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Chuck Connors wife, Early Years, Career, Personal Life, Death, Net Worth
Chucks Connors, known officially as Kevin Joseph Aloysius Connors, was born on April 10, 1921, and died on November 10, 1992. He was a notable American figure who excelled as an actor, writer, and professional athlete in basketball and baseball.
Spending over a 40-year career in film and television, he achieved widespread recognition for his notable portrayal of Lucas McCain in the acclaimed ABC series “The Rifleman” from 1958 to 1963.
Lets take a brief look at Chuck Connors wife, biography, net worth and other facts about him.
Full Name: Kevin Joseph Connors
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: April 10, 1921
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Age: 71
Date of Death: November 10, 1992
Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S
Political Party: Republican
Profession: Sportsman, Actor (1952–1992)
Spouse: Elizabeth Riddell (m. 1948; div. 1961), Kamala Devi (m. 1963; div. 1972)
Faith Quabius (m. 1977; div. 1980)
Children: 4
Height: 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Net Worth: $5 million
Early Years
Born on April 10, 1921, in Brooklyn, New York City, Kevin Joseph Aloysius Connors was the elder of two children in the Connors family. His parents, Marcella and Alban Francis “Allan” Connors, were Irish immigrants from Newfoundland and Labrador.
Raised as a Catholic, Kevin served as an altar boy at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn.
Despite the Brooklyn Dodgers’ challenging performance in the 1930s, Connors remained a loyal fan and aspired to join the team. His athletic prowess earned him a scholarship to the Adelphi Academy in Brooklyn, where he graduated in 1939.
Having received over two dozen athletic scholarship offers from various colleges and universities, Connors chose to attend Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.
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At Seton Hall, Connors excelled in both basketball and baseball. During this time, he decided to change his first name, Kevin, which he had never liked. After experimenting with names like “Lefty” and “Stretch,” he settled on the name “Chuck.” The nickname originated from his enthusiastic calls to the pitcher during baseball games.
Career (Sports)
Minor League Baseball (1940–1952)
Connors started his baseball career with the Newport Dodgers (Northeast Arkansas League), a minor league team of the Brooklyn Dodgers, after graduating from college in 1940. But before being released, he only participated in four games.
After taking a year off in 1941, he played 72 games with the Norfolk Tars (Piedmont League), the farm team of the New York Yankees, before joining in the Army on October 10, 1942, at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Following his discharge from the armed forces, Connors played Minor League Baseball for the following teams: the Mobile Bears (Southern Association) in 1947; the Newport News Dodgers (Piedmont League) in 1946; the Montreal Royals (International League) in 1948–1950; and the Los Angeles Angels (PCL) (Pacific Coast League) in 1951 and 1952.
Professional Basketball (1946–1948)
Following his military release in 1946, Connors entered the world of professional basketball. He played for the newly established Boston Celtics in the 1946–1947 season after joining the National Basketball League’s Rochester Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) for the 1945–1946 championship season.
In pre-game drills, Connors broke the record for the first-ever backboard break by a professional basketball player while he was with the Celtics.
Before leaving Boston early in the 1947–48 season, Connors participated in 53 games with the team. Interestingly, he joins the select company of 13 players, including Danny Ainge, Hank Biasatti, and Gene Conley, who have participated in both Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association.
In 1948, Connors went to the Brooklyn Dodgers’ spring training but was not able to earn a spot on the team. Before making one game with the Dodgers in 1949, he spent two seasons playing for the Dodgers’ AAA affiliate, the Montreal Royals.
In 1951, Connors left Montreal after two more seasons and signed with the Chicago Cubs, where he played 66 games as a first baseman and occasionally as a pinch hitter. He was relegated to the minor leagues once more in 1952, this time to play for the Los Angeles Angels, the Cubs’ best farm team. Connors was not picked by the NFL’s Chicago Bears, despite false reports to the contrary.
Acting
After deciding acting was more his style, Connors decided that playing professional sports might not be his calling. While playing baseball close to Hollywood, he happened to catch the attention of an MGM casting director, which was a lucky break. His signing for the 1952 Tracy–Hepburn movie “Pat and Mike,” in which he played a police commander, resulted from this.
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Connors played a rebellious Marine private and an American football coach in two of the most well-known pictures of 1953: “South Sea Woman” with Burt Lancaster and “Trouble Along the Way” with John Wayne.
He also dabbled in television shows, showcasing his flexibility in a humorous role in the 1955 “Adventures of Superman” episode “Flight to the North,” when he played the name of the series’ protagonist, Sylvester J. Superman, a rustic yokel.
His TV career continued with roles in series like “Crossroads,” in which he played former baseball player and injured World War II soldier Lou Brissie. He also had a cameo in Walt Disney’s “Old Yeller” and a co-starring role in “The Hired Gun” in 1957.
Additionally, Connors performs in television series and feature films as a character actor. Among the well-known movies are “The Big Country,” “Move Over Darling,” “Soylent Green,” and “Airplane II: The Sequel.” He had multiple cameo appearances on television shows, such as “Gunsmoke,” “Wagon Train,” “The Virginian,” and “Murder, She Wrote.”
He also appeared in two other brief television shows, “Arrest and Trial” (1963–1964) and “Branded” (1965–1966). In his subsequent career, he played a variety of parts in shows like “Cowboy in Africa” (1967–1968), the miniseries “Roots” (1977), and the Mutual Radio Network’s “Family Theater” episodes that he hosted.
In 1991, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City inducted him into the Western Performers Hall of Fame, honoring his contributions to the Western entertainment industry.
Chuck Connors wife & Personal Life
Notably left-handed, Connors was married three times. Chuck Connors first wife was Elizabeth Jane which he married on October 1, 1948. They had met at a baseball game. Michael (1950–2017), Jeffrey (1952–2014), Stephen (born 1953), and Kevin (1956–2005) were the couple’s four sons. 1961 saw their divorce.
In 1959, Connors and his son Jeffrey, who portrayed Toby Halperin in the episode “Tension,” shared a moment on the “The Rifleman” set. 1963 saw him marry Kamala Devi following his divorce, one year after they had starred together in “Geronimo.”
Along with these projects, they collaborated on “Branded,” “Broken Sabre,” and “Cowboy in Africa.” 1973 saw the dissolution of the marriage.
When they were filming “Soylent Green” the same year, he met Faith Quabius, his third wife. Their 1977 wedding ended in a divorce in 1979. In addition, he supported Gerald Ford in the 1976 election and Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential contest. He also took part in fundraisers for US President Richard M. Nixon.
Charity Works
Through the Chuck Connors Charitable Foundation, Connors organized the yearly Chuck Connors Charitable Invitational Golf Tournament at the Canyon Country Club in Palm Springs, California.
This event was dedicated to raising funds for the Angel View Crippled Children’s Foundation. Over $400,000 was successfully generated, with all proceeds directly benefiting the charitable cause.
Death
On November 10, 1992, at the age of 71, Connors passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles due to lung cancer. He was buried in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery.
Net Worth
According to Celebrity Net Worth, he had an estimated net worth of $5 million, with several properties and investments.