It was so dramatic! In a 1983 interview, Mr. Connors said he didn't mind being remembered most for "The Rifleman.". He was great to work with, totally professional and a very nice person.". Wow, what a great down to earth man, I will never forget him! He is most remembered for his five-year starring role as single father and frontier hero Lucas McCain in the highly . [16] In 1952, he was sent to the minor leagues again to play for the Cubs' top farm team, the Los Angeles Angels. Try again. Gregory Walcott was actually in competition with Chuck for the role of Lucas McCain, and he was very disappointed when he didn't get the role. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. At one point we were flying along a river where a bridge had been blown-up and partially dropped into the water. Chuck Connors was a member of this team. Try again later. One day he changed his voice and claimed to be an FBI agent investigating me and another time he was an IRS investigator checking out my faulty tax returnshad me worried for a minute! To use this feature, use a newer browser. It is with great pleasure that I write you this note regarding the late, great Chuck Connors. I was also fascinated with Chuck Connors, the man. David is the author of the only biography ever written about Chuck's life, Chuck Connors "The Man Behind the Rifle." Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Mr. Connors also starred in the "Arrest and Trial" television series in 1963 and the "Branded" series from 1964 to 1965. Brooklyn, Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, USA, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, California, USA. I saw him play in a celebrity All-Star exhibition before a. Dodger game and was stunned when he hit a long home run over the rightfield fence, I mean he crushed it! Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.neptunesociety.com/location/orlando-cremation for the Connors family. Chuck Connors was born Kevin Joseph Connors in Brooklyn, New York, to Marcella (nee Lundrigan; died 1971) and Alban Francis "Allan" Connors (died 1966), Roman Catholic immigrants of Irish descent from the Dominion of Newfoundland (now part of Canada). He was a good man, one I still think of, and wish his family the best. Real name Kevin Joseph Charles Aloysius Connors. He was a fantastic individual; you flew quite a few "celebrities" in the course of your year-long assignment. But Connors resisted the urge to go into politics himself. Joan was the prize in the winner take all fight between Chuck and Gary. Actor. Born in Fall River, MA on August 26, 1938, he was the son of the late Charles M. and Mary (OBrien) Connor. [6][7] During most of the war, he served as a tank-warfare instructor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and later at West Point in New York. A few days later, the producers of The Rifleman took their own children to watch Old Yeller, in which Connors played a strong father figure. As a young boy, my favorite television show was The Rifleman. I not only identified with Johnny Crawfords character, Mark, but I also had great, affection for Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain. He was the perfect father, figure strong and honest, fair and kind. He was 71. What a gentleman! He also played an undercover agent on the series Tightrope! Connors said, yup. Please reset your password. Obituary. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. Mr. Connors, a cigarette smoker, was found to have lung cancer a few days ago after entering the hospital for treatment of lingering pneumonia, said his agent, Steven Stevens. 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. "One of the things I loved about Chuck Connors was his offbeat sense of humor! All the other actors were on the shorter horses and Chuck towered over them on his horse. They hit the kitchen and started cooking that bacon right away and consumed it all at one sitting. College Park, Maryland, U.S.A. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw, "Chuck Connors, Actor, 71, Dies; Starred as Television's 'Rifleman', "Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930", "Chuck Connors Minor Leagues Statistics & History", "Chuck Connors Minor Leagues Statistics & History - Baseball-Reference.com", "Chuck Connors Stats - Basketball-Reference.com", "Chuck Connors 1946-47 Game Log - Basketball-Reference.com", "Backboard Shattering Dunks: Changing The Game", "1946-47 Boston Celtics Roster and Stats - Basketball-Reference.com", "Chuck Connors 194748 Game Log - Basketball-Reference.com", "Baseball (MLB) and Basketball (NBA) Players | Baseball Almanac", "Everybody's a Star: The Dodgers Go Hollywood", "Chuck Connors: American Actor/Athlete, Rifleman Star", "Boston Celtics History: The Inaugural Year of the Celtics trivia quiz", "NFL.com Draft 2018 - NFL Draft History: Full Draft Year", "Chicago Bears All-Time Draft History - Pro-Football-Reference.com", "Chuck Connors Last Modified Winchester "Rifleman" Style Rifle (w/Connors' family letter and original case)", "Chuck Connors' Last Modified Winchester "Rifleman" Style Rifle", "The Rifleman's Rifle on display at the World Golf Hall of Fame", "Chuck Connors, Actor, 71, Dies - Starred as Television's 'Rifleman', "Actor asks to attend Brezhnev's funeral", "Chuck Connors Charitable Invitational Golf Tournament", "Kevin "Chuck" Connors, grave and tombstone, San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Los Angeles, California, photo", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chuck_Connors&oldid=1131861997, Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players, Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball