• Born Kevin Joseph Aloysius Connors on 10 April 1921 in Brooklyn, New York City USA
• Grew up facing poverty with his family's Roman Catholic tradition, and became an altar boy in Sunset Park's school Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica, which he also attended
• Showed an amazing physical prowess and talent in various sports, gaining him a spot to play in the local baseball team, Bay Ridge Celtics
• Won viewers' hearts with his memorable role in the TV series “The Rifleman” and the movie “Old Yeller”
• Had an estimated net worth of $5 millions, a result of his career as actor and as a professional basketball and baseball player



Known for movies

Short Info

Date Of BirthApril 10, 1921
DiedNovember 10, 1992, Los Angeles, California, United States
SpouseFaith Quabius, Kamala Devi, Elizabeth Riddell
MarkBrooklyn accent.
FactWas a Boy Scout.
PaymentsEarned $7,500 /week from Arrest and Trial (1963)


Chuck Connors was an American actor and professional baseball and basketball player, born on 10 April 1921 in Brooklyn, New York City USA. He’s known for his memorable role in the TV series “The Rifleman” and the movie “Old Yeller”.

Early Life

Kevin Joseph Aloysius Connors was born the only son of Marcella and Alban Connors, Irish immigrants from Newfoundland and Labrador. The 1930’s Great Depression left his father unemployed for years, and his mother became the backbone of the family by working in office buildings scrubbing floors.

This resulted in Kevin and his younger sister Gloria growing-up facing the harshness of poverty. In his childhood and following his family’s Roman Catholic tradition, Connors became an altar boy in Sunset Park’s school Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica, which he also attended.

Chuck Connors, The Rifleman 1960s http://myvintagephotos.com/product_info.php?products_id=1223

Posted by MyVintagePhotos.com on Thursday, 10 April 2014

From childhood, Connors showed an amazing physical prowess and talent in various sports, a skill that gained him a spot to play in the local baseball team, Bay Ridge Celtics, and where he met coach John Flynn, who helped Connors to gain a scholarship to attend Adelphi Academy. Besides playing football and basketball during his high school years, Connors became a valuable asset for its baseball team. Allegedly he received numerous scholarship offers to attend various colleges.

However, he finally chose Seton Hall University in New Jersey, where he played in both the college’s basketball and baseball teams.

Change of Name

It’s rumored that Kevin changed his name during his college years because he disliked his first name “Kevin”.

Following a story told by his sister Nancy in 1997, Connors decided to adopt a name he thought suitable for him, trying with various nicknames such as “Lefty”, “Stretch” and finally “Chuck”, which originated from the custom phrase he would yell from his first base position to the pitcher ‘Chuck it to me, baby, chuck it to me!’.

However, other sources contradict this rumor and even Connors said something different in 1945: ‘They called me Chuck when I started playing baseball because they thought Kevin was effeminate’. Thus the year he officially started being known like this is undisclosed.

Career

Baseball – First Steps

Connors had been an avid fan of the now disappeared Brooklyn Dodgers since his childhood.

His dream of joining the team became a reality in 1940,  when he signed a contract to play with them in a minor-league, leaving his studies aside in favor of baseball. However, his stay with the Dodgers was short-lived, as he was assigned to a Class-D League in Arkansas. In 1941 he signed with Norfolk Tars of Piedmont League, playing a total of 72 games with them during his one-year stay.

Army – 1942

On 20 October 1942 Connors left the league to enlist in US Army to serve his country during World War II. He was located at Fort Campbell in Kentucky as an instructor in tank-warfare, and was officially discharged in 1946.

Between Basketball and Baseball

After the war ended Chuck Connors went back to sports, though he didn’t return to baseball right away, and instead played in the National Basketball League’s (NBL) team Rochester Royals, participating in 14 games with them until his exit in March that year, going back to baseball to train with the New York Yankees.

After winning the National Baseball Minor League with a Yankees’ small team, Connors was transferred to the Brooklyn Dodgers and joined its farm club in Newport, Virginia. With this team he earned a good reputation as player, and became one of the prime prospects to form part of the main Dodgers team.

In the fall of 1946 Connors returned to his other career, joining the Basketball Association of America signing with the newly formed Boston Celtics. However, his role in the team wasn’t that promising: ‘I’m positive my greatest value to the Celtics was as an after-dinner speaker. It seems to me I did more public speaking for the team than playing that first season. They sent me all over New England on speaking engagements.’

