Randy Boone

Clyde Wilson Randall "Randy" Boone, Jr.
Born	January 17, 1942 (1942-01-17) Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina
Residence	Fayetteville, North Carolina
Occupation	Country music singer; former Actor: It's a Man's World; The Virginian; Cimarron Strip

Clyde Wilson Randall Boone, Jr., known as Randy Boone (born January 17, 1942), is a former actor who co-starred in two of the three 90-minute westerns telecast during the 1960s on the national television networks, NBC's The Virginian and CBS's Cimarron Strip. He also guest starred three times on the third 90-minute western, Wagon Train, at the time on ABC.

Early years and family

Boone was born January 17, 1942 in Fayetteville in Cumberland County, to Clyde Wilson Randall, Sr. (born 1917) and Rhumel E. Boone (born December 31, 1919).^{[citation needed]}

Boone is the cousin of singer-actress Debby Boone; his uncle is her father, actor-singer Pat Boone. Another uncle was actor Richard Boone, star of the CBS series Have Gun, Will Travel. All four claim kinship to the American frontiersman Daniel Boone.

In 1960, Boone entered North Carolina State University at Raleigh but dropped out to tour the country and play his guitar, spending a lot of time in his early adulthood in coffeehouses.

Acting career, 1963–1968

At twenty, Boone co-starred in his first acting role as Vern Hodges in the 1962–1963 NBC comedy/drama It's a Man's World, based on the activities of four young men living on a houseboat on the Ohio River.

After It's a Man's World, Boone's career skyrocketed. He guest starred as Pete Tanner in the episode "Last Seen Wearing Blue Jeans" on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Thereafter, came his three Wagon Train episodes, entitled "The Eli Bancroft Story" in which Boone appeared as Noah Bancroft, "The Robert Harrison Clarke Story", with Boone in the role of Private Jamie, and "The David Garner Story", with Boone as David Garner.

Boone appeared as Private Michael McCluskey in "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" episode of The Twilight Zone, which aired on CBS on December 6, 1963.

In 1963, Boone also joined The Virginian cast in its second season with the returning costars James Drury, Doug McClure, Gary Clarke and Lee J. Cobb. Boone appeared in forty-six episodes over three seasons as the singing cowboy Randy Benton, a romantic interest for a time for Betsy Garth, played by Roberta Shore, the [daughter] to Cobb's character, Judge Henry Garth. Boone later appeared with Clu Gulager and Diane Roter as the series progressed. Among the episodes of The Virginian in which Boone appeared are "A Bald-Faced Boy", "The Wolves Up Front", "The Jackals Behind", "One Spring Like Long Ago", "Morgan Starr", and "The Inchworm's Got No Wings at All" to name a few.

While on The Virginian, he guest starred on David Janssen's ABC series The Fugitive. He also starred in the film Country Boy as Link Byrd, Jr., a country singer.

After The Virginian, Boone guest starred as Jim Hummel on ABC's Combat! in the episode "The Letter", as Colter Preston in the episode "Ballad of the Ponderosa" on NBC's Bonanza, and as Sean in two episodes of ABC's short-lived Hondo western series starring Ralph Taeger.

Boone then appeared in all twenty-three episodes of Cimarron Strip in the role of 25-year-old photographer Francis Wilde, who is also a part-time deputy to Marshal Jim Crown, portrayed by series star Stuart Whitman. In the episode "The Blue Moon Train" broadcast on February 15, 1968, Boone is kidnapped by an ex-convict, played by Broderick Crawford, and held hostage in an effort to force Marshal Crown to rescue a number of men being shipped to federal prison on a special train. Among other episodes in which Boone played a major role are "The Greeners", "Without Honor", "Big Jessie", and "Sound of a Drum".

Boone lived in Van Nuys, California in the San Fernando Valley during his acting years.^{[citation needed]}

Later acting appearances

After Cimarron Strip, Boone made a few television appearances, including NBC's Emergency! in 1973 and ABC's Kolchak: The Night Stalker with Darren McGavin in 1974.

Boone appeared as Deputy Dickie Haycroft in the 1974 television movie Savages, with co-stars Andy Griffith, Sam Bottoms, Noah Beery, Jr., and James Best. The film is the story of a lawyer who by accident kills a prospector in the modern American West and then tries to murder his hunting guide to cover up the crime.

On March 10, 1975, Boone appeared as Hub Miller in one of the last episodes, "The Busters", of CBS's long-running western Gunsmoke. After an appearance as Spiff in the 1975 episode "Ambush" of ABC's Kung Fu starring David Carradine, Boone was unseen until 1985, when he showed up as Dave in the episode "A Song for Jason: Part II" on Michael Landon's Highway to Heaven. His last role was as Farkas in the 1987 film The Wild Pair (also known as The Devil's Odds), about a narcotics officer and a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent.

Post-acting career

After his acting ended, Randy Boone returned to Fayetteville, from where he also engages in Country music and attends occasional music and film festivals. In July 2003, he was a guest at the Western Film Fair in Charlotte, North Carolina, along with his The Virginian co-stars James Drury, Roberta Shore, Clu Gulager and Gary Clarke. In 2011, Randy Boone was inducted into the Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame.