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Richard Boone brought a bit of Paladin to his later television roles
Known for his fearsome characters, Boone described himself as a "honey bear."
A good actor understands that although their time playing a role ends, that character never truly goes away.
Although Richard Boone played his fair share of enigmatic characters, there was one that stood out above all the rest: Paladin.
Fans of Have Gun - Will Travel understood that Paladin wasn’t simply a character. The stoic cowboy dressed in all black jumped right off our television screens and into our hearts. Though Paladin was a man of few words, he was more than willing to take on a challenge and fight for whatever he needed.
It was a role that affected Boone as an actor just as much as the audience. During an interview with the Associated Press, Boone confessed that although the series ended in 1963, he injected plenty of the character’s qualities into later characters.
For example, Boone channeled Paladin while playing Hec Ramsey in the television series of the same name. Boone was asked what sort of qualities the two men shared.
“I suppose the abruptness and the unpredictability and, in a way, the menace.” Boone said that both Hec Ramsey and Paladin were "an angry old man."
"He’s a very formidable guy," said the actor.
Despite Boone’s penchant for playing intimidating characters, he did not share his characters’ dark and brooding demeanour. “I don’t know how anyone could do that to me,” said Boone. “Everyone knows I’m a honey bear.”
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