Despite this, Connors would always been remembered as a legend of the National Basketball Association (NBA), for being the first player to shatter a backboard.

Chuck Connors

Baseball – Professional League

In 1947 Connors left basketball for good, after noticing that he was losing physical condition for baseball: ‘I had to leave the Celtics in late February for spring training, and figured I was in great shape because I had been running on the boards all winter. But because of that I found my legs actually were much tougher to get into condition. I think my baseball legs were bothered very much by basketball’.

Back with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Connors was sent to play in its Class-AA team Mobile, in Alabama, slowly ascending the league chain. This led him to be assigned to play in a top club in Montreal. Although his efforts were compensated by winning the International League, he wasn’t close to become a first baseman with the Dodgers. His playful and comedic nature helped him though, earning a good image with media that executives thought would be a positive for the team.

Thus this led him to become Dodger’s first base man in 1949.

During one of his first games with the team he was hit in his mouth by a ball, and taken to a hospital. This accident cost him two exhibitions games and a third one lost. Ultimately, Connors was put on the bench by the coach’s decision.

Shortly after this event executives took the decision to transfer Connors to the farm team Los Angeles Angels, which resulted in his favor, as in California, he met various producers, directors and other people in the entertainment industry.

Acting

During his time playing with the Angels, Connors received a call from director Bill Grady to be tested for a small role in “Pat and Mike”. This served Connors well, as he felt that he’d found his next career: ‘I said right then, this is my racket.

Playing with Tracy and Hepburn, I was in the big leagues much faster than I arrived there in baseball’.

Although he continued playing baseball, his acting appearances continued to increase, and by 1952 he had roles in various movies which provided him with a better income than his career in sports. In 1953 he officially left baseball, though he was always grateful for what it gave him: ‘Baseball owes me nothing. I owe it all that I have and much of what I hope to have. Baseball made my entrance to the film industry immeasurably easier than I could have made it alone. To the greatest game in the world I shall be eternally in debt’.

In his acting career, Connors appeared in several movies, including “Move Over Darling”, “Soylent Green” and “Flipper”. He also became a recurrent TV actor, with roles in series such as “Dear Phoebe”, “Hey, Jeannie!” and “Here’s Lucy”.

However, there were two roles that cemented his career in Hollywood. First he appeared as Burn Sanderson in the Disney adventure movie “Old Yeller” in 1958. With this character he won viewers’ hearts, and led him to be cast in the starring role of “The Rifleman” as Lucas McCain. The western series ran for five years from 1958 to 1963, and would be the most widely recognized acting work of his career.

Personal Life

Romantic Life

Connors married for the first time in 1948 to Elizabeth Riddel, who he met at a baseball game. The couple had four sons together named Michael, Jeffrey, Stephen and Kevin, but ultimately filed for divorce in 1961.

In 1963 Connors married Kamala Devi, his co-star in “Geronimo”. The couple didn’t have any children, and divorced in 1973.

In 1973 Connors met actress Faith Quabius during the film of “Soylent Green” and they married four years later. However, the union was short lived, and they filed for divorce in 1979.

Connors’ last publicly known romantic relationship was with Rose Mary Grumley, who was with him until he died.

Death

On 10 November 1992 Connors died in a Los Angeles’ medical center as a result of complications related to lung cancer, an illness resulting from his decades-long habit of smoking, although he gave it up in 1972.

Net Worth

Chuck Connors had an estimated net worth of $5 millions, a result of his career as actor, and as a professional basketball and baseball player.

"The Rifleman," starring Chuck Connors aired its last original episode on this date in 1963. The ABC series ran for five…

Posted by Classic Hollywood | Los Angeles Times on Friday, 8 April 2016

Physical Appearance

Chuck Connors was a man of American ethnicity. His impressive stature and defined facial features gave him a tough looking appearance. He was 6ft 6ins (1.98) tall, though his weight is unknown. His hair was dark-brown and his eyes blue.

Interesting Facts

He was interested in charity, and founded his own organization Chuck Connors Charitable Foundation.

Connors was a Republican Party supporter, developing a close friendship with Richard Nixon, and campaigning for Ronald Reagan a former colleague in the acting profession.

Connors met Soviet Union’s leader Leonid Brezhnev in 1973, and gifted him two Colt six-guns.

His father obtained his American citizenship in 1914 and his mother in 1930.

