Celebrity System

Richard Boone

Richard Boone (1917-1981) was an American actor best known for his role as the cultured gunfighter Paladin in the television series “Have Gun – Will Travel”.

Born in Los Angeles, Boone had a diverse early career, working as an oil rigger, bartender, painter, and writer before serving in the United States Navy during World War II. After the war, he studied acting at the Actors Studio in New York and made his Broadway debut in 1947.

Boone’s tall, craggy appearance made him a natural fit for Westerns and war movies. Besides his TV show, he appeared in movies such as “The Robe” (1953) and “Big Jake” (1971). Boone directed episodes of his TV series and continued acting into the 1970s. He was also an accomplished painter.

Richard Boone’s Hi-Fi System

We have a photo of Richard Boone enjoying some music on his home Hi-Fi system. The photo was likely taken around 1959. Richard’s system included a JBL Paragon loudspeaker, a Garrard 301 turntable, and an Ampex reel-to-reel tape recorder.

The JBL Paragon (model number D44000) was a legendary stereo loudspeaker introduced by JBL in 1957 and produced until 1983. The Paragon was 9 feet (2.7 meters) wide, was entirely horn loaded, and used a “radial refraction” design to create a wide, uniform stereo image. With an estimated production of around 1,000 units, it remains a highly collectible piece of audio history.

The turntable is a Garrard 301 fitted to a wooden plinth and paired with a Garrard TPA10 tonearm. There is a record on the turntable and a record jacket next to Richard; it appears that he is listening to one of the “Dukes of Dixieland” series of records, which were published by the record label Audio Fidelity. These were some of the earliest stereo recordings in the world.

Finally, Richard’s tape recorder looks like an Ampex Model 960, which was a portable stereo deck capable of 2 track and 4 track operation and employing 7 inch diameter reels.