Randy Boone(I)

Singer/actor Randy Boone reached the summit of his career in the mid-60s when he became popular as the guitar-playing and singing ranch hand Randy Benton in The Virginian (1962). A former mathematics major at North Carolina State College, Boone had 'dropped out' to hitchhike across the United States as a gigging musician, often performing in exchange for meals and a roof over his head. After 18 months on the road, he ended up in Los Angeles in 1962. His career as an actor began when he was 'discovered' and found himself cast in the comedy-drama It's a Man's World (1962), as one of three carefree lads living aboard a houseboat. Though the show was axed after just one season, Boone was able to pick up steady work on TV afterwards, typically in westerns like Wagon Train (1957),Bonanza (1959), Hondo (1967) and Gunsmoke (1955). He had another recurring role, as aspiring reporter Francis Wilde in Cimarron Strip (1967) (starring Stuart Whitman), but this series was likewise short-lived. In 1987, Boone called it a day and left show business. He has been said to be a lover of horses and dogs and an avid collector of guitars and banjos.