General Info

Full NameChuck Connors
Date Of BirthApril 10, 1921
DiedNovember 10, 1992, Los Angeles, California, United States
Height1.97 m
Weight86 kg
ProfessionScreenwriter, Basketball player, Actor, Baseball player
EducationSeton Hall University, Adelphi University
NationalityAmerican

Family

SpouseFaith Quabius, Kamala Devi, Elizabeth Riddell
ChildrenJeff Connors, Kevin Connors, Steve Connors, Mike Connors
ParentsAllan Connors, Marcella Connors
SiblingsGloria Connors

Accomplishments

Music GroupsThe Upsetters
MoviesSoylent Green, The Big Country, Old Yeller, Pat and Mike, Tourist Trap, South Sea Woman, Ride Beyond Vengeance, The Proud and Damned, Geronimo, Airplane II: The Sequel, Move Over, Darling, Kill Them All and Come Back Alone, Captain Nemo and the Underwater City, Trouble Along the Way, Flipper, Tomaha...
TV ShowsWerewolf, The Yellow Rose, Cowboy in Africa, Branded, Arrest and Trial, The Rifleman, Roots

Social profile links

Marks

#Marks / Signs
1His rifle.
2Brooklyn accent.
3Deep commanding voice
4Strong jawline and bold blue eyes
5Towering height and athletic physique

Salary

TitleSalary
Cowboy in Africa (1967)$25,000 /week (1967)
Branded (1965)$12,000 /week + percentage
Arrest and Trial (1963)$7,500 /week

