Pat Boone

== Career ==
=== Music ===
Boone began his career by performing in Nashville's [[Centennial Park (Nashville)|Centennial Park]].<ref name="Kingsport Evans Music City">{{cite news|last1=Evans|first1=Jim|title='Music City' Tour Set Up|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/75318152/?terms=%22centennial%2Bpark%22|access-date=April 22, 2017|work=The Kingsport Times|date=July 16, 1964|page=11|location=Kingsport, Tennessee|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=registration |quote=The folks are shown where Pat Boone attended school and told how Pat got his start with the Sunday concerts in Centennial Park}}</ref> He began recording in April 1953 for Republic Records (not to be confused with [[Republic Records|the current label with that name]]), and by 1955, for [[Dot Records]]. His 1955 version of [[Fats Domino]]'s "[[Ain't That a Shame]]" was a hit. This set the stage for the early part of Boone's career, which focused on covering [[rhythm and blues|R&B]] songs by Black artists for a white American market.<ref name="Schoemer">[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/1/2006_1_28.shtml Karen Schoemer] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902150344/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/1/2006_1_28.shtml|date=September 2, 2010 }} "More Mr. Nice Guy", ''American Heritage'', Feb/March 2006.</ref> Randy Wood, the owner of Dot, had issued an R&B single by the Griffin Brothers in 1951 called "Tra La La-a"—a different song from the later [[LaVern Baker]] one—and he was keen to put out another version after the original had failed. This became the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] of the first Boone single "Two Hearts Two Kisses", originally by the Charms – whose "Hearts Of Stone" had been covered by the label's [[Fontane Sisters]].

A number-one single in 1956 by Boone was a second cover and a revival of a then seven-year-old song "[[I Almost Lost My Mind]]", by [[Ivory Joe Hunter]], which was originally covered by another Black star, [[Nat King Cole]]. According to an opinion poll of high-school students in 1957, the singer was nearly the "two-to-one favorite over Elvis Presley among boys and preferred almost three-to-one by girls&nbsp;..."<ref>See the statistics in Ennis, Philip H., ''The Seventh Stream: The Emergence of Rocknroll in American Popular Music'' (Wesleyan University Press, 1992), pp. 251–52</ref> During the late 1950s, he made regular appearances on ABC-TV's ''[[Ozark Jubilee]]'', hosted by his father-in-law. He cultivated a safe, wholesome, advertiser-friendly image that won him a long-term product endorsement contract from [[General Motors]] during the late 1950s, lasting through the 1960s. He succeeded [[The Dinah Shore Chevy Show|Dinah Shore]] singing the praises of the GM product: "See the USA in your Chevrolet&nbsp;... drive your Chevrolet through the USA, America's the greatest land of all!" GM had also sponsored ''The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom''.

Many of Boone's hit singles were covers of hits from Black Rock and Roll artists. These included: "Ain't That a Shame" by Fats Domino; "[[Tutti Frutti (song)|Tutti Frutti]]" and "[[Long Tall Sally]]" by [[Little Richard]];<ref name="Show 6">{{cite web|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19752/m1|title=Show 6 – Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll: The rock revolution gets underway|website=Digital.library.unt.edu |date=March 16, 1969|access-date=September 20, 2010}}</ref> "[[At My Front Door|At My Front Door (Crazy Little Mama)]]" by [[The El Dorados]]; and the [[blues ballad]]s "[[I Almost Lost My Mind]]" by [[Ivory Joe Hunter]], "I'll be Home" by [[the Flamingos]] and "[[Don't Forbid Me]]" by [[Charles Singleton (songwriter)|Charles Singleton]]. Boone has been highlighted as an example of [[Whitewashing in film|whitewashing]] by taking songs by black artists and sanitizing them to make them more palatable for a white audience, denying exposure to these black artists.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-whitewashing-of-black-music-five-singles-made-popular-by-white-artists/|title=The whitewashing of Black music: Five singles made popular by white artist|date=August 11, 2021 |work=Far Out magazine|accessdate=18 March 2023}}</ref>

Boone also wrote the lyrics for the instrumental theme song for the movie ''[[Exodus (1960 film)|Exodus]]'', which he titled "This Land Is Mine". ([[Ernest Gold (composer)|Ernest Gold]] had composed the music.)

