring two young actors [[Ben Gazzara]] and [[Don Galloway]]; and [[NBC]]'s post-Civil War-era series ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'' (1965–1966).

[[File:Chuck Connors Branded 1965.JPG|thumb|right|Connors in ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'', 1965]]

In 1967–1968, Connors starred in the ABC series ''[[Cowboy in Africa]]'' alongside Tom Nardini and British actor [[Ronald Howard (British actor)|Ronald Howard]].

Connors guest-starred in a last-season episode of ''[[Night Gallery]]'' titled "The Ring With the Red Velvet Ropes". In 1973 and 1974, he hosted a television series called ''[[Thrill Seekers]]''.

Connors was nominated for an [[Emmy Award]] for his performance in a key role against type: a [[slave owner]] in the 1977 [[miniseries]] ''[[Roots (1977 miniseries)|Roots]]''.<ref name="obit" />

Connors hosted a number of episodes of ''[[Family Theater]]'' on the [[Mutual Radio Network]]. This series was aimed at promoting prayer as a path to world peace and stronger families, with the motto, "The family which prays together stays together."

In 1980, he hosted ''Chuck Connors' Great Western Theatre'', a combination of off-network episodes of ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'' and ''[[The Guns of Will Sonnett]]'', managed by Leo A. Gutman, Inc.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 8, 1982 |title=Gutman (print ad) |pages=145 |work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]] |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/82-OCR/1982-03-08-BC-OCR-Page-0145.pdf |access-date=October 6, 2023}}</ref>

In 1983, Connors joined [[Sam Elliott]], [[Cybill Shepherd]], [[Ken Curtis]], and [[Noah Beery Jr.]] in the short-lived [[NBC]] series ''[[The Yellow Rose]]'', about a modern [[Texas]] ranching family.

In 1985, he first guest-starred in the pilot episode which would become a recurring role of King Powers in the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] TV series ''[[Spenser: For Hire]]'', starring [[Robert Urich]] as Spenser — "with an S, like the poet" — and [[Avery Brooks]] as Hawk.

In 1987, he co-starred in the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] series ''[[Werewolf (TV series)|Werewolf]]'', as drifter Janos Skorzeny.

In 1988, he guest-starred as Gideon in the TV series ''[[Paradise (American TV series)|Paradise]]'', starring [[Lee Horsley]]. He also starred as Nash Crawford, an aged, retired Texas Ranger, in the film ''[[Once Upon a Texas Train]]''.

In 1991, Connors was inducted into the [[Western Performers Hall of Fame]] at the [[National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum]] in [[Oklahoma City]].

== Personal life ==

[[File:Chuck Connors and son 1959.JPG|thumb|right|Connors and son, Jeffrey, on ''[[The Rifleman]]'' set in 1959. Jeffrey had a role as Toby Halperin in the episode "Tension".]]

Connors was married three times. He met his first wife, Elizabeth Jane Riddell Connors, at one of his baseball games and they were married on October 1, 1948. They had four sons.

Connors married [[Kamala Devi (actress)|Kamala Devi]] (1963) the year after co-starring with her in ''[[Geronimo (1962 film)|Geronimo]]''. She also acted with Connors in ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'', ''Broken Sabre'', and ''[[Cowboy in Africa]]''. They were divorced in 1973.

Connors met his third wife, Faith Quabius, when they both appeared in the film ''[[Soylent Green]]'' (1973). They were married in 1977 and divorced in 1979.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.riflemanconnors.com/Chuck_Connors2.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328025336/http://www.riflemanconnors.com/Chuck_Connors2.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 28, 2009|title=Chuck Connors profile at|publisher=Riflemanconnors.com|access-date=May 18, 2013}}</ref>

