Arthur Gardner, Producer of “The Rifleman,” Turning 104 Years Old! (VIDEO)

We were talking on my show the other day about the old TV westerns.  I made the comment that although I loved them all, my favorite was THE RIFLEMAN.

I really don't know why, but I think it was the combination of toughness and tenderness that appealed to me.  Chuck Connors (he was great, wasn't he?) played Lucas McCain, one of the first actors to play a widower in a leading role of a show.  Johnny Crawford was his young son.  The great character actor Paul Fix played Micah, the town's Marshall.

As I was telling the story of The Rifleman to my listeners I came upon this sentence:  "Arthur Gardner, the show's producer, is still living."  I thought...how could that be>?

Well, sure enough he is.  And he will be 104 years old in three weeks.  How about that!  Plus he was also the producer of another great TV western, The Big Valley.  As a side note, Arthur Gardner also produced John Wayne's two attempts at a television series, McQ (1974) and Brannigan (1975).

So thanks, Arthur, for some great black and white memories from my youth.  And happy 104th birthday!