After ''The Rifleman'' ended, Chuck Connors became a real rancher

Connors became a real-life Lucas McCain.

After five years of The Rifleman, it wouldn't be surprising if Chuck Connors was willing to hang up his cowboy hat and move away from the life of a Western lead.

However, according to The Toronto Star, Connors moved to a ranch in the Sierra Nevadas after The Rifleman had ended.

Connors, originally born in Brooklyn, said of his new home, "This place is my sanity now." 

Connors utilized the 20-acre ranch to its utmost potential, as the article stated that he "spends much of his time raising prizewinning horses and doing other chores around the ranch — just like Lucas McCain did on our screens 25 years ago."

Connors also clearly didn't miss his fame and city life back in California as he stated, "Hollywood is for the birds." He continued, "I love it here. If I had my way I'd never leave it."

While Connors was indeed spending much of his time sharing common daily tasks with Lucas McCain, his day-to-day life was certainly less dramatic and violent than McCain's was. However, that doesn't mean that Connors himself strayed away from excitement. According to an interview with the Longview Daily News, Connors remarked, "You might say that I've always been something of a thrillseeker, myself."

Moreover, while Connors led a tranquil life on his ranch, he still managed to keep up with the high-energy profession that he fell in love with all those years ago: acting. At the time of the article with The Toronto Star, Connors would travel away from the ranch to work on set. Also keeping Connors away from his beloved home was baseball card conventions, which he frequently attended.

While Connors loved acting as a craft, there was no love lost between him and Hollywood as an institution. The article states that in a recent interview, Connors claimed, "Hollywood's phony. Too many high and mighty parties, too many people running 'round thinking they're something else."

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6 Comments

brigarzmetv123 12 months ago
Rifleman, one of all time favorite T.V. Westerns. Too bad everyone has passed away.
Runeshaper 12 months ago
Sounds like Connors had a pretty nice life and stayed true to himself 😊
GOOSEYGOOSE9 12 months ago
Chuck
Connors in cowboy in Africa
What were the sponsors of it
My mom and dad really
Liked
Chuck
Connors
Chuck dad mom Rest In Peace
cperrynaples GOOSEYGOOSE9 12 months ago
Yep, and let's not forget Branded, which is on MeTV+!
Irish 12 months ago
Chuck Connors sounded really grounded and sincere. I like that about him. He didn't sound like a fame seeker or a phony. Good for him! 👍
Snickers Irish 12 months ago
Totally agree. Glad he found the piece of mind and happiness so many in Hollywood never find.
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