Clint Ritchie

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Clint Ritchie (born August 9, 1938) is an American actor.

He is most notably known for his role as Clinton "Clint" Buchanan, husband of Victoria "Viki" Lord (played by Erika Slezak) on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live. He portrayed this role from 1979 through 1998, with recurring stints in 1999, 2003, and 2004. He is often quoted as praising the Buchanan City 1888 storyline, where his character went to the Old West and met ancestors, as his favorite, in large part because he is a cowboy in real life and finally got to showcase the cowboy side of his character.

The character was originally conceived as the son of a Texas oil billionaire during the heyday of "Dallas" and Ritchie was cast because he basically played himself in the role. Along with his costars Phil Carey as his "Pa," "Asa Buchanan," and Robert S. Woods as his little brother, "Bo Buchanan," Ritchie became the rage with male and female fans clamoring for the "Buchanan Men." However, when the "Dallas"/western fad faded, the producers attempted to change Clint Buchanan, too. When the wardrobe coordinator attempted to take the cowboy out of the Buchanan Men, including their boots, his costars acquiesced. However, Ritchie loudly announced that when his boots left, he would be following them out the studio door. Wardrobe relented and he stayed in those boots until he shot his last scene in 2004.

He co-starred and guest starred in numerous television Westerns during the 1950s and 1960s, including the 1965 pilot for the long-running "Wild, Wild West," and played one of the airplane pilots in the 1974 disaster film Earthquake. He also appeared in many major motion pictures, especially while under contract to Twentieth-Century Fox, including but not limited to "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre,""Bandolero,""A Force of One," and had a very memorable scene with George C. Scott in the Oscar-winning "Patton." His television movie roles included "Centennial" and "Three Desperate Women." Later, he would appear on "Roseanne" as "Clint Buchanan" with costars Robert S. Woods and John Loprieno.

He was critically injured at his Northern California ranch on May 10, 1993, when his beloved John Deere tractor upended, knocked him to the ground and rolled over him. Quoted as saying that he could hear his own ribs cracking, he survived and returned to the "One Life to Live" set after recuperating at his spread, Happy Horse Ranch. (His character's fictional ranch was named in honor of Ritchie's real one.) His co-star, Erika Slezak, begged then-producer Linda Gottlieb not to recast his role during his absence. Thus, fictional Clint Buchanan was in an airplane crash and recovered at his Valhalla, Arizona ranch while his portrayer mended in California.

Ritchie retired in December 1998, citing "One Life to Live's" destruction of his character during the 1992 Viki-Clint-Sloan Carpenter love triangle story as one of the major reasons. He frequently states, "I never got hate mail in my life until they changed Clint Buchanan." He attempted to portray his character as merely attempting to preserve and protect his family, but outraged fans felt the character evolved into a rage-filled homophobe. They also protested the break-up of one of daytime television's most beloved and enduring "super couples," Clint and Viki Buchanan.

The role was eventually recast when Ritchie made clear that he was delighted to reprise his role for short stints from time to time, but had no interest in returning to acting -- or New York City -- full-time. He lives alone on his 60-acre ranch, surrounded by numerous dogs, cats and, most particularly, the horses he loves so much.