Connors was a supporter of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] and attended several fundraisers for campaigns for U.S. President [[Richard M. Nixon]]. Connors also backed [[Barry Goldwater]] in the [[1964 United States presidential election]], and Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfHXAAAAQBAJ&q=chuck%20connors | title=When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics| isbn=9781107650282| last=Critchlow| first=Donald T.| date=October 21, 2013| publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> He campaigned for [[Ronald Reagan]], a personal friend, and marched in support of the [[Vietnam War]] in 1967.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lambert |first=Bruce |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/11/arts/chuck-connors-actor-71-dies-starred-as-television-s-rifleman.html |title=Chuck Connors, Actor, 71, Dies - Starred as Television's 'Rifleman' |website=The New York Times |date=November 11, 1992 |access-date=August 8, 2017}}</ref>

[[File:General Secretary Brezhnev meets actor Chuck Connors, at San Clemente - NARA - 194526 - edited.jpg|thumb|right|General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party [[Leonid Brezhnev]] ''(left)'' and interpreter [[Viktor Sukhodrev]] meet Chuck Connors, 1973]]

[[Leonid Brezhnev]], the leader of the Soviet Union, met Connors when Brezhnev arrived on Air Force One at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station with President Richard Nixon in June 1973. Brezhnev noticed Connors in the group on the tarmac waiting to receive the President and him. Brezhnev shook Connors' hand and then wrapped his arms around him, and leapt into Connors' arms to be lifted up by the hulking American actor. The crowd laughed and clapped at the spectacle. Later, at a party given by Nixon at the [[Western White House]] in [[San Clemente, California]], Connors presented Brezhnev with a pair of Colt Single Action Army "Six-Shooters" (revolvers), which Brezhnev liked greatly.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schattenberg |first=Susanne |title=Brezhnev: The Making of a Statesman |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|I. B. Tauris]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-8386-0638-1 |location=Dublin |pages=309 |translator-last=Heath |translator-first=John |chapter=Emotions and Pills in the Cold War}}</ref>

Few American television programs were permitted to be broadcast in the Soviet Union at that time; ''The Rifleman'' was an exception, because it happened to be Brezhnev's favorite show. Connors and Brezhnev got along so well that Connors accepted an invitation to visit the Soviet leader in Moscow in December 1973. After Brezhnev's death in 1982, Connors expressed an interest in returning to the Soviet Union for the General Secretary's funeral, but the U.S. government would not allow Connors to be part of the official delegation.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 12, 1982 |title=Actor asks to attend Brezhnev's funeral |agency=[[United Press International|UPI]] |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/11/12/Actor-asks-to-attend-Brezhnevs-funeral/4779405925200/ |access-date=October 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221023232228/https://www.upi.com/amp/Archives/1982/11/12/Actor-asks-to-attend-Brezhnevs-funeral/4779405925200/ |archive-date=October 23, 2022 }}</ref>

On July 18, 1984, Connors was awarded a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] (star location at 6838 Hollywood Blvd). Over 200 close friends attended, including his family and actor Johnny Crawford.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/chuck-connors/ |title=Hollywood Star Walk: Chuck Connors |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610065330/http://www.projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/chuck-connors/ |archive-date=June 10, 2011}}</ref>

=== Charity ===

Connors hosted the annual Chuck Connors Charitable Invitational Golf Tournament, through the Chuck Connors Charitable Foundation, at the Canyon Country Club in Palm Springs, California. Proceeds went directly to the Angel View Crippled Children's Foundation and over $400,000 were raised.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs-Life/Cover-Archive/index.php/name/Palm-Springs-Life-Cover-Archive-1970-May/record/1819/ |title=Chuck Connors Charitable Invitational Golf Tournament |access-date=November 4, 2013 |archive-date=April 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426232434/http://www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs-Life/Cover-Archive/index.php/name/Palm-Springs-Life-Cover-Archive-1970-May/record/1819/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Death==
Connors died of [[lung cancer]] on November 10, 1992, at [[Cedars-Sinai Medical Center]] in Los Angeles.<ref name="obit">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/11/arts/chuck-connors-actor-71-dies-starred-as-television-s-rifleman.html |work=The New York Times |date=November 11, 1992 |title=Chuck Connors, Actor, 71, Dies; Starred as Television's 'Rifleman' |quote=Chuck Connors, a former professional basketball and baseball player who gained stardom as an actor on the television series 'The Rifleman', died yesterday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 71 years old and lived on a ranch in Tehachapi, California, north of Los Angeles. He died of lung cancer, the hospital said.|access-date=November 4, 2013}}</ref> He is buried at [[San Fernando Mission Cemetery]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kevin "Chuck" Connors, grave and tombstone, San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Los Angeles, California, photo |url=https://www.mygenealogyhound.com/vintage-photographs/california-photographs/Kevin-Chuck-Connors-grave-tombstone-San-Fernando-Mission-Cemetery-Los-Angeles-California-photo.html |access-date=September 24, 2022 |website=www.mygenealogyhound.com}}</ref>

==Filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1952|| ''[[Pat and Mike]]'' || Police Captain ||
|-
|1953|| ''[[Trouble Along the Way]]'' || Stan Schwegler ||
|-
|1953|| ''[[Code Two]]'' || Deputy Sheriff || Uncredited
|-
|1953|| ''[[South Sea Woman]]'' || Pvt. Davey White ||
|-
|1954|| ''[[Dragonfly Squadron]]'' || Captain Warnowski ||
|-
|1954|| ''[[The Human Jungle (film)|The Human Jungle]]'' || Earl Swados ||
|-
|1954||''[[Naked Alibi]]'' || Capt. Owen Kincaide ||
|-
|1955|| ''[[Target Zero]]''|| Pvt. Moose ||
|-
|1955|| ''[[Good Morning, Miss Dove]]'' || Bill Holloway ||
|-
|1955|| ''[[Three Stripes in the Sun]]'' || Idaho Johnson ||
|-
|1956|| ''[[Walk the Dark Street]]'' ||Frank Garrick||
|-
|1956|| ''[[Hot Rod Girl]]'' || Det. Ben Merrill||
|-
|1956|| ''[[Hold Back the Night]]'' || Sgt. Ekland ||
|-
|1957|| ''[[Tomahawk Trail]]'' || Sgt. Wade McCoy ||
|-
|1957|| ''[[Designing Woman]]'' || Johnnie O ||
|-
|1957|| ''[[Death in Small Doses (1957 film)|Death in Small Doses]]'' ||Mink Reynolds||
|-
|1957|| ''[[The Hired Gun (1957 film)|The Hired Gun]]'' ||Judd Farrow||
|-
|1957|| ''[[Old Yeller (film)|Old Yeller]]'' ||Burn Sanderson||
|-
|1958|| ''[[The Lady Takes a Flyer]]'' || Phil Donahoe ||
|-
|1958|| ''[[The Big Country]]'' || Buck Hannassey ||
|-
|1962|| ''[[Geronimo (1962 film)|Geronimo]]'' || [[Geronimo]] ||
|-
|1963||''[[Flipper (1963 film)|Flipper]]'' || Porter Ricks ||
|-
|1963|| ''[[Move Over, Darling]]'' ||Stephen 'Adam' Burkett||
|-
|1965|| ''[[Synanon (film)|Synanon]]'' || Ben ||
|-
|1966|| ''[[Ride Beyond Vengeance]]'' ||Jonas Trapp||
|-
|1968|| ''[[Kill Them All and Come Back Alone]]'' ||Clyde McKay||
|-
|1969|| ''[[Captain Nemo and the Underwater City]]'' || Senator Robert Fraser ||
|-
|1971|| ''[[The Deserter (1971 film)|The Deserter]]'' || Chaplain Reynolds ||
|-
|1971|| ''[[The Birdmen]]'' || Colonel Morgan Crawford ||
|-
|1971|| ''[[Support Your Local Gunfighter]]'' || Swifty Morgan || Uncredited
|-
|1972|| ''[[Embassy (film)|Embassy]]'' || Kesten ||
|-
|1972|| ''[[The Proud and Damned]]'' || Will Hansen ||
|-
|1972|| ''[[Pancho Villa (film)|Pancho Villa]]'' || Col. Wilcox ||
|-
|1973|| ''[[The Mad Bomber (1972 film)|The Mad Bomber]]'' || William Dorn ||
|-
|1973|| ''[[Soylent Green]]'' || Tab Fielding ||
|-
|1974|| ''[[99 and 44/100% Dead]]'' || Marvin "Claw" Zuckerman ||
|-
|1975|| ''[[Legend of the Sea Wolf]]'' || Wolf Larsen ||
|-
|1979|| ''[[Tourist Trap (film)|Tourist Trap]]'' || Mr. Slausen ||
|-
|1979|| ''[[Day of the Assassin]]'' || Fleming ||
|-
|1980|| ''[[Virus (1980 film)|Virus]]'' || Captain McCloud ||
|-
|1981|| ''Bordello'' || Jonathan ||
|-
|1982|| ''Hit Man'' || Sam Fisher ||
|-
|1982|| ''[[Airplane II: The Sequel]]'' || The Sarge ||
|-
|1982|| ''There Was a Little Girl'' || ||
|-
|1983|| ''The Vals'' || Trish's Father ||
|-
|1983|| ''Balboa'' || Alabama Dern ||
|-
