Richard Allen Boone

(June 18, 1917 - January 10, 1981)

Boone was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns and for the TV series Have Gun - Will Travel. He joined the United States Navy in 1941 and served on three ships in the Pacific during World War II, seeing combat as an aviation ordnanceman, enlisted Naval Aircrewman and tail gunner on Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers. In 1950, Boone made his screen debut as a Marine officer in Milestone's Halls of Montezuma. In 1953, he played Pontius Pilate in the first Cinemascope film released, The Robe. He had only one scene in the film, in which he gives instructions to Richard Burton, who plays the centurion ordered to crucify Christ.
Boone is best remembered for the TV series Have Gun - Will Travel, which made him a national star because of his role as Paladin, the intelligent and sophisticated, but tough, gun-for-hire in the late 19th-century American West. The show ran from 1957-1963, with Boone receiving two Emmy nominations, in 1959 and 1960. Boone starred in three movies with John Wayne: "The Alamo" as Sam Houston, "Big Jake", and "The Shootist".

In his TV series, Boone always rode the black horse -Rafter-.