Richard Allen Boone (June 18, 1917 – January 10, 1981) was an American actor.
On his father's side, he was a descendant of Squire Boone, the brother of frontiersman Daniel Boone, and his maternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants. He made his screen debut in the 1951 war film Halls of Montezuma, then would become most well known for his roles in Western series and films such as Have Gun – Will Travel, Big Jake, and Hec Ramsey.
Boone was married three times and had one son. He passed away at age 63 from throat cancer due to a lifetime of chain smoking.
His roles include:
- Vicki (1953) as Lt. Ed Cornell
- The Robe (1953) as Pontius Pilate
- The Raid (1954) as Capt. Lionel Foster
- Dragnet (1954 film) as Capt. Jim Hamilton
- Have Gun – Will Travel (1957–63) as Paladin
- Playhouse 90 (3 episodes, 1958–60) as various
- The Alamo (1960) as Gen. Sam Houston
- The War Lord (1965) as Bors
- Cimarron Strip (1 episode, 1967) as Sgt. Bill Disher
- Kona Coast (1968) as Sam
- The Arrangement (1969) as Sam
- Big Jake (1971) as John Fain
- Hec Ramsey (1972–74, starting with The NBC Mystery Movie) as Hector "Hec" Ramsey
- Against a Crooked Sky (1975) as Russian
- God's Gun (1976) as The Sheriff
- The Shootist (1976) as Mike Sweeney
- The Hobbit (1977) as Smaug (voice)
- The Last Dinosaur (1977) as Maston Thrust Jr.
- The Big Sleep (1978 remake) as Lash Canino
- Winter Kills (1979) as Keifitz
Tropes and Trivia in his works:
- The Eponymous Show: The anthology series The Richard Boone Show in 1963 and 1964.
- Production Posse: Frequently worked with director Harry Morgan on television.
- Those Two Actors: He frequently starred alongside John Wayne in Westerns.
