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Richard Allen Boone was born in Los Angeles, California, to Cecile Lillian (Beckerman) and Kirk Etna Boone, a wealthy corporate lawyer. His maternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants, while his father was descended from a brother of frontiersmen Daniel Boone and Squire Boone.

Richard was a college student, boxer, painter and oil-field laborer before ending up in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war he used the G.I. Bill to study acting with the Actor's Studio in New York. Serious and methodical, Boone debuted on Broadway in the play "Medea". Other plays followed, as did occasional TV work. In 1950 20th Century-Fox signed him to a contract and he made his screen debut in Halls of Montezuma (1951), playing a Marine Corps officer. Tall and craggy, Boone was continually cast in a number of war and western movies. He also tackled roles such as Pontius Pilate in The Robe (1953) and a police detective in Vicki (1953). In 1954 he was cast as Dr. Konrad Styner in the pioneering medical series Medic (1954), which was a critical but not a ratings success. This role lasted for two years, though in the meantime, he continued to appear in westerns and war movies.

In 1957 he played Dr. Wright, who treats Elizabeth for her memory lapses, in Lizzie (1957). It was also in that year that Boone was cast in what is his best-known role, the cultured gunfighter Paladin in the highly regarded western series Have Gun - Will Travel (1957). Although a gun for hire, Paladin was usually a moral one, did the job and lived at the Hotel Carlton in San Francisco. Immensely popular, the show made Boone a star. The series lasted six years, and in addition to starring in it, Boone also directed some episodes. He still kept busy on the big screen during the series' run, appearing as Sam Houston in the John Wayne epic The Alamo (1960), and as a weary cavalry captain fighting Indians in A Thunder of Drums (1961). After Have Gun - Will Travel (1957) ended in 1963, Boone hosted a dramatic anthology series, The Richard Boone Show (1963), but it was not successful.

Boone moved to Hawaii for the next seven years. During this time he made a few Westerns, including the muscular Rio Conchos (1964), but he was largely absent from the screen. In the 1970s he moved to Florida, and resumed his film and TV career with a vengeance. In 1972 he again appeared on television in the Jack Webb-produced series Hec Ramsey (1972) (years before he had played a police captain in Webb's first "Dragnet" film, Dragnet (1954)). Based on a real man, Hec was a tough, grizzled old frontier sheriff at the turn of the 20th century who, late in life, has studied the newest scientific theories of crime detection. His new boss, a much younger man, doesn't always approve of Hec, his nonconformist style or his new methods. The series lasted for two years. Boone continued working until the end of the decade but died as a result of throat cancer in 1981.

Virginia Owen was born on 14 October 1921 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. She was an actress, known for Thunder Mountain (1947). She died on 13 December 2011 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was born on 8 August 1896 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. She was a writer, known for The Yearling (1946), Cross Creek (1983) and Gal Young Un (1979). She was married to Norton Baskin and Charles Rawlings. She died on 14 December 1953 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Joseph Hayes was a well-known playwright and author specializing in crime fiction. His best known work, "The Desperate Hours" was first a novel, than a successful Broadway play (taking the 1955 Tony for Best Play), and then a movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March. Hayes had a long career on Broadway and in the movies; he often collaborated with his wife, Marrijane Hayes, on a number of screenplays and scripts.

John Clark was born on 18 January 1933 in New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for Captain Apache (1971), El Condor (1970) and Krakatoa: East of Java (1968). He died on 9 September 2011 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Al Norman was born on 29 November 1906 in New York, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Paramount on Parade (1930), 52nd Street (1937) and King of Jazz (1930). He was married to Marjorie Helen Norman. He died on 15 December 1999 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Giovanni Früh was born on 3 December 1937 in Zurich, Switzerland. He was an actor, known for Onkel Silas (1977), Grauzone (1979) and Der Kandidat (1986). He was married to Elsa Weier. He died on 25 February 2003 in St. Augustin, Germany.

Allen C. Thompson died on 17 October 1980 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Édith Georges was born on 20 May 1931 in Lyon, Rhône, France. She was an actress, known for Folies-Bergère (1956), The Man in the Raincoat (1957) and Sins of Paris (1952). She was married to Jean Burtin. She died on 18 August 1981 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Bruce Merwin is a man in motion - producer, cinematographer, actor, singer, writer ... and if you need it, he can strike a set and probably compose a tune while he's doing it. At an age when some men are wrestling with midlife crisis or contemplating early retirement, Merwin is filming his own motion pictures, and working with the International Cinematographers Guild.

Merwin's movies are low budget, independent films set in Florida, being produced by Merwin Films, a motion picture and television production company started in 1980.

An overachiever by nature, Merwin's talents and skills began overlapping at the age of 13. While keeping up with his academic studies, he sang in a Miami garage band Victims. At Palmetto High School, he was the lead singer with a rock band called Slaves of Sound. He was a contract singer with John Kennly's Broadway Musicals at the Plaza Hotel on Miami Beach. At the age of 22, he was awarded a drama scholarship to Flagler College in St. Augustine. He attended Flagler only a few months before enlisting in the U.S. Navy.

