Posts from Hawkswill in thread „Richard Boone“

Don't know about The Long Grey Line incident with Pappy....please advise, Russ. Also, did you know about Jack Pennick's "revelation" there.....thought that was really cool! Also wish they hadn't sent "Ward" overseas.....would've liked to have seen more of him. People talked about Duke doing that, but I can't imagine anyone doing a better job than Tyrone did. And I can't imagine Duke playing it at all. KEITH

Quote from The Tennesseean

Peridot...I was never aware that Richard Burton was asked about appearing in "The Sting." I only know what was said by the producers of the film Zanuck & Brown. They also talked about the difficulties of obtaining a suitable Quint. They spoke about Boone at length in reference to both films.

Lest you judge ME for relaying what was well known around Hollywood at the time, and in the years since, I LOVED Richard Boone in almost everything he did. I STILL watch HGWT, even though I've seen every episode at least twice. I respected the man, and couldn't give a crap if he drank like a fish and smoked like a chimney.

I don't NEED lectures from you...my dad was a WWII vet (Navy, just like Boone), and HE piloted a Higgins Boat at Saipan and Okinawa, under fore the entire time.

You fly off the handle very easily when you take a notion to, for whatever reason, and I don't appreciate being labled in such a way. No disrespect toward RB or anyone suffering PTSS was EVER intended, especially since I wasn't aware he suffered from it.

I have many friends in the movie business who were around in the 40's, and others who were there in the years since. I don't believe everything that's "tossed around" about everyone, especially the crap that someone convinced Maureen O'Hara put in her book about RB, Peter Lawford, and the "Long Grey Line" incident she related about John Ford.

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LOL.....been waiting for THAT one....knew for a fact it was coming. Knew pretty much what it would say, also. Mona, Tennessean is really a great guy. Knowing him as I do, I would say he wasn't trying to be ugly about our RB. Just stating things he had read. Easy girl, we all love RB. And we all appreciate his excellent contribution to the film and television industry.
Russ, RB is Peridot's most special "person". She is quite an authority on him. But she isn't blind to his habits. Just gives him the best benefit of the doubt as I do Ward, Frank, and Terry! OK, I don't remember THE STING very much except for the theme song.......used to play that on the piano. But I am sure RB would have been great for it......as he was in any performance I have ever seen him. OK Mona.....gotta put up for me if someone says things about Ward, HAH! KEITH

Quote from Peridot

Sir, I beg your pardon, but Richard Boone was asked to play Doyle Lonnigan in The Sting by Paul Newman. He turned it down because the part was small. Newman had the part rewritten to be larger in hopes of tempting Boone to play it because Paul Newman and Richard Boone had enjoyed making Hombre together. After the part was increased in size, he asked Boone to reconsider. Boone turned it down. The part was rewritten again. Boone was going to do it, but he was so rich from making HGWT that at the end he decided against it. It was a disappointment to Newman.

Sir, if you must cast aspersions on a dead man you should know what you're talking about. Richard Boone was a hard drinker, it's true. His abuse of alcohol had nothing to do with this issue or this particular role. Allow me to suggest that you read his biography, Richard Boone, A Knight Without Armor In A Savage Land before you spread any further libel.

Was Richard Boone an alcoholic? After studying his life I'm still not certain. Many men suffering from WWII PTSD self-medicated with alcohol. In the Navy Richard Boone had three ships destroyed under him: the Hancock, the Enterprise and the Intrepid. They were torpedoed, taken out by ack-ack and kamikazied. In addition his plane was shot down and he fought in hand-to-hand combat before he was rescued. Boone never spoke about this to anyone but his son, Peter, but for a single quip, 'We began to think somebody was trying to kill us.' Boone tried to get help from the VA but was stymied by the red tape.

Richard Boone discarded his WWII medals. My husband's father did the same thing with his own WWII medals. For those of you who thought John Kerry was in the wrong, this is a common occurrence with some men. RB's mother rescued his medals. My father-in-law's mother rescued his ones, both from the trash cans. Mothers, saviours of the world. My father-in-law burned his uniform behind the house in the incinerator. He swore that he would never leave home again.

Do you expect a man like Richard Boone to win a beauty contest? Richard Boone was in 2 near-fatal car accidents, both involving him going face-first through the windscreen. One wonders how that might affect the looks of anyone else. When these accidents happened there were no seat belts in cars. Boone was lucky to survive them. His chest broke the steering column of his car in the first accident. Had it not done so he would have likely have been impaled and killed. This was a common occurrence in accidents at that time.

Boone was not a vain man. When he broke his nose in the second of these accidents he failed to have it repaired for years. Look at his films and television appearances, it's easy to spot on Boone's magnificent nose.

After Richard Boone completed Have Gun - Will Travel, he never had to work again a single day in his life. Every job he accepted he did so because he wanted to work: he liked the script, he wanted to work with the other actors, or he wanted to help establish a film industry in Israel, his pet project.

Is it appropriate to judge our ancestors and predecessors? In a word, no, social changes make it wrong to do so in every case. There's a great deal more than to pontificate, but this is not the appropriate platform. Suffice it to say that you are mistaken in many ways, sir.

