Richard Boone facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Boone
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Boone in 1959
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| Born |
Richard Allen Boone
June 18, 1917 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Died | January 10, 1981 (aged 63) St. Augustine, Florida, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1949–1981 |
| Spouse(s) |
Jane H. Hopper
(m. 1937; div. 1940)Mimi Kelly
(m. 1949; div. 1950)Claire McAloon
(m. 1951) |
| Children | 1 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/ |
 United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1941–1945 |
| Rank |  Petty officer first class |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Richard Allen Boone (born June 18, 1917 – died January 10, 1981) was an American actor. He was famous for appearing in over 50 movies and many TV shows. He was especially well-known for his roles in Westerns, like the TV series Have Gun – Will Travel.
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Richard Boone's Early Life
Richard Boone was born in Los Angeles, California. He was the middle child of Cecile and Kirk E. Boone. His father was a lawyer, and his family was related to the famous frontiersman Daniel Boone. Richard's mother was from a Jewish family who had moved from Russia.
He went to Hoover High School in Glendale, California. Later, he attended Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. He left college early and worked many different jobs. These included being an oil rigger, a bartender, a painter, and a writer.
In 1941, Richard joined the United States Navy. He served during World War II in the Pacific Ocean. He worked on three ships and saw combat. He was an aviation ordnanceman, an aircrewman, and a tail gunner on Grumman TBF Avenger planes. He finished his service as a petty officer first class.
Richard Boone's Acting Career
How He Started Acting
When he was younger, Boone went to the San Diego Army and Navy Academy. There, he first learned about theater from a teacher named Virginia Atkinson.
After the war, Boone used a program called the G.I. Bill to study acting. He went to the Actors Studio in New York, a famous place for actors to learn.
Broadway Shows
Boone was very serious and careful about his acting. He started on Broadway in 1947 in a play called Medea. This play ran for a long time, with 214 performances. He also appeared in a production of Macbeth in 1948.
He was in a short-lived TV show called The Front Page (1949–50). He also appeared on other TV shows that featured different stories each week, like Actors Studio and Suspense.
In 1950, he returned to Broadway in a play called The Man. A famous director, Martin Ritt, directed it.
A director named Elia Kazan noticed Boone's voice during an audition. This led to Boone being called to Hollywood. There, he signed a seven-year contract with Fox, a big movie studio.
Working with 20th Century Fox
In 1950, Boone made his first movie, Halls of Montezuma (1951). He played a Marine officer. Fox often cast him in military roles. He was in movies like Call Me Mister (1951) and The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951).
He got bigger roles in films such as Red Skies of Montana (1952) and Return of the Texan (1952). He also appeared in Kangaroo (1952) and Way of a Gaucho (1952).
In 1953, he played Pontius Pilate in The Robe. This was the very first movie made using Cinemascope, a wide-screen film process. He also appeared in the second Cinemascope film, Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953).
Starring in Medic
While filming Halls of Montezuma, Boone became friends with Jack Webb. Webb was known for his show Dragnet. Boone later appeared in the movie version of Dragnet (1954).
Jack Webb then created a new TV series about a doctor for NBC. From 1954 to 1956, Boone became very well-known as the main character in this medical drama, called Medic. In 1955, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role.
While working on Medic, Boone continued to act in movies and make guest appearances on other TV shows. He was in Westerns like Ten Wanted Men (1955) and Man Without a Star (1955). He also appeared in Robbers' Roost (1955) and Battle Stations (1955).
He guest-starred on shows like General Electric Theater and Matinee Theatre. In one episode of Matinee Theatre, he played Heathcliff in a version of Wuthering Heights.
Boone had one of his best movie roles in The Tall T (1957). He also co-starred with Eleanor Parker in Lizzie (1957).
Becoming a Star in Have Gun – Will Travel
Richard Boone's next TV series made him a national star. It was called Have Gun – Will Travel. He played Paladin, a smart and tough gunfighter in the Old American West. The show ran from 1957 to 1963. Boone received more Emmy nominations in 1959 and 1960 for this role.