players, United States Army personnel of World War II, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using embedded infobox templates with the title parameter, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2015, Turner Classic Movies person ID same as Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Episode: "O'Connor and the Blue-Eyed Felon", Episode: "The Ring with the Red Velvet Ropes", Episode: "Lucy and Chuck Connors Have a Surprise Slumber Party", Episode: "Chuck Conners, Howard Cosell, Miss U.S.A. and Miss Universe: 9/12/73", Episode: "Case Number HM-89428, Homicide", Episode: "Bricker's Boy/Lotions of Love/The Hustlers", Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 6 January 2023, at 03:08. He would be there to support Jeff on many a night. He also moved very well and was good with the props, especially the rifle. "It's no problem at all for me", he said. 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. He made his screen debut with a bit in the Tracy-Hepburn sports comedy "Pat and Mike" (1952), and larger parts in B movies followed. "Our initial meeting as co-cast members playing characters vehemently antagonistic to each other in SYNANON quickly blossomed into a treasured friendship. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Chuck Connors (1145)? I just remember how nice he was and that I was thrilled that he shook my hand real hard! I asked Chuck if he would join me for lunch about three miles up the road. How much did Chuck Connors weigh when playing? Arnold Palmer, a friend and honorary chairman of the annual Chuck Connors charity golf event, was given one of the personal rifles[28] by Connors and it was on display at The World Golf Hall of Fame.[29]. EFR CPR/AED; Gregory feels that Chuck in his good natured way, allowed the stuntman to do this stunt to get nice stunt pay. In Chucks absence, Peter doubled Chuck in a couple of scenes where no close-ups were required. [32] He campaigned for Ronald Reagan, a personal friend, and marched in support of the Vietnam War in 1967. Actor Chuck Connors, best known as the fast-shooting Lucas McCain on the long-running television series "The Rifleman," died Nov. 10 in Los Angeles. Goodguy628 - YouTube Subscriber"I had the opportunity to meet Chuck several times way back in 1980 when his son Jeff's band was the house band at a bar I worked. And he loved baseball!I remember what he would always say when asked if he would rather be a great actor or a great baseball player. Eventually became an entertainment writer for the, Tennessean in Nashville for 31 years; and along the way got into compiling entertainment cookbooks such as the All-American, Cowboy Cookbook, which features a few recipes from, Chuck Connors. Occasionally, Chuck would bring by a video tape of outtakes. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Pinterest. We are very grateful for their generosity in sharing their stories with us. BTW My crew and I were part of the 48th Assault Helicopter Company Blue Stars. He was 71. A few weeks later, I went with my father to Four Star studios and we visited The Rifleman set. Mr. Connors was a professional baseball player with the New York Yankees, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs before he went to the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. Arnold Palmer met Chuck at a Pro-Am golf event in 1968 and both men took a liking to the other right away. Typical of Chuck, who was beloved by the crew and has many admirers. Ron was also a friend of Chucks and guest starred on an episode of. I will never forget at one point as we were talking I accidentally stepped on his foot. Explore. "The Rifleman is still one of my favorite shows because of its moral content. Chuck wore it into his local town of Tehachapi and when asked where he had got the cap hetold them with a bit of pride: "My friend in Minneapolis sent it to me." He was 71. Having grown up in the 60's & 70's in Ohio and later New York watching the Rifleman was my greatest childhood memory. I said, sorry and he just went on talking like it did not even happen. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. He came to prominence with a role of Lucas McCain in the TV series "The Rifleman" from 1958 to 1963. Proceeds went directly to the Angel View Crippled Children's Foundation and over $400,000 was raised. His guest-starring debut was on an episode of NBC's Dear Phoebe. Everything from The Rifleman, Arrest and Trial, Branded, Flipper you name it. Playing baseball near Hollywood proved fortunate, as he was spotted by an MGM casting director and subsequently signed for the 1952 TracyHepburn film Pat and Mike, performing the role of a police captain. Recently there was a rumor circulating that he did some gay porn during his pro-ball days. Born as Kevin Joseph Aloysius Connors on the 10th April 1921 in Brooklyn, New York USA, he was an actor, basketball player and baseball player. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1145/chuck-connors. Here is what Alex shared about his friend, Chuck Connors. After graduating in 1969, he was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy. He remembers the set had a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere - due in no small part to Chuck's sense of humor. However, he said after he saw Chuck in the role he knew it was perfect for Chuck. I interviewed Chuck way back in 1973 when he was doing press for Soylent Green. Connors was a baseball player. They then asked for his autographs and he signed two pieces of paper with the name of Clint Walker and the women went away happily with proof they had met Clint Walker.