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Didn't know about RB's later problems, Russ. Did know about Duke's. He usually came off a scene and hit the O2 mask. He was sick for a month during The Shootist. They were not certain the movie would be finished. But, I read somewhere where he told one of his children he was not sure the Cancer was not returning.

No, he was not at "death's door", but he didn't feel well a lot of the time....may have contributed to such a remarkable performance that was out of his norm. NO ONE noticed the symbol of American patiotism.....not when our hero was lying dead on the floor....all eyes were there. But, I am certain that it was not a happenstance. His whole history with Pappy and his life proves that! It was a message.....just don't think he thought it would take so long for us to see it......glad it did. Just renews what we already knew and makes it stronger. Did you like my Gordon bit? HAGO, Keith

Quote from The Tennesseean

It's a great sketch, Keith. I must admit that I had never noticed the eagle thing.

One thing about Duke being ill, just in case there's any confusion: He had (since his lung was removed in '64) increasing difficulty breathing upon exertion, and simply walking while in higher elevations (i.e. where The Shootist was filmed), and in early '78 (he was in the hospital during the Oscars), he had his heart surgery in Boston, where they inserted a pig valve.

I know most, if not all of us KNOW this already, but over on another site (IMDb), and other places, people STILL insist he had cancer when he made this film, and it simply WAS NOT the case.

He also wasn't at death's door, as some imply, but he wasn't "in the pink" either.

Dick Cavett wrote a great piece about meeting JW for the first time while he and Becall were filming interiors at the studio backlot. I recommend it as a great read, but he makes the erroneous assumption (after JW's death) that he was battling the cancer (while filming this movie) that would eventually end his life but he wasn't.

As for Richard Boone's performance...I was quite happy with how he did. He rarely appeared in public (or made many films) in those years (he died in '81), as many years of alcohol abuse, not to mention a heavy smoking habit, caused RB's rugged good looks to deteriorate into a very haggard appearance, resembling nothing of what (just a short 10 years before) was a "maturing" matinee idol's graceful aging.

Side note...RB was supposed to play Doyle Lonnigan in "The Sting," the part that went to Robert Shaw, but was unable to do so due to his rapidly increasing inability to work sober. He supposedly did fine during The Shootist.

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WOW, that is a SUPER picture of Dick...the very first one. Really makes him look incredibly handsome. Thanks as usual for all the great pics Lasbugas. Are all the ones you post yours? KPKEITH

Quote from Peridot

Today I watched another favourite: The Fifth Bullet, with Ben Johnson. This episode was written by Harry Julian Fink, and for once a frontier woman acted in character. Richard Boone's young son, Peter, appears as Ben Johnson's son. This is one of two appearances Peter Boone made in Have Gun - Will Travel.

Ben Johnson helped Richard Boone improve his riding skills before he auditioned for the role of Paladin. Boone held acting classes during the run of HGWT. Ben Johnson attended them. Boone had a say in the actors who were cast in guest starring roles in the series.

Dorothy Dells in the role of Emmy takes up a weapon in defense of her family. This is one of the few episodes wherein a woman who has taken care of herself for 8 years and raised a son alone acts realistically. Most of the time female characters shriek helplessly and wait to be rescued by men in the manner of women in the Fifties.

Oh, yes, I noticed his expression. That was the first time Paladin realised he was fighting on the wrong side. From that point on he made certain he was aligned with the side of good.

Totally awesome. Did you know that Paladin's on the list of 100 best loved television characters? Still?

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Hi Peridot, Thanks muchly for the extra info on Dick Boone. Didn't know that Ben helped him, etc. That will go into the book and you will be noted as the provider! Never liked Dick until I saw him in HGWT, then it took a bit until the character caught on. I watched every single episode that Netflix had, and most a lot more than once. One of my favorites was a dark one that had Paladin taking a sheep herder in by RR, and they stopped in the little town of JODY?...was that it? It was a two parter and Paladin got stomped into the dirt, including crushing his gun hand, (loved when he told the sheriff, this was his profession and he could use his left hand as well as his right)....great episodes. Loved when he got Malaria also and met up with the gypsies, (remember us women just LOVE to look after our heroes when they are hurt). Although, as many times as he was hit on the head, I don't know how he didn't have permanent brain damage!
Another favorite was when Ken Curtis came to town with a half ownership of a swanky "saloon". He was in "Festus" mode. The LOOKS on their faces when he took up the autoharp and played and sang! That was priceless.......the fights were pretty good also. I will look for the Ben Johnson episodes.
By the way, somewhere, someone said they didn't have cable. I got rid of mine when I cut back....too expensive, and I can't get TV reception out here. So, I joined Netflix. You can do a 30 day trial. It is great. A lot can be streamed in or you can pay a little more and have DVDs sent to your house. I keep them for sometimes a month going over and over them. Also,you can buy a box for your TV so you can get the streamed ones there instead of on your computer.
No, didn't know he was on that list but am not surprised AT ALL. You know, he had kind of a Ward Bond type appeal, if you leave off the high falutin' part. He was rough, gravely voice, yet could show great tenderness and compassion. Both laughed very heartily and easily. My, I never thought of that...comparing the two. Amazing what conversation can bring out. What do you think? KP KEITH