Chuck Connors

At 71 years old, Chuck Connors has this physical status:

Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (born in 1921) was an American actor, writer, and a professional basketball and baseball player.

He is one of only 13 players in American professional sports to have played both Major League Baseball (Chicago Cubs, 1951) and in the National Basketball Association (Boston Celtics, 1947–48).

With a 40-year film and television career, he is best known for his five-year appearance in ABC's highly rated ABC series The Rifleman (1958-1963).

Early life and education

Connors was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on April 10, 1921, the elder of two children born to Marcella (née Londrigan) and Alban Francis "Allan" Connors, immigrants of Irish descent from Newfoundland and Labrador, was born. Gloria, his sister, was two years old when he was born.

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 already obtained her U.S. citizenship in 1917. He was born as a Catholic and worked as an altar boy at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn.

Despite losing to the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1930s, Connors was a devoted fan and wanted to join the team one day. He received a scholarship to the Adelphi Academy, a preparatory school in Brooklyn, where he graduated in 1939. More than two dozen colleges and universities have given him additional scholarships for athletic scholarships.

From those offers, he selected Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. He played both basketball and baseball for the school, and it was also there where he changed his name. Since childhood, Connors had feared his first name, Kevin, and he had sought another name. He played "Lefty" and "Stretch" before eventually settling on "Chuck." The name derives from his time as a member of Seton Hall's baseball team. "Chuck it to me, baby" would yell to the pitcher from his first base position.

Chuck it to me!"

The rest of his teammates and fans of the university's games soon joined him, and the nickname stuck.

Connors left Seton Hall after two years to commit to professional baseball. He played on two minor league teams (see below) in 1940 and 1942, then joined the United States Army in the wake of America's World War II invasion. He served as a tank-warfare instructor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and later at West Point in New York.

Personal life

Connors was married three times. Elizabeth Jane Riddell Connors, his first wife, was married on October 1, 1948, during one of his baseball games. Michael (1950–2017), Jeffrey (1952–2014), Jeffrey (1952–2005), and Kevin (1956–2005), and divorced in 1961.

Connors married Kamala Devi (1963), the year after co-starring with her in Geronimo. She has also worked with Connors in Branded, Broken Sabre, and Cowboy in Africa. They were divorced in 1973.

When Connors and Faith Quabius appeared in the film Soylent Green (1973), they became a couple. They were married in 1977 and divorced in 1979.

Connors was a fan of the Republican Party and attended many fundraisers for President Richard M. Nixon. In the 1964 United States presidential election, Connors and Gerald Ford supported Barry Goldwater, as well as Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election. In 1967, Ronald Reagan, a personal friend, ran for president Ronald Reagan, and marched in favor of the Vietnam War.

When Brezhnev arrived at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station with President Richard Nixon in June 1973, Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet Union's chief, met Connors. On the tarmac waiting to greet him and the President, Brezhnev noticed Connors in the group. Brezhnev shook Connors' hand and wrapped his arms around him, bringing the much taller Connors completely off his feet by at least a foot. The audience erupted and applauded with approval. Connors gave Brezhnev with two Colt Single Action Army "Six-Shooters" (revolvers) later that evening, which Brezhnev adored greatly.

At that time, only American television shows were allowed to be broadcast in the Soviet Union: The Rifleman was an exception, because it happened to be Brezhnev's most popular program. Connors and Brezhnev got along so well that Connors accepted an invitation to visit Stalin in Moscow in December 1973. Following Brezhnev's death in 1982, Connors expressed an interest in returning to the Soviet Union for the General Secretary's funeral, but the US government would not allow Connors to be part of the official delegation.

Connors was left hand.

Connors was named a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 18, 1984 (star location at 6838 Hollywood Blvd.) Over 200 close friends attended, including his family and actor Johnny Crawford.

At the Canyon Country Club in Palm Springs, California, Connors sponsored the annual Chuck Connors Charitable Invitational Golf Tournament, which was sponsored by the Chuck Connors Charitable Foundation. Proceeds went directly to the Angel View Crippled Children's Foundation, where over $400,000 was raised.