|1983|| ''Lone Star'' || Jake Ferrell ||
|-
|1983|| ''Afghanistan pourquoi?'' || Soviet Colonel ||
|-
|1987|| ''Hell's Heroes'' || Senator Morris ||
|-
|1987|| ''Sakura Killers'' || The Colonel ||
|-
|1987|| ''[[Summer Camp Nightmare]]'' || Mr. Warren ||
|-
|1987|| ''Maniac Killer'' || Professor Roger Osborne ||
|-
|1988|| ''[[Once Upon a Texas Train]]'' || Nash Crawford ||
|-
|1988|| ''[[Terror Squad (film)|Terror Squad]]'' || Chief Rawlings ||
|-
|1988|| ''Taxi Killer'' || Jenny's Father ||
|-
|1989|| ''Trained to Kill'' || Ed Cooper ||
|-
|1989|| ''[[Skinheads (film)|Skinheads]]'' || Mr. Huston ||
|-
|1990|| ''Last Flight to Hell'' || Red Farley ||
|-
|1990|| ''Face the Edge'' || Buddy ||
|-
|1991|| ''[[Salmonberries (film)|Salmonberries]]'' || Bingo Chuck ||
|-
|1992|| ''Three Days to a Kill'' || Capt. Damian Wright ||
|-
|2001|| ''A Man Who Fell from the Sky'' || Narrator and host ||
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1953|| ''Your Jeweler's Showcase'' || || Episode: "Three and One Half Musketeers"
|-
|1954|| ''[[Dear Phoebe]]'' || Rocky || Episode: "Billy Gets a Job"
|-
|1954|| ''[[Big Town]]'' || || Episode: "Semper Fi"
|-
|1954|| ''[[Four Star Playhouse]]'' || Mervyn / Stan || Two episodes
|-
|1954–1957|| ''[[General Electric Theater]]'' || Soldier / Long Jack || Two episodes
|-
|1955|| ''[[Letter to Loretta]]'' || Jess Hayes || Episode: "The Girl Who Knew"
|-
|1955|| ''[[City Detective]]'' || Sam || Episode: "Trouble in Toyland"
|-
|1955|| ''[[TV Reader's Digest]]'' || Charlie Masters || Episode: "The Manufactured Clue"
|-
|1955|| ''[[Private Secretary (TV series)|Private Secretary]]'' || Mr. Neanderthal || Episode: "Mr. Neanderthal"
|-
|1955|| ''[[Schlitz Playhouse of Stars]]'' || Stanley O'Connor || Episode: "O'Connor and the Blue-Eyed Felon"
|-
|1955|| ''[[Adventures of Superman (TV series)|Adventures of Superman]]'' || Sylvester J. Superman || Episode: "Flight to the North"
|-
|1955|| ''[[Screen Directors Playhouse]]'' || Art Shirley || Episode: "The Brush Roper"
|-
|1955–1956|| ''[[The Star and the Story]]'' || || Three episodes
|-
|1955|| ''[[Matinee Theatre]]'' || || Episode: "O'Toole from Moscow"
|-
|1955|| ''[[Cavalcade of America]]'' || Harry || Episode: "Barbed Wire Christmas"
|-
|1956|| ''[[Fireside Theatre]]'' || Officer Handley || Episode: "The Thread"
|-
|1956|| ''Frontier'' || Thorpe Henderson || Episode: "The Assassin"
|-
|1956|| ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' || Sam Keeler || Episode: "The Preacher"
|-
|1956|| ''[[Climax!]]'' || || Episode: "Fear is the Hunter"
|-
|1956|| ''[[The Joseph Cotten Show (TV series)|The Joseph Cotten Show]]'' || Andy || Episode: "The Nevada Nightingale"
|-
|1956|| ''[[Crossroads (1955 TV series)|Crossroads]]'' || Lou Brissie || Episode: "The Comeback"
|-
|1956|| ''[[The West Point Story (TV series)|The West Point Story]]'' || Maj. Nielson || Two episodes
