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''Rifleman'' fans used to write Chuck Connors letters asking for parenting advice
"I wouldn't presume to give advice on how to bring up children."
Throughout the years, Westerns have gained a reputation for depicting a hostile and action-packed environment. Oddly enough, plenty of Westerns are the stuff of dreams in terms of their portrayal of father/son relationships. As the Cartwright patriarch in Bonanza, Lorne Greene actually used to get fan mail from children who expressed their desire to have the actor as their own father.
Another Western, The Rifleman, depicts a very healthy familial relationship between son Mark McCain, and single father Lucas McCain. While the television series certainly didn't skimp on any scenes of a violent nature and the pair got into their fair share of scrapes with bad guys, Lucas and Mark's relationship was generally portrayed on the series as loving and supportive, with Lucas trying to ensure that his son would be raised with a decent moral compass like his dad.
Viewers' love of the McCain boys speaks positively to their portrayal by actors Johnny Crawford and Chuck Connors. In fact, so good was Connors in his portrayal of a father that it actually influenced the fan mail he received from viewers.
In an interview with the Waco Tribune-Herald, Connors revealed that plenty of people wrote to him asking for parenting advice. Despite having four children of his own, Connors was quick to remind fans that he himself wasn't exactly like Lucas McCain.
He stated, "Letters like this embarrass me. The good Lord knows I'm not that smart. Our writers are."
He continued, "I'm a parent...As any parent knows, no child is like another. All our boys are entirely different. I wouldn't presume to give advice on how to bring up children. I'm not a child psychologist. But people seem to think I am."
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