Source

Sports career

Connors played four baseball games for the Newport Dodgers' minor league team in 1940, following his release from college. (Northeast Arkansas League). He played in the Army at Fort Knox, Kentucky, at the end of the season, but retired from the 1941 season.

Following his military service in 1946, the 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Connors joined the Rochester Kings (now the Sacramento Kings) of the National Basketball League for their 1945-1946 championship season. He was a member of the Basketball Association of America's newly formed Boston Celtics in 1946-1947. Connors was the first professional basketball player to break a backboard during his time with Celtics in 1946. He did so during pre-game preparations for the Celtics' first home game of the season with a shot rather than a slam dunk, which is what normally breaks a backboard in modern basketball. He appeared in 53 games for Boston before leaving the team early in the 1947-48 season.

Connors is one of 13 players to have competed in both the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. Danny Ainge, Frank Baumholtz, Hank Biasatti, Gene Conley, Dick Groat, Steven Greer, Mark Hendrickson, Cotton Nash, Dick Ricketts, and Howie Schultz were among the 12 others to have performed: Danny Ainge, Frank Baumholtz, Hank Biasatti, Dave DeBusschere, Gene Conley, Darwin DeBuskett, Stan Hamilton, Tim Hartley, Richard Reid

Connors attended spring training for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948, but did not make the squad because he spent two seasons with the Dodgers' AAA team, the Montreal Royals, before playing just one game with the Dodgers in 1949. Connors joined the Chicago Cubs in 1951, playing in 66 games as a first baseman and occasional pinch hitter. In 1952, he was sent back to the minor leagues to play for the Los Angeles Angels, the Cubs' best farm team.

Connors played an off-field role in 1966 by assisting in the end of Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax's famed holdout (see reserve clause) when he served as an intermediary in talks between management and the players. Connors can be seen in the Associated Press photo with Drysdale, Koufax, and Dodgers general manager Buzzie Bavasi announcing the pitchers' new deals.

Connors was the first professional basketball player to be credited with shattering a backboard with a 40-foot heave as warmups came to an end at the Boston Arena on November 5, 1946.

Connors was not drafted by the Chicago Bears of the NFL, contrary to erroneous claims.

Source

Acting career

Connors knew he would not work in professional sports, so he decided to pursue an acting career. He was fortunate to play baseball near Hollywood, as he was discovered by an MGM casting director and then signed for Pat and Mike, a 1952 Tracy–Hepburn film starring a police captain. In 1953, he appeared in South Sea Woman as a rebellious Marine private and then as an American football coach opposite John Wayne in Trouble Along the Way.

In a 1955 episode ("Flight to the North") of Adventures of Superman, Connors had a rare comedic role. He portrayed Sylvester J. Superman, a lanky rustic yokel who shared the same name as the series's title character.

In the 1956 episode "The Comeback" of the faith anthology series Crossroads, Connors was cast as Lou Brissie, a former professional baseball player wounded during World War II. Don DeFore portrayed Reverend C. E. "Stoney" Jackson, who gave Brissie's recovery the spiritual insight that could help them with the game's revival so he could return to action. In this episode, Grant Withers was cast as Coach Whitey Martin; Crossroads regular Robert Carson also appeared as a coach; and Robert Carson, a coach. Former soldiers Edd Byrnes, Rhys Williams, and Robert Fuller appeared. X Brands is depicted as a baseball star.

Connors appeared in the Walt Disney film Old Yeller in 1957 in the role of Burn Sanderson. He co-starred in The Hired Gun in the same year as the previous year.

Connors appeared in 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 appeared on hundreds of television shows as a beloved television character actor, guest-starring in hundreds of films. On an episode of NBC's Dear Phoebe, his guest-starring debut was on a segment. He appeared in two episodes, one as the bandit Sam Bass on Dale Robertson's NBC western Tales Fargo.