|-
|1956|| ''[[The Gale Storm Show]]'' || Ooma || Episode: "The Witch Doctor"
|-
|1957|| ''[[The Millionaire (TV series)|The Millionaire]]'' || Hub Grimes || Episode: "The Hub Grimes Story"
|-
|1957|| ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]'' || Sam Bass / Button Smith || Two episodes
|-
|1957|| ''The Silent Service'' || Lt. Jim Liddell || Episode: "The Story of the U.S.S. Flier"
|-
|1957|| ''[[Wagon Train]]'' || Private John Sumter || Episode: "The Charles Avery Story"
|-
|1957|| ''[[The Restless Gun]]'' || Toby Yeager || Episode: "Silver Threads"
|-
|1958|| ''Hey, Jeannie!'' || Buck Matthews || Episode: "The Bet"
|-
|1958|| ''[[Date with the Angels]]'' || Stacey L. Stacey || Episode: "Double Trouble"
|-
|1958|| ''Love That Jill'' || Cliff || Episode: "They Went Thataway"
|-
|1958|| ''[[Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre]]'' || Lucas McCain || Episode: "The Sharpshooter"
|-
|1958|| ''[[The Adventures of Jim Bowie]]'' || Cephas K. Ham || Two episodes
|-
|1958–1963|| ''[[The Rifleman]]'' || Lucas McCain || Lead role<br />168 episodes
|-
|1960|| ''[[The DuPont Show with June Allyson]]'' || George Ainsworth || Episode: "Trial by Fear"
|-
|1963–1964|| ''[[Arrest and Trial]]'' || John Egan || Lead role<br />30 episodes
|-
|1965–1966|| ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'' || Jason McCord || Lead role<br />48 episodes
|-
|1967–1968|| ''[[Cowboy in Africa]]'' || Jim Sinclair || Lead role<br />26 episodes
|-
|1971|| ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]'' || Gustaveson || Episode: "The Animal"
|-
|1971|| ''[[The Name of the Game (TV series)|The Name of the Game]]'' || Governor Brill || Episode: "The Broken Puzzle"
|-
|1971|| ''[[The Birdmen]]'' || Colonel Morgan Crawford || TV movie
|-
|1972|| ''Night of Terror'' || Brian DiPaulo || TV movie
|-
|1972|| ''[[Night Gallery]]'' || Roderick Blanco || Episode: "The Ring with the Red Velvet Ropes"
|-
|1973|| ''Set This Town on Fire'' || Buddy Bates || TV movie
|-
|1973|| ''[[The Horror at 37,000 Feet]]'' || Captain Ernie Slade || TV movie
|-
|1973|| ''[[Here's Lucy]]'' || Himself || Episode: "Lucy and Chuck Connors Have a Surprise Slumber Party"
|-
|1973|| ''[[The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour]]'' || Himself || Episode: "Chuck Conners, Howard Cosell, Miss U.S.A. and Miss Universe: 9/12/73"
|-
|1973–1976|| ''[[Police Story (1973 TV series)|Police Story]]'' || Various || Four episodes
|-
|1975|| ''[[The Six Million Dollar Man]]'' || Niles Lingstrom || Episode: "The Price of Liberty"
|-
|1976|| ''[[Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free]]'' || Sam Ivory || TV movie
|-
|1976|| ''[[Nightmare in Badham County]]'' || Sheriff Slim Danen || TV movie
|-
|1977|| ''[[Roots (1977 miniseries)|Roots]]'' || Tom Moore || Miniseries
|-
