The Rifleman
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Hank Stohl

Hank Stohl appeared in The Rifleman twice ― Ordeal as the cowboys who went with Mark to get Lucas ― Death Trap as Britt, one of Spicer's gang, the one Lucas shot.

Hank Stohl was best known for his children's shows weekdays on KDKA and later WTAE-TV with puppets Rodney and Knish.

It made him such a big star that his weekends were spent doing promotional appearances, while also hosting variety shows and handling sports and weather. One of the shows on KDKA, called Big Adventure, started with cartoons hosted by Knish and Rodney, followed by an adventure feature and interviews with live guests like Sammy Davis Jr., Jerry Lewis and Chuck Connors.

He hit it off with Mr. Connors, so much that the Rifleman star asked him to appear on his western in 1959. It stoked an interest in acting that would drive him from the city a few years later. He spent the following decades shuttling among Los Angeles, New York and Pittsburgh.

Though he would appear in dozens of movies, TV series, soap operas and plays, his steadiest work came from voice-over work on commercials for Camel cigarettes, Pepsi, Taco Bell and others.

He donated his puppets to the Heinz History Center, and Knish remains on display in its special collections center. Though he had not performed with them regularly in 40 years, they remained special.

This is from an article in the Post Gazette written by Ted McNulty.