The Richard Boone Show

I can add little to the well-made comments of the ex-Georgian (now safely in Mass.) regarding THE RICHARD BOONE SHOW. It was indeed unique on television in the 1960s and beyond.

The producers probably thought the name would attract viewers, but obviously not enough. I would like to think this rotating cast of characters and situations was "ahead of its time," but perhaps there was no such time. Series, a.k.a. "prime time" television watchers apparently did not like the insecurity of no characters or settings to which they could become attached. Always there was something new, even unique, c.f. the afore-mentioned episode by Odets. THE RICHARD BOONE SHOW was not in keeping with Ray Bradbury's notion of "television family" -- which the host's expositions from the Green Room could not replace. To be best of my recollection, Richard Boone disappeared from television with this noble experiment.

Too good. That's why it only lasted a season. My God, look at the players. Not a weak spot in the bunch. And, the writing! Fantastic. But, no trick guns, no canned laughter and no asinine sit skits. It was just too good. I believe I saw dang near every episode and loved each one. The players would change roles, Bobby Benson would be a drugged out drummer looking for a fix one week and then a Mexican fisherman who finds a big pearl. Even when the cast would shift into another completely different genre, they would shift around and support one another. One week Warren Stevens did a bit part as a night watchman and the next, he was a hired killer, then a soldier of fortune...as so on. This was undoubtedly some of the best theater ever presented on TV. Sadly, that's why is didn't go past one season...but, what a season!

Robert Blake, Lloyd Bochner, Richard Boone, Laura Devon, June Harding, Bethel Leslie, Harry Morgan, Jeanette Nolan, Ford Rainey, Warren Stevens and Guy Stockwell.

My vote for most valuable player would go to Actors Studio alumnus Warren Stevens, who was cast in a wide range of roles (including as a Vietnamese) and was always convincing and interesting. In a long and distinguished career (apparently still going on), this was his finest hour. Stevens was particularly fine in an episode as a dying journalist who returns to his home town and revives a relationship with a woman he once knew (a luminous Bethel Leslie).

Bethel Leslie was also extraordinary in this series, and showed great range. Many years later Leslie was in a superb production of O'Neil's "Long Day's Journey into Night" opposite Jack Lemmon.

Laura Devon was memorable in "The Fling" as a voluptuous, slutty waitress who makes the aging Boone burn in agony, even though he is deeply in love with his invalid wife (Bethel Leslie).

Richard Boone had just finished a six-year run on the superb "Have Gun Will Travel". That show was still strong in the ratings in its final year, but Boone was bored. Instead of using his clout to get a big raise, he got this ambitious series on the air. Boone didn't even take a year off between series.

Buck Houghton ("Twilight Zone", "Yancy Derringer") was the producer. Playwright Clifford Odets ("The Country Girl", the screenplay for "The Sweet Smell of Success") was the story editor.

The series was nominated for an Emmy as Best Dramatic Series along with the great "East Side, West Side" with George C. Scott. The winner was "The Defenders". 1963-64 was a remarkable season for drama series. Television drama got much more timid after the failure of "The Richard Boone Show" and "East Side, West Side". Who would try to do either of them today?

Bethel Leslie and Jeannete Nolan received Emmy nominations for single performances. Warren Stevens should also have been nominated, perhaps as Best Supporting Actor in a Series.

Richard Boone was nominated as Best Actor in a Continuing Performance in a Series. Boone was up against George C. Scott ("East Side,West Side"), David Janssen ("The Fugitive"), Dean Jagger ("Mr. Novak") and Dick Van Dyke ("The Dick Van Dyke Show"). Five superb performances made it a brutal choice for voters. The winner was Van Dyke. Boone was the only one of the nominees not to show up at the ceremony. Maybe he was fed up with television after his ambitious show was canceled. Or maybe Boone had already headed to Hawaii for a long, well deserved rest.

The fine Timothy Hutton version of "Nero Wolfe" sort of borrowed the repertory concept from the Boone show. The guest characters each week were largely played by a repertory group of actors (including Debra Monk). I think it enriched the show.

The poster who thought John McIntire was on "The Richard Boone Show" was probably thinking of Ford Rainey, who had a similar quality. But John McIntire's wife was on the show-the magnificent Jeanette Nolan.

We watched "The Richard Boone Show" regularly during its all-too-brief run. Everyone else in the country appeared to be watching "The Fugitive", which--to our way of thinking--couldn't't't't compare in quality to Richard Boone. This was a repertory company, and all the regulars played many different types of characters. Many of them went on to star in better-known productions, while their excellence in this show went largely unnoticed. I'm glad to see that it did receive some nominations and one Golden Globe award, but it should have had a much longer run and received many more awards. I agree with a comment on the message board, that there should be copies available for purchase. I would greatly enjoy seeing these episodes once more on one of the cable or dish channels that feature "oldies but goodies".

This TV series was never aired in France. But the French audiences missed something fantastic. This is definitely not a crime show, but an excellent drama one. Here, the particularity is that you have always the same actors playing in most of the episodes. And, in every story, independent tales, they all played different characters. In one show, for instance, Richard Boone played the lead, and in another one, you hardly recognized him in a supporting character. Please read all my comments, for each episode, I have commented them all. For most of them, I really enjoyed. And I realize that Richard Boone was really a terrific actor, a true one. Maybe best than he was in big screen films, where the majors always take him for only heavies characters. The best I wish you is to get one day this outstanding TV show. One last thing, in this series, you have Guy Stockwell too; remember him as Chuck Heston's brother in WARLORD. He was not a great actor, yes, but I appreciated him here, in all those episodes.