Quotes

#Quote
1[About being a rugged sports player before he became a rugged leading man] I'm in about as good shape as when I quit baseball in 1952.
2[In 1958] You're doing fine work. That pitch was right in there.
3[of Barry Goldwater who suggested he try for the Senate in February 1967 during a conversation at the Tucson National Country Club] I was in the foursome in front of him and Arnold Palmer. We've met several times before and we were talking about Ronnie's [Ronald Reagan] election and politics in general when the senator said I should run for the Senate. I was flattered. I told him I didn't think it would be possible. He told me I might change my mind later on.
4There were two things wrong with me. I had a crew cut and I've never been on a horse. I did something about it. I let my hair grow and I shopped around for a horse.
5[on the cancellation of The Rifleman (1958)] I knew what [The Lucy Show (1962)] would do to our ratings and I didn't want to wait around until our show was dropped and I might be an actor nobody wanted. The show would have gone five years, and that's long enough. By that time, you have done everything possible with your characters. If you keep on going, you're just cheating the public.
6[on his popularity while playing the 40-something Lucas McCain on The Rifleman (1958)] What did I find out? That the concept of "Rifleman" is sound. I asked if people wanted any changes. Most of them said to leave it as it is. I asked if they wanted Lucas McCain to marry. They said no.
7[In 1961] I've been wanting to do a movie. I've had some offers, but they always wanted me to play the same kind of character as Lucas McCain [The Rifleman (1958)]. So I turned the pictures down, including The Alamo (1960). People see me for free every week as Lucas; why would they pay to see me in the same type of role?
8[In 1953] I owe baseball all that I have and much of what I hope to have. Baseball made my entrance to the film industry immeasurably easier than I could have made it alone. To the greatest game in the world I shall be eternally in debt.
9[on how he landed the starring role in South Sea Woman (1953)] I had done just a couple of pictures, and I was sitting outside a little dressing room at Warner Bros, and they were testing a lot of people [for the role of Pvt. Davie White] and I was sitting in my Marine uniform waiting to be called and I went out to get a breath of fresh air, when down the street comes Burt Lancaster in a Marine uniform. And in those days the stars never tested with the actors. So I said to him, "Mr. Lancaster what are you doing here?" And he was a baseball fan, so he just decided to come down and test with me. So he took me in the dressing room to, as he said, "run the lines", and I didn't even know what that expression meant then. Finally I figured him out and I said, "Oh, you mean you want to practice?" So anyhow we read the scene and man he looked at me and said, "Boy we've got to work on this!" About then my name is called on the loudspeaker to come in on stage and Burt goes to the door and yells out to the people, "Hey, I'm talking here, we'll be another 20 minutes, go ahead and test somebody else". Well he went over that scene, seven pages long, to give me some semblance of approaching it proper. And then I went in and did it and got the part. But Burt took that time on his own and I gotta give him credit.
10[on working in Pat and Mike (1952)] They paid me $500 for my week's work in that movie. I figured they'd made some mistake on the adding machine, but I stuck the check in my pocket and shut up. Baseball, I told myself, just lost a first baseman.
11I'm more than satisfied to stay put in Los Angeles. The Coast League is one of the best leagues in baseball and the living and playing conditions are superior.
12I have only five days to win the job. So I can't take time out for injuries.
13[regarding his baseball career] I was a switch-hitter, remember? At most things, I'm a good with one hand as the other.
14[In 1988] Somebody would like to have that [my agent]. He'll take that instead of commission.
15[comparing his baseball and acting careers] So why not be a switch hitter with the rifle, too? Let's learn both ways.
16[In 1960] What's cost? This is insurance. At what we pay Connors, what will it cost if he's crippled?
17[on his first introduction to Johnny Crawford, who was auditioning to play his son Mark in The Rifleman (1958)] I remember the first time I saw him, I was sitting there with the producer and we were interviewing kids to play Mark. We must have interviewed 20 or 30, then Johnny came in and before we even talked to him I said, "That's him, that's The Rifleman's son".
18[In 1987 about playing the lead in Werewolf (1987)] It's played very straight and dramatically, but with a tinge of black humor, I play evil incarnate, a 1,600-year-old man in full control of his werewolfism. Janos will kill and eat anybody and anything. Eric, on the other hand, kills only bad people in defense of his own life or those of innocent victims.
19[In 1992, about being typecasted because of The Rifleman (1958)] If you're ever being typecasted--as most of us are-- that's a great way to be typecasted. So, "The Rifleman" is still popular with a lot of people, and I'm proud to be associated.
20[In 1989] I was a bum of a hitter just not cut out for the majors. But, I will never forget Stan's kindness. When he finished watching me cut away at the ball, Stan slapped me on the back and told me to keep swinging.
21[About the character he was best-known for] I can never get rid of The Rifleman (1958), and I don't want to. It's a good image. Basically, [the show] was the simplicity of the love between the father and the son. That was the foundation. The rifle was for show, but the relationship was for real. There was some violence, but at the end, I would explain to the boy that the violence was not something we wanted to do, but had to do.
22Now who goes to the games in LA? Producers, directors, writers, casting directors. So because of the good year, I became a kind of favorite of the show business people, unbeknownst to myself.
23[on his Lucas McCain character] Lucas was a righteous character, despite all the violence. We had the benefit of the father-son relationship, so I could have a little scene at the end of the show where I would explain to Mark, essentially, that sometimes violence is necessary, but it isn't good. And there was a lot of violence on The Rifleman (1958). We once figured out that I killed on the average of two and a half people per show. That's a lot of violence, but it was always covered by the scene with the little boy. And he would say, in essence, "Gee, you won Pa". And I would say, "Wait a minute son. You never win when you kill someone. It demeans you, it takes something away. People have got to learn to do away with violence and guns, and to love each other". And the viewers would forget the fact that I had killed three people during the show, because of the tender epilogue with Mark [Johnny's favorite scenes]. The warm father-son relationship was the heart of the program, and not only did we perform it, but Johnny and I became very close friends.
24[Of Johnny Crawford] When Johnny came on the set in 1958, he was a little 12-year-old boy. He called everyone in the cast or crew "Sir" or "Ma'am". During the course of the five years of our run, he had two hit records, and he was nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor. And yet, when the show was finished after five seasons, Johnny went around and thanked everyone in the cast and crew, and he still called them "Sir" or "Ma'am".
25Well, it isn't because I'm the fidgety guy, seriously, I have to sit there like a mummy you can't move. Regular makeup you can turn around and I sit there like that, and the worst part of it is, after working 14 hours, I can't just take it off, I have to sit for another hour because of the way they made these appliances, and they have to be taken out very slowly.
26[on The Rifleman (1958)'s theme song] I hear the same thing everywhere I go.
27[In 1973] The President gave me about two dozen presidential tie clips and ladies' pins, with instructions to spread them around when I thought it appropriate, Brezhnev [Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev] will get more than a tie clip. I've ordered two engraved Colt revolvers for the General Secretary, Brezhnev is quite a western buff.
28I don't want my kids growing up believing that there is nothing destructive in the world. I want them to know that there is good and bad in the world, that you can be hurt physically, that guns can kill you, that drugs are bad for you, that not everyone means well.

