Boone was singing on the radio when he was still a teenager and in 1953 won the "Ted Mack's Amateur Hour" which led to a contract to appear on CBS' "Arthur Godfrey and His Friends" from 1957 to 1960. Boone hosted his own variety series, "The Pat Boone-Chevy Showroom" (ABC, 1957-59) and "The Pat Boone Show" (NBC, 1966-67; syndicated, 1967-68). A frequent guest star on variety shows, he occasionally made a dramatic appearance, such as on a 1969 episode of "Night Gallery" and in the TV-movie "The Pigeons" (ABC, 1969).
Boone was signed to a motion picture contract by 20th Century-Fox in 1957 at the height of his recording success. The studio slotted him in "Bernadine" (1957), a look at teenage life in the 50s as his first big screen effort and even lured back Janet Gaynor for a screen return, but the effort proved weak. Boone visited his relatives' farm and fell in love with the neighbor girl (Shirley Jones) in "April Love" (1957) and he won a military school raffle date in "Mardi Gras" (1958). He had one of his best shots in films as the young leading man of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1959) and was a freewheeling sailor with Buddy Hackett in the innocuous "All Hands on Deck" (1961). But subsequent vehicles, like the Jose Ferrer-directed remake of "State Fair" (1962) proved unwelcome to critics and audiences. Boone's wholesomeness never really clicked on the big screen, and by the mid-60s, with the British invasion of The Beatles and Rolling Stones, it was out of fashion entirely. After "The Cross and the Switchblade" (1970), Boone's film appearances became increasingly rare. He provided his voice for "Matilda" (1978) and appeared almost accidentally in Michael Moore's acclaimed documentary "Roger & Me" (1988).
Yet, Pat Boone has endured. In the late 70s, his daughter Debby scored a huge hit with her recording of "You Light Up My Life" and her rising stardom seemed to revive interest in her father as well. The 1978 ABC special "Pat Boone and Family" was a ratings success and led to a series of holiday shows for the network. Additionally Boone produced and starred in "A California Christmas" (PBS, 1985) and hosted the light variety chat show "Wish You Were Here" for cable's The Nashville Network and the religious series "GospelAmerica".
While his ongoing work in show business may be less of the mainstream and more of the heartland variety, he has remained active in Hollywood charities and in some measure showbiz society. Aware of his image, but not apologetic, Boone recorded a heavy metal collection in 1996 called "No More Mr. Nice Guy". It seemed incongruous for Pat Boone to be warbling grunge, but then, if one considers the decades, it was no more peculiar than a white-bucked Boone singing "Tutti Frutti" or the other songs of Little Richard in the 50s. Pat Boone may never have inspired the fanaticism of Elvis Fans, but he can still be seen without hallucinogens in sold-out houses when in concert.