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

The actor took the path that many young TV stars of the 1950s chose: He became a teen idol and started a singing career. It was a better choice for Crawford than many of his peers of that era. Crawford sang five Top 40 hits in the 1960s, the biggest of which was “Cindy’s Birthday,” which reached No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1962.

Following his singing career, Johnny Crawford switched gears in 1965 and enlisted in the United States Army. During the two years he spent in the Army, Crawford offered his knowledge and experience in film to help product the Army’s training videos. He reached the rank of sergeant by the time he was honorably discharged at the conclusion of 1967. Months later he portrayed a soldier in an episode of the TV series Hawai’i Five-O.

The Rifleman included life lessons, and one of the reoccurring themes was forgiveness. In the episode “The Marshall” Lucas McCain employees a former convict on his ranch, showing that everyone deserves a second chance. In the episode “The Sheridan Story” a soldier who had his arm shot off during the Civil War encounters the General who did the damage while on the ranch. General Philip Sheridan then offers to take care of the former Confederate States of America solider’s medical expenses as a showing of apology and to ask for forgiveness.

In the television series, it’s said that Mark McCain’s mother died of Small Pox in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma in the 1870s. The disease dates back to before the human population kept proper records; even Egyptian mummies were found to have had the disease. Small Pox was rampant across the world during the 18th century, claiming the lives of upwards of 50-90% of entire populations. Still, by the latter end of the 19th century, the disease appeared in America, along with Scarlet Fever, Yellow Fever, and Typhus, so it is highly likely that families still experienced loss of family members during that time, due to the disease.

Although The Rifleman is set in North Fork, a town in what was known as New Mexico Territory in the show, the television series was filmed in Los Angeles. The ranch scenes included several locations, including Malibu Creek State Park, Calabasas, Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth and what was Corriganville Movie Ranch. Many of the scenes also take place on Paramount Ranch, in the Santa Monica Mountains. Since this is a recreational area, fans of the show have access to hike through the structures of the Old Western town in Agoura, CA.