Clyde Randy Boone (born January 17, 1942)[1] is an American actor and singer best known for his role in the series The Virginian as Randy Benton, a young ranch hand who played guitar and sang.
Boone was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and enrolled at North Carolina State College as a mathematics major. He began performing as a folk singer at a bar and eventually dropped out of school to play guitar and sing. That decision led to 18 months of traveling around the United States, primarily by hitchhiking. He used his musical talents to barter, with his performances providing meals and sleeping quarters. He entered contests to win additional money.[2]
Boone started his career in the 1962–1963 TV series It's a Man's World as Vern Hodges,[3] a talented guitarist from Boone's native North Carolina.
After playing guitar and singing in The Virginian and starring as a country singer in the 1966 film Country Boy, he played Francis Wilde in Western series Cimarron Strip along with Stuart Whitman.
