Secrets Of TV’s The Rifleman: More Than Just Guns And Good Times

As we previously mentioned, several actors played Doc Burrage. Edgar Buchanan appeared in six episodes of The Rifleman, playing Grandpa Fogerty in “The Long Goodbye” (Episode 119) and Doc Burrage in the other five: “The Pet” (episode 15), “The Second Witness” (episode 23), “The Trade” (episode 24), “The Deadly Wait” (episode 26), and “The Angry Man” (episode 31). Buchanan appeared in over 100 films and dozens of TV shows during his 40 years in show business. His most famous role was as Uncle Joe Carson from Petticoat Junction. He also appeared in Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies.

Harlan Warde played John Hamilton, President of the North Fork Bank. He appeared in 18 episodes of The Rifleman, making his debut in episode 8, “The Safeguard.” Over his 40-year-career in Hollywood, Warde appeared in over 180 films and television series, including multiple westerns. He also made appearances in Dragnet ( 1954), You Are There (1953–1956), Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre (1955 1957), Perry Mason (1958–1966), The Virginian (1962–1971), Bonanza (1962–1972), The Big Valley (1965–1969) and The Fugitive (1966 1967). His last role was playing the elderly father of a shady doctor in the 1979 Rockford Files episode “A Different Drummer.” He served in the special forces in World War II.

One of Johnny Crawford’s favorite episodes is when his character had to decide whether to stay with his mother in heaven or live with his father on earth. The episode was titled “The Vision.” The actor explained in an interview that it took nine days to shoot (instead of the usual three) because he was very sick with a high fever. He revealed: “I really haven’t seen it for many years, but at the time I remember thinking that it was very imaginative and unusual. Also at that time, one of my favorite shows was The Twilight Zone, so that was where my tastes were.”

Crawford added, “I knew that if the lady who taught me on the set, who was also a welfare worker – it was her responsibility to see that if I was ill, I was removed from the set until I was in proper health. I didn’t want to hold up production and all that, so I tried to keep it a secret from her, but I guess it became somewhat obvious. The particular scene that we were doing when she discovered or decided that I was really ill, was when they’re supposed to be packing me in ice. I have a very high fever and they’re trying to bring it down and I think that was the first scene we actually photographed for that episode.”

Robert Burton was another one of the six actors who appeared as the semi-regular character Doc Burrage. Only his stint was short lived: he appeared as the character just once, in episode 127, “The Princess.” Burton was a known TV and film star of the 1950s and early 1960s. He appeared in lesser-known films such as I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957), Invasion of the Animal People (1962), and The Slime People (1963). His more popular films included The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), The Big Heat (1953), Compulsion (1959) and The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He also starred in TV shows The Lone Ranger, Wagon Train, The Texan and Dennis The Menace.