Richard Boone
Born in Los Angeles in 1917, Richard Boone came to Hollywood by way of the Actors Studio and the Navy, working steadily through the fifties before finding his signature role as the black-clad gentleman gunfighter Paladin in the CBS series Have Gun - Will Travel (1957-1963). On film he anchored westerns and character parts like Hombre (1967) with Paul Newman, The Shootist (1976) with John Wayne and John Milius's The Wind and the Lion (1975). Weathered, low-voiced and morally ambiguous, he brought seriousness and a hint of the theatre to American westerns.
Richard Boone
44 Movies
11 Series
Born in Los Angeles in 1917, Richard Boone came to Hollywood by way of the Actors Studio and the Navy, working steadily through the fifties before finding his signature role as the black-clad gentleman gunfighter Paladin in the CBS series Have Gun - Will Travel (1957-1963). On film he anchored westerns and character parts like Hombre (1967) with Paul Newman, The Shootist (1976) with John Wayne and John Milius's The Wind and the Lion (1975). Weathered, low-voiced and morally ambiguous, he brought seriousness and a hint of the theatre to American westerns.
Movies
Plays Pontius Pilate
The Robe
1953
Plays Cicero Grimes
Hombre
1967
Plays Gen. Sam Houston
The Alamo
1960
Plays Mike Sweeney
The Shootist
1976
Plays John Fain
Big Jake
1971
Plays Capt. Hermann Aldinger
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
1951
Plays Matthew Perry
The Bushido Blade
1981
Plays Keifitz
Winter Kills
1979
Plays Frank Usher
The Tall T
1957
Plays Lieut. Fraser
Away All Boats
1956
Plays Capt. Lionel Foster
The Raid
1954
Plays Lash Cansino
The Big Sleep
1978
Plays Ward
The Kremlin Letter
1970
Plays Bors
The War Lord
1965
Plays Sam Hall
Star in the Dust
1956
Plays John W. Gamble
Kangaroo
1952
Plays John Ringo
City of Bad Men
1953
Plays Krofta
Man on a Tightrope
1953
Plays Capt. Stephen Maddocks
A Thunder of Drums
1961
Plays The Sheriff
God's Gun
1976
Plays Lt. Col. Gilfillan
Halls of Montezuma
1951
Plays Steve Miles
Man Without a Star
1955
Plays Wick Campbell
Ten Wanted Men
1955
Plays Sam Arness
The Arrangement
1969
Plays Thomas Rhys
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
1953
Plays Dr. Neal Wright
Lizzie
1957
Plays The Captain
Battle Stations
1956
Plays Lassiter
Rio Conchos
1964
Plays Madron
Madron
1970
Plays Artie Ravidge
The Garment Jungle
1957
Plays Richard 'Dick' Dryer
Red Skies of Montana
1952
Plays Leer
The Night of the Following Day
1969
Plays Lt. Ed Cornell
Vicki
1953
Plays Brett Manning
The Siege at Red River
1954
Plays Capt .James E. Hamilton
Dragnet
1954
Plays Mess Sergeant
Call Me Mister
1951
Plays Russian
Against a Crooked Sky
1975
Plays Major Salinas
Way of a Gaucho
1952
Plays Hank Hays
Robbers' Roost
1955
Producer
Plays Capt. Sam Moran
Kona Coast
1968
Plays Robert Kraft
I Bury the Living
1958
Plays Rod Murray
Return of the Texan
1952
Plays Aaron Grant
The Great Niagara
1974
TV Shows
Director
Plays Paladin
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
Plays Dr. Konrad Styner
Medic
1954
Plays Hec Ramsey
Hec Ramsey
1972
Plays Self - Panelist
What's My Line?
1950
Plays John Wesley Hardin
Studio One
1948
Plays Abraham Lincoln
General Electric Theater
1953
Plays Col. William Hughes
Climax!
1954
Plays Mercer
Suspense
1949
Plays Local Press
The Ford Television Theatre
1952
Plays Everett Brayer
Frontier
1955
Plays Sergeant Bill Disher
Cimarron Strip
1967
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
The Bushido Blade
Full Filmography
The Bushido Blade
Matthew Perry
1981
Film
Winter Kills
Keifitz
1979
Film
The Big Sleep
Lash Cansino
1978
Film
The Shootist
Mike Sweeney
1976
Film
God's Gun
The Sheriff
1976
Film
Against a Crooked Sky
Russian
1975
Film
The Great Niagara
Aaron Grant
1974
Film
Hec Ramsey
Hec Ramsey · 11 episodes
1972–
TV
Big Jake
John Fain
1971
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Richard Boone still alive?
Richard Boone passed away on January 10, 1981 at age 63.
What are the most famous roles of Richard Boone?
Richard Boone is best known for roles in Ocean's Eleven, The Alamo, The Shootist.
How many movies has Richard Boone been in?
Over a 30-year career (since 1951), Richard Boone has appeared in 44 movies and 10 TV shows.
What was Richard Boone's first movie?
The career of Richard Boone began with Halls of Montezuma (1951).
What is Richard Boone's most recent movie or series?
Richard Boone's most recent release is The Bushido Blade, which premiered on June 19, 1981.
What TV shows has Richard Boone appeared in?
On television, Richard Boone has appeared in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Have Gun, Will Travel, What's My Line?, The Ed Sullivan Show.
Richard Boone
1917-06-18 · Los Angeles, California, USA
Richard Allen Boone (June 18, 1917 – January 10, 1981) was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns and for starring in the TV series Have Gun – Will Travel.
Boone was born in Los Angeles, California, the middle child of Cecile (née Beckerman) and Kirk E. Boone, a corporate lawyer and 4th great-grandson of Squire Boone 1744–1815, a brother to frontiersman Daniel Boone. His mother was Jewish, the daughter of immigrants from Russia.
Richard Boone graduated from Hoover High School in Glendale, California. He attended Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, where he was a member of Theta Xi fraternity. He dropped out of Stanford prior to graduation and then worked as an oil-rigger, bartender, painter, and writer. In 1941 Boone joined the United States Navy and served on three ships in the Pacific during World War II, seeing combat as an aviation ordnance, aircrewman and tail gunner on Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers and ended his service with the rank of petty officer first class.
In his youth, Boone had attended the San Diego Army and Navy Academy in Carlsbad, California, where he was introduced to theatre under the tutelage of Virginia Atkinson.
After the war, Boone used the G.I. Bill to study acting at the Actors Studio in New York.
In 1950, Boone made his screen debut as a Marine officer in Milestone's Halls of Montezuma (1951). Fox used him in military parts in Call Me Mister (1951) and The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951). He had bigger roles in Red Skies of Montana (1952), Return of the Texan (1952), Kangaroo (1952) (directed by Milestone), and Way of a Gaucho (1952).
Boone was married three times: to Jane Hopper (1937–1940), Mimi Kelly (1949–1950), and Claire McAloon (from 1951 until his death).
Richard Boone died at his home in St. Augustine, Florida, due to complications from throat cancer. His ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii.