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Chuck Connors Facts
| Sign | Aries |
| Born |
Apr 10, 1921 Brooklyn, NY |
| Died |
Nov 10, 1992 Los Angeles, CA |
| Age | Died at 71 |
| Total Facts | 45 |
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.
A longtime smoker, he was hospitalized with pneumonia three weeks before his death.
Accepted the role of Mr. Slausen in Tourist Trap (1979) because he wanted to "become the Boris Karloff of the '80s".
According to an article on TV 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.
After he won a scholarship attending a private high school, he played basketball, football & baseball.
Almost one year before his death, his first wife, Elizabeth "Betty" Connors, died on February 27, 1992, after a long illness.
Almost suffered the same fate in each of his two TV 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).
At 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.
Before he was an actor, he spent most of the war as a tank-warfare instructor in Camp Campbell, Kentucky, before West Point, New York.
Before he was an actor, he was a professional basketball and baseball player.
Before the 1940 baseball season, he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent.
Best remembered by the public for his starring role as Lucas McCain on "The Rifleman" (1958).
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives." Volume 3, 1991-1993, pp. 116-118. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001.
Chuck Person, an NBA Player, is named after him.
Connors also played professional basketball with the Boston Celtics.
Four sons; Mike Connors, Jeff Connors, Steve, Kevin.
Future "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.
Future actor LeVar Burton was also said to be a huge fan of Connors's show "The Rifleman" (1958), as a little boy.
Future 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 one of their childhood television heroes.
Future 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.
Graduated from Adelphi Academy - a private high school in Brooklyn, New York, in 1940.
Had won numerous scholarships while in high school, but chose to attend Seton Hall College (now Seton Hall University).
He had 10 hobbies: golfing, riding horses, reading, swimming, fishing, poetry writing, spending time with his family, baseball, philanthropy and politics.
He 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.
He was the first NBA player to shatter a backboard; he did it while playing for the Boston Celtics in 1946.
His college studies was interrupted when he was enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
His father, Allan died in 1966, followed by his mother, Marcella, who died in 1971.
His parents were Allan Connors, who was a longshoreman and Marcella Lundrigan Connors, a housewife.
His 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.
In 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!"
In 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.
Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1991.
Irish-American.
Lucas 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].
On 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.
Played major league baseball (for the Chicago Cubs) in 1951.
Remained good friends with Johnny Crawford during and after "The Rifleman" (1958).
Resumed his sports career after the war had ended. Connors had no choice other than to play professional basketball, when he continued to play baseball.
Very likely the only guest commentator on Monday Night Baseball to use the F-word.
Was 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).
Was an active Republican.
Was an altar boy and parishioner at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
Was best friends with: Joey Bishop, Regis Philbin, Charlton Heston, Richard Nixon, Burt Lancaster, Gerald Ford and Leonid Brezhnev.
Was elected to the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1991.
Years after "The Rifleman" (1958), he was a spokesperson for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in the early 1970s.