|1977|| ''[[The Night They Took Miss Beautiful]]'' || Mike O'Toole || TV movie
|-
|1978|| ''Standing Tall'' || Major Roland Hartline || TV movie
|-
|1980|| ''[[Stone (TV series)|Stone]]'' || Tom Lettleman || Episode: "Case Number HM-89428, Homicide"
|-
|1981|| ''[[Walking Tall (TV series)|Walking Tall]]'' || Theo Brewster || Episode: "Kidnapped"
|-
|1982|| ''[[Best of the West]]'' || || Episode: "Frog's First Gunfight"
|-
|1982|| ''[[The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams|The Capture of Grizzly Adams]]'' || Frank Briggs || TV movie
|-
|1982|| ''[[Fantasy Island]]'' || Frank Barton || Episode: "Sitting Duck/Sweet Suzi Swann"
|-
|1983|| ''Lone Star'' || Jake Farrell || TV movie
|-
|1983|| ''Kelsey's Son'' || Boone Kelsey || TV movie
|-
|1983|| ''[[The Love Boat]]'' || Roy || Episode: "Bricker's Boy/Lotions of Love/The Hustlers"
|-
|1983|| ''[[Matt Houston]]'' || Castanos || Episode: "Get Houston"
|-
|1983–1984|| ''[[The Yellow Rose]]'' || Jeb Hollister || Main cast<br />21 episodes
|-
|1985|| ''[[Spenser: For Hire]]'' || King Powers || 2 episodes
|-
|1985–1989|| ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'' || Fred Keller / Tyler Morgan || Two episodes
|-
|1985|| ''The All-American Cowboy'' || || TV movie
|-
|1987|| ''[[Werewolf (TV series)|Werewolf]]'' || Captain Janos Skorzeny || Recurring role<br />Five episodes
|-
|1988|| ''[[Once Upon a Texas Train]]'' || Nash Crawford || TV movie
|-
|1988|| ''[[Wolf (American TV series)|Wolf]]'' || || Episode: "Pilot"
|-
|1989|| ''[[High Desert Kill]]'' || Stan Brown || TV movie
|-
|1989–1990|| ''[[Paradise (American TV series)|Paradise]]'' || Gideon McKay || Three episodes
|-
|1991|| ''[[The Gambler (film series)|The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw]]'' || Lucas McCain || TV movie
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Chuck Connors}}

{{Portal|Biography|Baseball|Sports|New York (state)|New York City|California|Film|Television}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206164720/https://www.ourchuckconnors.com/ |title=Official website |date=mdy}}
* [https://www.therifleman.net/index.php/chuck-connors/ ''The Rifleman'': Chuck Connors]
* {{IMDb name|0175200}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* Jack Bales, [http://wrigleyivy.com/the-rifleman-as-a-cub/ "'The Rifleman' (As a Cub)"]. WrigleyIvy.com.
{{Basketballstats|nba_historical=chuck_connors|bbr=c/connoch01}}
{{Baseballstats|mlb=112592|espn=|br=c/connoch01|fangraphs=|brm=connor001kev|retro=}}
* [http://www.tvparty.com/rifle.html TVparty] – Meeting with Brezhnev
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070228155257/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,908172,00.html ''Time'' magazine] – Meeting with Brezhnev
* {{Find a Grave|1145}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connors, Chuck}}
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