Facts

#Fact
1He was most widely known to be a social butterfly.
2On The Rifleman (1958), his character had used a lot of rifles, in real-life, he owned rifles.
3Connors wasn't the only baseball star to appear on The Rifleman (1958), a couple of former baseball stars appeared on that show were: Duke Snider and Don Drysdale.
4He smoked three packs of Camel cigarettes a day until the 1970s.
5Took part in a parade in New York in support of the Vietnam War in 1967, and campaigned for his friend Ronald Reagan.
6Was a Boy Scout.
7Was a member of the Sheriff's Advisory Board of Orange County, California.
8He joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949.
9Connors was one of only twelve athletes in history to have played for both Major League Baseball and in the NBA.
10Appeared on the front cover of TV Guide five times.
11Acting mentor and friend of Johnny Crawford.
12His father was born in Dunville and his mother in St. Marys, Placentia Bay, both in the Dominion of Newfoundland (now Canada). They were both of Irish descent.
13Almost one year before his death, his first wife, Elizabeth "Betty" Connors, died on February 27, 1992, after a long illness.
14Chuck Connors died on November 10, 1992, at 71. A couple of years before his death, he was devastated to hear about Burt Lancaster's stroke. He tried calling his office one day, but his office wasn't releasing any information at that time. Connors sent a letter in support of David Fury's nomination of Lancaster to the Cowboy Hall of Fame and signed the petition David sent to the American film Institute nominating Burt for the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991.
15Future The Rifleman (1958) co-star, longtime friend and devoted fan, Johnny Crawford, had once said in an interview that when he was just a little boy, he too was an avid baseball fan, like Connors was, and would bring his baseball equipment whenever both he and Connors would be on location, during filming.
16Future comedians, Bill Rafferty and Vicki Lawrence, announcers Burton Richardson and Randy West, actors David Cassidy, Kathy Garver, Clarence Gilyard Jr., Bill Mumy, and talk show hostess, Oprah Winfrey describes him as one of their childhood television heroes.
17Future actor LeVar Burton was also said to be a huge fan of Connors' series The Rifleman (1958), as a little boy.
18Before he was an actor, he was a professional basketball and baseball player.
19After he won a scholarship attending a private high school, he played basketball, football & baseball.
20Had won numerous scholarships while in high school, but chose to attend Seton Hall College (now Seton Hall University).
21His college studies were interrupted when he was enlisted in the United States Army in 1942 in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
22Resumed his sports career after the war had ended. Connors had no choice other than to play professional basketball, when he continued to play baseball.
23He had 10 hobbies: golfing, riding horses, reading, swimming, fishing, poetry writing, spending time with his family, baseball, philanthropy and politics.
24Was best friends with: James Drury, Doug McClure, John Smith, Adam West, Jerry Lewis, Angela Lansbury, Joey Bishop, Regis Philbin, Paul Fix, Fess Parker, Gregory Peck, Alex Cord, James Arness, Peter Graves, Michael Landon, Robert Reed, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Alvy Moore, Dabbs Greer, Richard Anderson, Gene Barry, Bill Quinn, Charlton Heston, Aaron Spelling, Tom Helmore, Richard Nixon, Burt Lancaster, James Stewart, Mickey Rooney, Julie Adams, Jeff York, Aldo Ray, Gerald Ford and Leonid Brezhnev.
25His parents were Allan Connors, who was a longshoreman and Marcella Lundrigan Connors, a housewife.
26Before he was an actor, he spent most of the war as a tank-warfare instructor in Camp Campbell, Kentucky, before West Point, New York.
27Future talk show hosts - his friend, Regis Philbin and Arsenio Hall, were once said to be their admirable television heroes. Philbin was a young adult while Hall was just a child.
28He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on July 18, 1984.
29At age 13, he remembered he was a lousy first baseman, and the man who made the biggest impact on his life was his coach on a team called the Celtics, a diminutive gent named John Flynn.
30Years after The Rifleman (1958), he was a spokesperson for the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in the early 1970s.
31His father, Allan died in 1966, followed by his mother, Marcella, who died in 1971.
32Graduated from Adelphi Academy - a private high school in Brooklyn, New York, in 1940.
33His series The Rifleman (1958) was canceled at the end of the fifth season, because both the actor himself and co-star Johnny Crawford had decided to move on to other projects.
34Remained good friends with Johnny Crawford during and after The Rifleman (1958).
35Best remembered by the public for his starring role as Lucas McCain on The Rifleman (1958).
36Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives." Volume 3, 1991-1993, pp. 116-118. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001.
37Was a film "enemy" of Charlton Heston at least twice -- as Buck Hannesey in The Big Country (1958) and as Tab Fielding in Soylent Green (1973).
38In June 1973, he befriended Soviet Secretary General Leonid Brezhnev in a meeting at the White House. Connors traveled to the Soviet Union in December 1973, and presented Brezhnev with two Colt revolvers. In 1982, he asked his friend President Ronald Reagan if he could attend Brezhnev's funeral service, but he was not allowed to be part of the official US delegation.
39A longtime smoker, he was hospitalized with pneumonia three weeks before his death.
40He was a staunch supporter of the Republican Party as well as a frequent guest at the White House during the administration of his close friend President Richard Nixon.
41Was an altar boy and parishioner at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
42Before the 1940 baseball season, he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent.
43On October 10, 1950, he was traded by the Brooklyn Dodgers - with whom he had appeared with in one game in 1949 - with Dee Fondy to the Chicago Cubs for Hank Edwards and cash. He spent part of the 1951 season with the Cubs.
44Accepted the role of Mr. Slausen in Tourist Trap (1979) because he wanted to "become the Boris Karloff of the '80s".
45He was the first NBA player to shatter a backboard; he did it while playing for the Boston Celtics in 1946.
46Lucas McCain, Connors' character on The Rifleman (1958), was ranked #32 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].
47Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1991.
48In a 1997 biography titled "The Man Behind the Rifle", author David Fury says that "Chuck" Connors acquired his nickname while an athlete playing first base. He had a habit of calling to the pitcher: "Chuck it to me, baby, chuck it to me!".
49Was elected to the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1991.
50Very likely the only guest commentator on Monday Night Baseball to use the F-word.
51Almost suffered the same fate in each of his two television westerns. On a 10-2-61 episode of The Rifleman (1958) called "The Vaqueros", he was stripped to the waist, tied to a tree and left to die under a scorching sun by a group of Mexican bandits. On an 11-14-65 episode of Branded (1965) called "Fill No Glass for Me", he was stripped to the waist, tied to a tree and left to die under a scorching sun by a group of Indian warriors (in both cases he survived).
52According to an article on television westerns in Time Magazine (March 30, 1959), Connors stood 6'5" tall, weighed 215 pounds, and had chest-waist-hips measurements of 45-34-41.
53Chuck Person, an NBA Player, is named after him.
54Four sons; Mike Connors, Jeff Connors, Steve Connors, Kevin Connors.
55Connors also played professional basketball with the Boston Celtics.
56Played major league baseball (for the Chicago Cubs) in 1951.