As a conservative Christian, Boone declined certain songs and movie roles that he felt might compromise his beliefs—including a role with sex symbol [[Marilyn Monroe]]. In one of his first films, ''April Love'', the director, [[Henry Levin (film director)|Henry Levin]], wanted him to give co-star [[Shirley Jones]] a kiss (which was not in the script). Since this would be his first onscreen kiss, Boone said that he wanted to talk to his wife first, to make sure it was all right with her.<ref>{{cite web|last=King|first=Susan|title=A Pat Boone kiss-and-tell|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/11/entertainment/la-et-classic-hollywood-20100811|work=Los Angeles Times|date=August 11, 2010 |access-date=June 15, 2012}}</ref> He had his own film production company, Cooga Mooga Productions.<ref name="Cooga">{{cite news|title=Boone to Expand, Buys Two Stories: West Claims Hugh Marlowe; Big Brother's '1984' to Stage |author=Scheuer, Philip K.|work=Los Angeles Times|date=October 11, 1960|page=23}}</ref>

He appeared as a regular performer on ''[[Arthur Godfrey and His Friends]]'' from 1955 through 1957, and later hosted his own ''The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom'', on Thursday evenings. In 1959, Boone's likeness was licensed to [[DC Comics]], first appearing in ''[[Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane]]'' No. 9 (May 1959) before starring in his own series from the publisher, which lasted for five issues from September 1959 to May 1960.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://comicvine.gamespot.com/pat-boone-1/4000-56483/|title=Pat Boone No. 1 (Issue)|website=Comic Vine|access-date=March 20, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cowsill |first1=Alan |last2=Irvine |first2=Alex |last3=Manning |first3=Matthew K. |last4=McAvennie |first4=Michael |last5=Wallace |first5=Daniel |title=DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle |date=2019 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-8578-6 |page=89}}</ref> In the early 1960s, he began writing a series of self-help books for adolescents, including ''[['Twixt Twelve and Twenty (book)|'Twixt Twelve and Twenty]]''. The [[British Invasion]] ended Boone's career as a hitmaker, though he continued recording throughout the 1960s. In 1966, he participated in the [[Sanremo Music Festival]] in Italy, performing the songs ''Mai mai mai Valentina'' alongside [[Giorgio Gaber]] and ''Se tu non fossi qui'' with [[Peppino Gagliardi]]. During his trip to Italy, he visited the headquarters of [[Ferrari]] in [[Maranello]], near [[Modena]], with the intention of buying a [[Ferrari America|Superamerica Sports Car]], but [[Enzo Ferrari]] dissuaded him from purchasing that model by saying that there would not have been enough room for Boone's four daughters, and sold him a four-door [[Ferrari 330|Ferrari 2+2]] instead. In a 2021 interview, Boone admitted having later sold the "Ferrari he didn't like" to [[Tom Smothers]] of the comedic duo [[Smothers Brothers]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pingitore |first=Silvia |date=December 21, 2021 |title=From Elvis Presley to Speedy Gonzales, from Ronald Reagan to cancel culture: the world's longest interview with 1950s superstar Pat Boone |url=https://the-shortlisted.co.uk/pat-boone-speedy-gonzales-interview/ |access-date=December 23, 2021 |website=The Shortlisted |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In the 1970s, he switched to [[Gospel music|gospel]] and [[Country music|country]], and continued performing in other media as well. In the 1960s and 1970s the Boone family toured as gospel singers and made gospel albums, such as ''The Pat Boone Family'' and ''The Family Who Prays''.<ref name="Larkin" />

[[File:Pat & Debby Boone.jpg|thumb|Pat and Debby Boone singing to a fan in [[Washington, D.C.]], 1997]]

In the early 1970s, Boone founded the record label [[Lamb & Lion Records]]. It featured artists such as Pat, the Pat Boone Family, [[Debby Boone]], [[Dan Peek]], [[DeGarmo and Key]], and Dogwood.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mymusicway.com/labels/lamblion.html |title=Lamb & Lion Records|website=Mymusicway.com|access-date=September 20, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221183017/http://www.mymusicway.com/labels/lamblion.html|archive-date=December 21, 2007}}</ref> In 1974, Boone was signed to the [[Motown]] country subsidiary Melodyland.<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=swcEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3 Motown Unveils a Country Wing: Pat Boone Signs]", ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''. October 26, 1974. p. 3. Retrieved March 17, 2021.</ref>

