Randy Boone has died aged 83

His wife, Lana, told The Hollywood Reporter he had died on Thursday 28 August but did not wish to disclose further details.

Born on 17 January 1942 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Randy is being remembered by fans online for performing his own songs on The Virginian and riding his personal horse, Clyde, on the show.

Randy joined the cast of the series in February 1964 during the second season and remained for two years, appearing in 46 episodes alongside James Drury and Doug McClure before leaving in April 1966.

In Paul Green's 2006 book A History of Television's The Virginian, Randy recalled the decision to end his run on the show.

He said: "I was told that (producer) Frank (Price) thought I was window dressing and wasn't needed on the show, but I feel that I was needed as much as anybody.

"I think a show suffers when you make big changes and you lose the actors that caused the people to fall in love with it."

Randy had also been musically inclined from an early age.

He once described his restless youth, saying: "I'm going to take my guitar and I'm going to hitchhike around the country and have some fun until the Army drafts me and then I'll let them beat some discipline into me. I couldn't wait to get out of school and have a good time."

After travelling the United States for 18 months, Randy secured a contract with Universal Studios.

His first television role was Vern Hodges, a folk-singing student in It's a Man's World, which lasted one season.

When the show was cancelled, he and Clyde were absorbed into the cast of The Virginian.

Randy agreed to allow Universal to use his horse free of charge if the studio boarded the animal, a request the producers accepted.

During his run on the series, the actor performed original songs, many of which he wrote himself.

He said: "I wanted to feel like I'm putting something special into the work."

Though Randy signed away rights to his compositions at the time, he was surprised years later to receive royalties.

Beyond The Virginian, Randy made appearances in the western Cimarron Strip and in The Twilight Zone, where he played a National Guardsman transported back to the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

He stepped away from acting in the late 1980s and went on to work in construction, and had his songs released on records including Ramblin' Randy.