Pictures

Movies

Actor

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Fast Backwards2001ShortThe Star
A Man Who Fell from the Sky2001Narrator and host
Three Days to a Kill1992Capt. Damian Wright
The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw1991TV MovieLucas McCain
Salmonberries1991Bingo Chuck
Face the Edge1990Buddy
Guns of Paradise1989-1990TV SeriesGideon McKay
Last Flight to Hell1990Red Farley
High Desert Kill1989TV MovieStan Brown
Wolf1989TV Series
Skinheads1989Mr. Huston
Trained to Kill1989Ed Cooper
Taxi Killer1988
Murder, She Wrote1985-1988TV SeriesTyler Morgan / FBI Agt. Fred Keller
Terror Squad1988Chief Rawlings
Once Upon a Texas Train1988TV MovieNash Crawford
Maniac Killer1987Professor Roger Osborne
Werewolf1987TV SeriesJanos Skorzeny Captain Janos Skorzeny
Summer Camp Nightmare1987Mr. Warren
Sakura Killers1987The Colonel (as Chuck Conners)
Eroi dell'inferno1987Senator Morris
The All American Cowboy1985TV Movie
Spenser: For Hire1985TV SeriesKing Powers
The Yellow Rose1983-1984TV SeriesJeb Hollister
Afghanistan pourquoi?1983Soviet colonel
The Love Boat1983TV SeriesRoy
Kelsey's Son1983TV MovieBoone Kelsey
Balboa1983Alabama Dern
Matt Houston1983TV SeriesCastanos
Lone Star1983TV MovieJake Farrell
The Vals1983Trish's Father - 'Boom-Boom Girls' Producer
There Was a Little Girl1982
Airplane II: The Sequel1982The Sarge
Hit Man1982Sam Fisher
Fantasy Island1982TV SeriesFrank Barton
The Capture of Grizzly Adams1982TV MovieFrank Briggs
Best of the West1982TV Series
Bordello1981Jonathan
Walking Tall1981TV SeriesTheo Brewster
Day of Resurrection1980Capt. McCloud - HMS Nereid
Stone1980TV SeriesTom Lettleman
Day of the Assassin1979Fleming
Tourist Trap1979Mr. Slausen
Standing Tall1978TV MovieMajor Roland Hartline
The Night They Took Miss Beautiful1977TV MovieMike O'Toole
Roots1977TV Mini-SeriesTom Moore
Police Story1973-1976TV SeriesLt. Lew Randle / Sergeant Ed 'Bugs' Pebbles / Sergeant Barrett / ...
Nightmare in Badham County1976TV MovieSheriff Danen
Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free1976TV MovieSam Ivory
The Six Million Dollar Man1975TV SeriesNiles Lingstrom
Il lupo dei mari1975Wolf-Larsen
99 and 44/100% Dead1974Claw Zuckerman
Here's Lucy1973TV SeriesChuck Connors
Soylent Green1973Tab Fielding
The Mad Bomber1973William Dorn
The Horror at 37,000 Feet1973TV MovieCaptain Ernie Slade
Set This Town on Fire1973TV MovieBuddy Bates
Night Gallery1972TV SeriesRoderick Blanco
Pancho Villa1972Col. Wilcox
Night of Terror1972TV MovieBrian DiPaulo
The Proud and Damned1972Will Hansen
Embassy1972Kesten
The Birdmen1971TV MovieColonel Morgan Crawford
Support Your Local Gunfighter1971'Swifty' Morgan (uncredited)
The Devil's Backbone1971Reynolds
The Name of the Game1971TV SeriesGovernor Brill
The Virginian1971TV SeriesGustaveson
Captain Nemo and the Underwater City1969Senator Robert Fraser
