why the man wants him dead, Sheridan arranges for medical care for his wounded former foe, quoting Abraham Lincoln's last orders to "... bind up the nation's wounds". Despite his status as the series' protagonist, Lucas McCain is not without fault; He has a tendency to be stubborn and bossy, and has a bit of an inflated ego. In "Death Trap", an episode with Philip Carey as former gunman (and old adversary) Simon Battles, he is unwilling to believe the man has changed and become a doctor. It takes a gunfight (with Battles fighting alongside him) to make him admit he is wrong. In "Two Ounces of Tin", with Sammy Davis Jr. as Tip Corey (a former circus trick-shot artist turned gunman), McCain angrily orders him off the ranch when he finds him demonstrating his skills to Mark. Corey suggests he is a hypocrite, because McCain has an equally deadly reputation in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma, where he first acquired the nickname "the Rifleman", and where his wife had died during a smallpox epidemic. Cast Main Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain, a rancher, a Union Army veteran of the American Civil War, father, and widower Johnny Crawford as Mark McCain, Lucas's son Paul Fix as Micah Torrance, marshal of North Fork, New Mexico Recurring Bill Quinn as Frank Sweeney, the North Fork Saloon bartender (38 episodes) Patricia Blair as Mallory House hotel owner Lou Mallory (22 episodes) Joe Higgins as blacksmith Nels Swenson (21 episodes) Harlan Warde as banker John Hamilton (18 episodes) Joan Taylor as general store owner Milly Scott (18 episodes) Hope Summers as general store owner Hattie Denton (16 episodes) John Harmon as hotel clerk Eddie Halstead (12 episodes) Chris Alcaide as a regular baddie (10 episodes) Eight actors played the town doctor during the series (usually known as "Doc Burrage"): Paul Fix (first episode only; he returned to the cast as Micah), Edgar Buchanan, Fay Roope, Rhys Williams, Jack Kruschen, Robert Burton, Ralph Moody and Bert Stevens. In addition to Joe Higgins, several actors also played blacksmith Nels (sometimes credited as Nils) Swenson, including Richard Alexander, John Dierkes, Henry Rowland and Karl Swenson. Guest stars More than 500 actors made guest appearances in more than 970 credited roles during the five-year run of the series. Guest stars included veteran actors: John Anderson, Richard Anderson, Lyle Bettger, Whit Bissell, Harry Carey Jr., John Carradine, Lon Chaney,