In 1978, Boone became the first target in the [[Federal Trade Commission]]'s crackdown on false-claim product endorsements by celebrities. He had appeared with his daughter Debby in a commercial to claim that all four of his daughters had found a preparation named Acne-Statin a "real help" in keeping their skin clear. The FTC filed a complaint against the manufacturer, contending that the product did not really keep skin free of blemishes. Boone eventually signed a consent order in which he promised not only to stop appearing in the ads, but also to pay about 2.5% of any money that the FTC or the courts might eventually order the manufacturer to refund to consumers. Boone said, through a lawyer, that his daughters actually did use Acne-Statin, and that he was "dismayed to learn that the product's efficacy had not been scientifically established as he believed."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=May 22, 1978|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919667,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080130110306/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919667,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 30, 2008|title=Let the Stellar Seller Beware|access-date=December 2, 2007}}</ref>

=== Film ===
In 1956, Boone was one of the biggest recording stars in the US. Several film studios pursued him for movies; he decided to go with [[20th Century Fox]], which had made [[Elvis Presley]]'s first movie.<ref>{{cite news|author=Hopper, Hedda|title=Bidding is hot as Pat Boone signs multi-movie contract|work=Chicago Daily Tribune|date=November 16, 1956|page=A4}}</ref> Fox reworked a play he had bought, ''Bernardine'', into a vehicle for Boone. The [[Bernardine (film)|resulting film]] was a solid hit, earning $3.75&nbsp;million in the US.<ref>{{cite news|author=Schallert, Edwin|title=Dean Jagger romances Gaynor; Deal to join Fairbanks and Dragon|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 24, 1957|page=C9}}</ref>
 
Even more popular was ''[[April Love (film)|April Love]]'' (1957), a remake of ''[[Home in Indiana]]''. Boone regards it as one of his favourites, "the kind of movie I wish I could have made 20 more of: a musical, appealing characters, some drama, a good storyline, a happy ending, it's the kind of film which makes you feel good. I never wanted to make a depressing or immoral film."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNQylJinyQsC&q=%22pat+boone%22+%22yellow+canary%22+interview&pg=PA13|page=6|title="Movies Were Always Magical": Interviews with 19 Actors, Directors, and Producers from the Hollywood of the 1930s through the 1950s|first=Leo|last=Verswijver|publisher=McFarland|date=2003|isbn=9780786411290}}</ref>

Less popular was a musical comedy ''[[Mardi Gras (1958 film)|Mardi Gras]]'' (1958), which was the last movie of [[Edmund Goulding]]. However, ''[[Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959 film)|Journey to the Center of the Earth]]'' (1959), a science fiction adventure tale, was a huge hit. Boone had been reluctant to do it, and needed to be persuaded by being offered the chance to sing several songs and given a percentage of the profits, but was glad he did.<ref name="Vagg">{{Cite magazine|url=https://diaboliquemagazine.com/the-surprisingly-interesting-cinema-of-pat-boone/|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|date=September 10, 2019|magazine=Diabolique Magazine|title=The Surprisingly Interesting Cinema of Pat Boone}}</ref>

He produced and starred in a documentary, ''[[Salute to the Teenagers]]'' (1960), but did not make a film for a while, studying acting with [[Sanford Meisner]]. He returned with a military comedy, ''[[All Hands on Deck (1961 film)|All Hands on Deck]]'' (1961), a mild hit.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rumors Have Marlon Married to Movita |author=Dorothy Kilgallen |work=The Washington Post and Times-Herald |date=March 12, 1961 |page=G3}}</ref>

He was one of several names in another remake, ''[[State Fair (1962 film)|State Fair]]'' (1962), a box office disappointment. Musicals were becoming less fashionable in Hollywood, so Boone decided to take on a dramatic role in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-distributed movie ''[[The Main Attraction (film)|The Main Attraction]]'' (1962) for [[Seven Arts Productions]], his first movie outside Fox. It was an unhappy experience for Boone as he disliked the implication his character had sex with [[Nancy Kwan]]'s and he got into several public fights with the producers.<ref name="LA Times">{{cite news|title=Boone Fights Use of Movie That Lacks OK|author=Ryon, Art|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 15, 1962|page=B5}}</ref> He had a deal with Fox to make three films at $200,000 a film with his production company. This was meant to start with a thriller, ''[[The Yellow Canary]]'' (1963), in which Boone would play an unsympathetic character. New management came in at the studio, which was unenthusiastic about the picture but because Boone had a pay or play deal, they decided to make it anyway, only with a much shorter budget. Boone even paid some money out of his own pocket to help complete it.<ref name="Robert">Mark Thomas McGee, ''Talk's Cheap, Action's Expensive: The Films of Robert L. Lippert'', Bear Manor Media, 2014, pp. 271–72</ref>