Other television appearances included Hey, Jeannie, The Loretta Young Show, Schlitz Playhouse, Screen Directors Playhouse, The Los Angeles Times, The Galle Storm Show, With Betty White, The DuPont Theatre, Arthur Payne, Murder, The West Point Theater, The West Point Playhouse, Robert Reagan's Monty Foley, The Golden Age, The Thousand Cities, She's Lucy Ball, Ande Wilson, The Virgin River, The Last Child, George Wilson, The Arlington,

In The Rifleman, Connors took the lead from 40 other actors, portraying Lucas McCain, a widowed rancher known for his proficiency with a custom Winchester rifle. This ABC Western series, which aired from 1958 to 1963, was the first program to feature a widowed father raising a young child. In a 1959 interview with TV Guide, Connors said that the producers of Four Star Television (Dick Powell, Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, and David Niven) must have been looking at 40–50 thirty-something guys. At the time, the designers had a set amount of money to do 40 episodes for the 1958–59 season. The job turned out to be less than what Connors was doing doing freelance acting, so he turned it down. The Rifleman's creators watched Old Yeller, which portrayed a sympathetic father figure. After the producers watched him in the film, they decided to cast Connors in the role of Lucas McCain and make him a greater offer.

The Rifleman was a direct hit, with the No. 1 ranking coming at No. 202. In 1958–59, Nielsen ranked 4 in the Nielsen ratings, behind three other Westerns – Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, and Have Gun – Will Travel. Johnny Crawford, an unknown celebrity at the time, former Mousketeer, baseball fan, and Western enthusiast, was one of 40 other young actors to play Lucas's son, Mark. Crawford remained on the series from 1958 to its cancellation in 1963. Prior to his appearance on television, the Rifleman remained ranked high in Nielsen ratings until the last season in 1962–63, when it was opposite Lucille Ball's highly acclaimed return to television as the show's ratings began to decrease. After five seasons and 168 episodes, the program was cancelled in 1963.

Three rifles were assembled for the exhibition: two identical 44–40 Winchester model 1892 rifles, one for display and one for backup, and one for emergency use, as well as one for backup; and a Spanish version called an El Tigre used in the saddle holster. In later episodes, the rifle levers were changed from round type to more "D" shaped.

By Maurice "Moe" Hunt, two rifles were made for Chuck Connors personally, but they were never used on the show. He was a big fan of the show and gave them to Connors. Arnold Palmer, a friend and honorary chairman of the annual Chuck Connors charity golf tournament, was given one of the Connors personal rifles, and it was on display at The World Golf Hall of Fame.

Connors appeared in the film Flipper in 1963. In the original 1940 Irene Dunne/Cary Grant version entitled My Favorite Wife, he appeared alongside James Garner and Doris Day in the comedy Move Over Darling.

As Connors was largely typecast for his role as a single-father rancher, he appeared in many short-lived series, including: ABC's Law and Order (1963–1964), a young actor playing Ben Gazzara and Don Galloway; and NBC's Post-Civil War-era series Branded (1965–1966).

Connors appeared in the ABC series Cowboy in Africa with Tom Nardini and British actor Ronald Howard from 1967 to 1968.

In a last-season episode of Night Gallery titled "The Ring With the Red Velvet Ropes," Connors appeared. He hosted Thrill Seekers, a television show he hosted in 1973 and 1974.

Connors was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role as a slave owner in the 1977 miniseries Roots.

On the Mutual Radio Network, Connors appeared on a number of episodes of Family Theater. "The family that prays together stays together" is the series's slogan, which was aimed at promoting prayer as a path to world peace and happier families.

In 1983, Connors appeared in Sam Elliott's short-lived NBC series The Yellow Rose, about a modern Texas ranching family.

In 1985, he first appeared in "Spenser," a recurring role for "King Powers" in ABC's Spenser: For Hire, starring Robert Urich, "like the poet" — and Avery Brooks as "Hawk."

Janos Skorzeny, a drifter, appeared in the Fox series Werewolf in 1987.

He appeared in "Gideon" in the TV series Paradise, starring Lee Horsley in 1988.

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

Source