Kill Them All and Come Back Alone1968Clyde McKay
Cowboy in Africa1967-1968TV SeriesJim Sinclair
Branded1965-1966TV SeriesJason McCord
Ride Beyond Vengeance1966Jonas Trapp, the Tiger
Synanon1965Ben
Arrest and Trial1963-1964TV SeriesJohn Egan
Move Over, Darling1963Stephen 'Adam' Burkett
Flipper1963Porter Ricks
The Rifleman1958-1963TV SeriesLucas McCain / Earl Bantry
Geronimo1962Geronimo
The DuPont Show with June Allyson1960TV SeriesGeorge Aswell
The Big Country1958Buck Hannassey
The Adventures of Jim Bowie1958TV SeriesCephas K. Ham
Zane Grey Theater1958TV SeriesLucas McCain
Love That Jill1958TV SeriesCliff
Date with the Angels1958TV SeriesStacey L. Stacey
Hey, Jeannie!1958TV SeriesBuck Matthews
Old Yeller1957Burn Sanderson
The Restless Gun1957TV SeriesToby Yeager
The Lady Takes a Flyer1957Phil Donahoe
Wagon Train1957TV SeriesPrivate John Sumter
General Electric Theater1954-1957TV SeriesLong Jack / Soldier
The Silent Service1957TV SeriesLiddell
The Hired Gun1957Judd Farrow
Death in Small Doses1957Mink Reynolds
Tales of Wells Fargo1957TV SeriesSam Bass / Button Smith / Pete Johnson
Designing Woman1957Johnnie 'O'
The Millionaire1957TV SeriesHub Grimes
Tomahawk Trail1957Sgt. Wade McCoy
Big-Foot Wallace1957TV MovieBig Foot Wallace
The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna1956TV SeriesOoma
West Point1956TV SeriesMaj. Neilson / Maj. Nielson
Crossroads1956TV SeriesLou Brissie
The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial1956TV SeriesAndy
Hold Back the Night1956Sgt. Ekland
Climax!1956TV Series
Hot Rod Girl1956Det. Ben Merrill
Gunsmoke1956TV SeriesSam Keeler
Walk the Dark Street1956Frank Garrick
The Star and the Story1955-1956TV SeriesAttendant / Harry Frazier
Frontier1956TV SeriesThorpe Henderson
Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre1956TV SeriesOfficer Handley
Cavalcade of America1955TV SeriesHarry
Matinee Theatre1955TV Series
Good Morning, Miss Dove1955Bill Holloway
Screen Directors Playhouse1955TV SeriesArt Shirley
Three Stripes in the Sun1955Idaho Johnson
Target Zero1955Pvt. Moose
Adventures of Superman1955TV SeriesSylvester J. Superman
Schlitz Playhouse1955TV SeriesStanley O'Connor
Private Secretary1955TV SeriesMr. Neanderthal
TV Reader's Digest1955TV SeriesCharlie Masters
City Detective1955TV SeriesSam
Four Star Playhouse1954-1955TV SeriesStan / Mervyn
The Loretta Young Show1955TV SeriesJess Hayes
Big Town1954TV Series
Naked Alibi1954Capt. Owen Kincaide
The Human Jungle1954Earl Swados
Dear Phoebe1954TV SeriesRocky
Dragonfly Squadron1954Capt. Warnowski
South Sea Woman1953Pvt. Davey White
Code Two1953Deputy Sheriff (uncredited)
Trouble Along the Way1953Stan Schwegler
The Silver Whip1953Minor Role (uncredited)
Your Jeweler's Showcase1953TV Series
Pat and Mike1952Police Captain
Wake Island1942Soldier in meal queue (uncredited)