During the show's run, Boone also starred in the movie I Bury the Living (1958). In 1959, he appeared on Broadway as Abraham Lincoln in a play called The Rivalry.
He also made guest appearances on shows like Playhouse 90 and The United States Steel Hour. He had a small role as Sam Houston in the movie The Alamo (1960).
Boone sometimes appeared as a guest on the TV quiz show What's My Line?. On this show, he talked about his early days working on The Front Page TV show.
The Richard Boone Show
Boone later had his own TV show, The Richard Boone Show. This show featured different stories and characters each week. Even though it only aired from 1963 to 1964, he received his fourth Emmy nomination for it in 1964. The show also won a Golden Globe award for Best Show in 1964.
Life in Hawaii
After his weekly show ended, Boone and his family moved to Honolulu, Hawaii.
He returned to the mainland to act in movies like Rio Conchos (1964). He also appeared in The War Lord (1965) with Charlton Heston and Hombre (1967) with Paul Newman.
While living in Oahu, Boone helped convince a producer named Leonard Freeman to film Hawaii Five-O entirely in Hawaii. Boone loved Hawaii and believed the islands could support a major TV series.
Freeman offered Boone the main role of Steve McGarrett in Hawaii Five-O. However, Boone turned it down, and the role went to Jack Lord.
Boone had also filmed a pilot episode for a CBS show called Kona Coast (1968). He hoped it would become a series, but CBS chose Hawaii Five-O instead. Kona Coast was later released as a movie.
More Movies
Boone then focused on making more movies. These included The Night of the Following Day (1969) with Marlon Brando. He also worked with Elia Kazan again on The Arrangement (1969). Other films were The Kremlin Letter (1970) and Big Jake (1971) with John Wayne.
He also appeared in some TV movies, such as In Broad Daylight (1971) and Deadly Harvest (1972). Around this time, he moved to Florida.
Starring in Hec Ramsey
In the early 1970s, Boone starred in another TV series called Hec Ramsey. This show was about a police detective in the early 1900s. His character, Hec Ramsey, was a former frontier lawman who used his brain and detective skills more than his gun. Boone once said that Hec Ramsey was "a lot like Paladin, only fatter."
Work in Israel
In 1970, Boone starred in the film Madron. This was the first movie made by Israel that was filmed outside of Israel. That same year, he was invited to Israel to share his "Hollywood know-how" with their film industry. In 1979, he received an award from the Israeli Prime Minister for his help with Israeli cinema.
Final Acting Roles
Boone starred in The Great Niagara (1974) and Against a Crooked Sky (1975). He also supported John Wayne for a third time in Wayne's last movie, The Shootist (1976). In the mid-1970s, Boone returned to The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he had once studied, to teach acting.
Boone appeared in God's Gun (1976) and The Last Dinosaur (1977). He also provided the voice of the dragon Smaug in the 1977 animated movie version of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
His last acting roles were in the films Winter Kills (1979) and The Bushido Blade (1979).
Richard Boone's Personal Life
Richard Boone was married three times. His last marriage was to Claire McAloon, which lasted until his death. His son with Claire, Peter Boone, was a child actor. Peter appeared in several episodes of Have Gun – Will Travel.
In 1963, Boone was in a car accident.
In 1970, Boone moved from Hawaii to St. Augustine, Florida. He worked with the local play Cross and Sword every year. He did this when he wasn't acting in TV or movies, right up until he passed away. In his last year, he was named Florida's cultural ambassador.
During the 1970s, he wrote a newspaper column called "It Seems to Me." He also gave acting lectures at Flagler College in 1972–1973.
Richard Boone's Death
Richard Boone passed away at his home in St. Augustine, Florida, on January 10, 1981, due to an illness. His ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.
Images for kids
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Boone in 1959
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Boone and Roxane Berard on Have Gun – Will Travel
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John Wayne and Boone at the premiere of Big Jake, 1971
See also
In Spanish: Richard Boone para niños