Boone's next movie for Fox was another low-budget effort, ''[[The Horror of It All]]'' (1963), shot in England. He made a comedy in Ireland, ''[[Never Put It in Writing]]'' (1964), for Allied Artists. Boone's third film for Fox was an "A" production, ''[[Goodbye Charlie]]'' (1964), but Boone was in support of [[Debbie Reynolds]] and [[Tony Curtis]]. He was one of the many names in ''[[The Greatest Story Ever Told]]'' (1965). He appeared in ''[[The Perils of Pauline (1967 film)|The Perils of Pauline]]'' (1967), a pilot for a TV series that did not eventuate, which was screened in some theatres. Boone's last film of note was ''[[The Cross and the Switchblade (film)|The Cross and the Switchblade]]'' (1970).

=== Later work ===
[[File:Pat Boone by Gage Skidmore.jpg|thumb|right|Boone at [[Conservative Political Action Conference|CPAC]] in February 2011]]
In 1994, Pat Boone played the title role in ''The Will Rogers Follies'' in [[Branson, Missouri|Branson]], [[Missouri]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/1994/voices/columns/showbiz-makes-unlikely-stand-in-branson-mo-1117862463/ |title=Showbiz makes unlikely stand in Branson, Mo |date=April 13, 1994 }}</ref>

In 1997, Boone released ''[[In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy]]'', a collection of [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] [[cover version|covers]].<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=165/6|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref> To promote the album, he appeared at the [[American Music Award]]s in black leather. He was then dismissed from ''Gospel America'', a TV show on the [[Trinity Broadcasting Network]]. After making a special appearance on TBN with the president of the network, [[Paul Crouch]], and his pastor, Jack Hayford, many fans accepted his explanation of the leather outfit being a "parody of himself". Trinity Broadcasting then reinstated him, and ''Gospel America'' was brought back.<ref name="Pat" />

In 2003, the Nashville [[Gospel Music Association]] recognized his gospel recording work by inducting him into its [[Gospel Music Hall of Fame]]. In September 2006, Boone released ''We Are Family: R&B Classics'', featuring cover versions of 11 R&B hits, including the title track, plus "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "Soul Man", "Get Down Tonight", "A Woman Needs Love", and six other classics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/we-are-family-r-b-classics-mw0000459865|title=We Are Family: R&B Classics – Pat Boone |website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref>

In 2010, plans were announced for the Pat Boone Family Theater at [[Broadway at the Beach]] in [[Myrtle Beach, South Carolina]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/12/31/1895168/boone-boom-set-for-spring.html|title=Pat Boone Family Theater replaces NASCAR café in Myrtle Beach|last=Spring|first=Jake|work=[[The Sun News]]|date=December 31, 2010|access-date=December 31, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204032723/http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/12/31/1895168/boone-boom-set-for-spring.html|archive-date=February 4, 2013}}</ref> The attraction was never built.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hollywood Wax Museum on track for summer debut in Myrtle Beach|last=Bryant|first=Dawn|work=[[The Sun News]]|date=January 13, 2014}}</ref>

In 2011, Boone acted as a spokesperson for Security One Lending, a reverse mortgage company.<ref>{{Cite AV media |last=kpb92651|title=Security One Lending – Innovative Direct Response|date=October 5, 2011|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvUCtEL7kAA| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211031/mvUCtEL7kAA| archive-date=October 31, 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=February 6, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Since at least 2007<ref>{{Cite AV media |last=swissamerica|title=Swiss America-Free Gold Info w/ Pat Boone|date=September 11, 2007|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASpX9gNkfHs| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211031/ASpX9gNkfHs| archive-date=October 31, 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=February 6, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Boone has acted as a spokesperson for Swiss America Trading Corporation, a broker of gold and silver coins that warns of "America's Economic Collapse".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.swissamerica.com/press.php|title=Investment Market & News Reports {{!}} Swiss America Trading|access-date=February 6, 2017}}</ref>

In 2023 Boone, at 89, is one of the guest vocalists on Born to be Wild, an album by Ann-Margret. Together they perform the song Teach me Tonight on the album.<ref>https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/ann-margret-returns-with-all-star-collaborators-onborn-to-be-wild-her-first-album-in-over-a-decade-due-out-april-14-on-cleopatra-record</ref>