Writer

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Branded1966TV Series story - 2 episodes
The RiflemanTV Series story - 3 episodes, 1959 - 1961 story idea - 1 episode, 1959

Director

TitleYearStatusCharacter
There Was a Little Girl1982as Martin Herbert

Self

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Later with Bob Costas1989TV SeriesHimself
The Pat Sajak Show1989TV SeriesHimself - Guest
The Late Show1987TV SeriesHimself - Guest
All-Star Party for 'Dutch' Reagan1985TV SpecialHimself
Our Time1985TV SeriesHimself
The Steel Collar Man1985TV SpecialJ.G. Willis
The Great Mysteries of Hollywood1981TV Series documentaryHimself - Host
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion1979TV Movie documentaryHimself
ABC's Silver Anniversary Celebration1978TV SpecialHimself
NBC Special Treat1976TV SeriesHimself - Host
The Dean Martin Show1974TV SeriesHimself
Chuck Connors in the U.S.S.R.1973TV Movie documentaryHimself
The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour1973TV SeriesHimself / Various Characters
Thrill Seekers1973TV SeriesHimself - Host
The David Frost Show1971TV SeriesHimself - Guest
Once Upon a Wheel1971DocumentaryHimself
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson1971TV SeriesHimself
The Don Knotts Show1970TV SeriesHimself
The Merv Griffin Show1967-1970TV SeriesHimself - Guest
The Joey Bishop Show1967-1969TV SeriesHimself / Himself - Guest Host
The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show1968TV SeriesHimself - Guest
The Don Rickles Show1968TV SeriesHimself
The Jackie Gleason Show1968TV SeriesHimself
Western, Italian Style1968TV Short documentaryHimself
Dateline: Hollywood1967TV SeriesHimself
The Mike Douglas Show1966TV SeriesHimself - Guest Host
The Hero1966TV SeriesHimself
76th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade1965TV MovieHimself
Here's Hollywood1961-1962TV SeriesHimself
Password All-Stars1961TV SeriesHimself
Person to Person1961TV Series documentaryHimself
The Chevy Show1960TV SeriesHimself
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show1960TV SeriesHimself
What's My Line?1959-1960TV SeriesHimself - Guest Panelist
The 12th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards1960TV SpecialHimself
The Big Party1959TV SeriesHimself
The Steve Allen Plymouth Show1958TV SeriesHimself
The Ed Sullivan Show1957TV SeriesHimself
Boy with a Knife1956Documentary shortBud Williams (uncredited)

Archive Footage

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Longhorns2011Lucas McCain (uncredited)
Here's Harry: Remembering Gale Gordon2011Video documentary shortClip from 'Here's Lucy'
Pioneers of Television2011TV Mini-Series documentaryHimself / Lucas McCain from Rifleman
The Western World of Ferdinando Baldi2005Video documentaryHimself
Images of Indians: How Hollywood Stereotyped the Native American2003TV Movie documentaryHimself / Sgt. Wade McCoy (from Tomahawk Trail (1957)) (uncredited)
K.D. Lang Talks with Percy Adlon About 'Percy Adlon's Salmonberries': 11 Years Later2001Video documentary shortBingo Chuck (uncredited)
Television: The First Fifty Years1999Video documentaryLucas McCain
Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter1982TV Movie documentaryActor - 'Move Over Darling' (uncredited)
The Best of Sex and Violence1982Documentary uncredited
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color1980TV SeriesBurn Sanderson
Blade Rider, Revenge of the Indian Nations1966Jason McCord
Broken Sabre1965Jason McCord

Awards

Won Awards

YearAwardCeremonyNominationMovie
1984Golden BootGolden Boot Awards
1984Star on the Walk of FameWalk of FameTelevisionOn 18 July 1984. At 6838 Hollywood Blvd.

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia

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