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

Character Development

The famous writer and director Sam Peckinpah originally wrote The Rifleman pilot for the popular Western Gunsmoke three years earlier but it had been turned down. Peckinpah tweaked the Gunsmoke script by changing the lead character’s name from John McCain to Lucas McCain.

He also added a son, Mark McCain (played by Johnny Crawford), to the script. And even more changes were in the works… which included adding more drama to the already dramatic series.