Your comment as a "bad guy" being cast as a "good guy" has more truth than you may realize. My dad would come home with stories about what a nasty, uncouth jerk Connors was. He was a better ballplayer and actor than he was a human being. The shows were generally well directed - in spite of Connors - and well-edited, along with good camera work. Nevertheless, I believe Pop would have been happy to see Connors remain in some area of baseball rather than foisting his ugly personality on showbiz folks. Does anyone know what his HBP (hit by pitcher) numbers were? Considering everything I bet they were pretty high. I always liked the rapid-fire method they used for his lever-action rifle although I believe that accuracy would really be sacrificed with this method of firing. GG
Review of The Rifleman
