The star of NBC’s long-running The Virginian, Randy Boone, handed away on the age of 83 on Thursday, August 29, 2025. His spouse broke the information however gave no motive behind his loss of life. Boone stays immortalized in tv historical past.
The Virginian’s Randy Boone passes away because of undisclosed causes
Randy Boone has appeared in different roles after his stint on The Virginian. Nevertheless, audiences will at all times bear in mind him because the ranch hand, Randy Benton, who sang and performed his guitar whereas using his personal horse for years on the NBC present.
Boone’s spouse instructed The Hollywood Reporter that the legendary actor handed away on Thursday. She gave no explicit motive for the demise.
Aside from The Virginian, Boone additionally appeared on It’s a Man’s World and Cimarron Strip, which each lasted for a season. He additionally made an look within the 1963 Twilight Zone episode, The seventh Is Made Up of Phantoms.
Boone joined The Virginian in its second season in 1964 and stayed for 46 episodes on the present. On the finish of the fourth season, he left the present.
“I used to be instructed that [producer] Frank [Price] thought I used to be window dressing and wasn’t wanted on the present, however I really feel that I used to be wanted as a lot as anyone,” Boone mentioned about this function in Paul Inexperienced’s 2006 ebook, A Historical past of Tv’s The Virginian, 1962-1971, he added, “I believe a present suffers if you make massive modifications and also you lose the actors that triggered the folks to fall in love with it.”
Aside from his appearing and singing expertise, Boone was additionally an incredible horseback rider and had his personal horse, Clyde. He used this horse in The Virginian as nicely.
Following his appearing years, Boone received into the development enterprise within the late Nineteen Eighties.
He’ll stay one in every of tv’s shiny stars from its early period.