Merwin was born into a military family. His father was a Strategic Air Command pilot. From 1973-1977, Merwin served aboard the USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) where his duties included assembling air-to-air rockets and maintaining shipboard weapons. He was honored to be stationed on the famous aircraft carrier and sometimes liked activities at sea, the military was not a good career fit for the former liberal arts student.

When his four-year Navy hitch ended, Merwin returned to Flagler College. He also attended Florida School of the Arts in Palatka where he received a degree in technical theater. During this period he performed in more than a dozen area plays (among them "Midsummer Night's Dream," "South Pacific," "Cabaret," "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Cross and Sword" - the latter, depicting early St. Augustine history, was designated "Florida's Official State Play") before going to the West Coast in 1978.

In California, using his G.I. Bill benefits, Merwin attended Columbia College Hollywood where he received a BA degree in filmmaking. He made the rounds of independent movies and student films, acting and singing in them whenever possible. He returned to Florida in 1980.

During the '80s, Merwin produced three (all at the same time) cable TV shows in Palatka, married the former Anne Buynitzky (a medical doctor), and eventually moved to Orlando where he worked as a cameraman, electrician and/or producer on hundreds of TV and industrial shows. Notable among these shows were McDonald's, IBM, General Electric, Chrysler, Cadillac, Ford and Pfizer.

After five years of corporate shows, network television and motion pictures opened up to Merwin. He was an assistant editor on TV's "In the Heat of the Night" (7th season), a gaffer on the feature film "Fire Birds" (Touchstone/BuenaVista - 1990), and an assistant cameraman on TV's "The Old Man and the Sea" (Fuisz/Yorkshire - 1990). It was while working with Anthony Quinn on "The Old Man and the Sea" that Merwin's commitment to multitasking was reinforced.

As the millennium unfolded, Merwin went back to California where he honed his filmmaking skills at UCLA and learned the logistics of independent film marketing at the American Film Market Association. He produced, directed and photographed "Double Exposure: The Voice of the Camera," a documentary featuring seven legendary cinematographers (www.firstlightvideo.com), and worked with the City of Beverly Hills as a cameraman on several video programs. He loved the energy of Los Angeles and the opportunities it offered, but his wife passionately missed Florida. Merwin, his wife, and their teen-age son made a move back to Florida in 2004.

Merwin lives in Miami and works television and motion picture production work. He produces, directs and shoots projects such as "New Walden", "Voice Of The Camera" and "Changing Faces" all selling online through Amazon.com.

Ross Tompkins was born on 13 May 1938 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Mike Hammer, Private Eye (1997), The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) and Trying to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon (2008). He died on 29 June 2006 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Jack Hunter was born on 4 June 1921 in Hamilton, Ohio, USA. He was a writer, known for The Blue Max (1966). He was married to Shirley Thompson. He died on 13 April 2009 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Stetson Kennedy was born on 5 October 1916 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. He was a writer, known for Andrew Young Presents (2008) and Klandestine Man. He was married to Sandra Parks. He died on 27 August 2011 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Makinley Rain Morris was born on 2 August 2001. She died on 28 May 2015 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Lindy Infante was born on 27 March 1940 in Miami, Florida, USA. He was married to Stephanie Kitchell. He died on 8 October 2015 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Maureen Farley was born on 18 March 1962 in Summit, New Jersey, USA. She was an art director, known for Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), The Mist (2007) and The Notebook (2004). She died on 2 July 2019 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Fred Greenblatt was born on 25 March 1937 in Denver, Colorado, USA. He was an actor, known for Diagnosis Murder (1993), A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives (1993) and When She Says No (1984). He died on 13 July 2020 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Raymond Meurer was born on 30 August 1934 in Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for The Lone Ranger (1949). He was married to Patricia Ann Palmer. He died on 10 July 2022 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Ron Kivett was born on 12 July 1943 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. He was a writer, known for Zaat (1971) and Ancient Aliens (2009). He died on 23 January 2022 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Martin Wade Lewis was born on 21 September 1945 in the USA. He was an actor, known for She-Devils on Wheels (1968). He was married to Diane Maurno. He died on 3 January 2022 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Hazel Henderson was born on 27 March 1933 in Bristol, England, UK. She was married to Carter Henderson and Alan Kay . She died on 22 May 2022 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Bobby Baker was born on 12 November 1928 in Easley, South Carolina, USA. He was married to Dorothy Comstock. He died on 12 November 2017 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Dean Sharits was born on 6 February 1944 in Mankato, Minnesota, USA. Dean was a producer, known for Grave Secrets (1989) and SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D: Ride (2005). Dean was married to Dely. Dean died on 17 December 2023 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Don Biller was born on 10 November 1939 in Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA. He is known for Hanky Panky (1982), Wolfen (1981) and The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984). He was married to Sharon. He died on 11 November 2010 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

Tim Foley was born on 22 January 1948 in Evanston, Illinois, USA. He died on 24 September 2023 in St Augustine, Florida, USA.