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Pat Boone on How Faith Gave Him a Real-Life Mulligan With His Wife

Pat Boone at the 28th Annual Movieguide® Awards

Pat Boone on How Faith Gave Him a Real-Life Mulligan With His Wife

By Movieguide® Staff

Award-winning singer and actor Pat Boone recently shared how faith and the Holy Spirit gave him and his wife, Shirley, a second chance.

Amid promotion for his new movie, THE MULLIGAN, Boone likens the golf term to the second chances God gives his children.

“In the game of life, God makes the rules and He can grant you mulligan’s, second chances,” the recipient of the Movieguide® Lifetime Faith & Values Award for Dedication to Redeeming the Values of the Mass Media of Entertainment told The Christian Post.

“That’s what the theme of this film is. It’s all about golf. It’s an exciting, well-made film about golf, the subject that millions of people love,” he continued. “But there’s [very few] movies about golf. God can give you second chances, and if you make the right choices, you can have a far better life in this realm and in the one that’s coming, inevitably, for all of us.”

After 65 years of marriage to his wife Shirley, who died in 2019 at the age of 84, the 87-year-old reflected on a time that they had to rely on faith.

“I can talk about it now, but after having had four kids … by the time we were 23 and I graduated from college, none of us realized that would eventually, perhaps, take its toll on Shirley’s body,” he said. “There was a time after we moved to California and I was a big star and everything was going so great when I would simply put my arm around Shirley or want to kiss her on the cheek [and] she’d say, ‘No Way! Every time we have any kind of affection, for some reason, I get nauseous, and I can’t help it.’

“It’s sort of tough on a husband who can’t even embrace his wife or kiss her or anything without her getting sick in her stomach,” he said. “I wanted her to go to a doctor, but she said, ‘No, I’m sure I’ll get past this.’ But it went on for a while. And I must say that I began to think about, ‘If this is where our marriage is going, she’s going to get sick every time I try to be amorous. This is not going to last.'”

However, after a doctor’s visit, Shirley found cysts on her ovaries and received surgery.

“That trouble led to us receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which as good, churchgoing Christians, we were taught that all those wonderful supernatural things that happened to Christians in the first century, were not for today,” he said.

Boone added: “We weren’t expecting anything supernatural in our lives, but now as we experienced the deliverance from this malady, [we] see even the pain and the suffering for a while had its purpose. [It] not only show[ed] us there needed to be something corrected, which would have gotten worse and worse in her life, … but also during that time, we learned that we could have the supernatural indwelling of the Holy Spirit through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.”

Although Boone explained that their experience with healing led to their brief exit of The Church of Christ, through things like his New York Times bestselling book, A New Song, he encouraged people to see the supernatural work of salvation and the viability of the Holy Spirit.

“We’re supposed to be living supernatural lives. If we’re really Christians and children of the living God, filled with the Spirit of Jesus, who healed the sick and raised the dead, if that same Spirit dwells in us, He hasn’t changed and we are expecting supernatural things in our lives because the whole relationship with God is supernatural.”

In THE MULLIGAN, Boone’s character also offers spiritual guidance.

“This is really a great opportunity to say things that I believe in, [that] I don’t always have the chance to say,” Boone continued. “Great success can be the worst thing that happens to you because you become so enamored, so used to that success, and you think it’s because you’re so good in some way, or you made such great choices.”

“They don’t have any real realization that there’s a life beyond this. This life is pretty short compared to eternity,” Boone added. “They’re not making any preparation for the existence. I won’t say life [because] we don’t die. … [we] continue into eternity.”

Even at 87-years-old, Boone knows that through faith in God he can make a difference through faith content and giving.

“I’m at a stage in my life where I don’t need to build up anything more for myself, but I take advantage of many opportunities in which I can increase my giving because God loves a cheerful giver, and I am a cheerful giver,” Boone said. “I like to continue to increase the ways in which I can give to things that need help. It’s so good to be able to not just wish you could help somebody you love or care about or an issue that you want to promote but actually be able to.”

A portion of Movieguide®’s review of THE MULLIGAN reads:

THE MULLIGAN is a special two-day Fathom release. Paul McCallister is a big-shot businessman who’s estranged from his wife and son so he can pursue business and golf. At a charity golf tournament, Paul loses his temper. A tournament organizer introduces Paul to Will Dun. Golfers have nicknamed Will the “Old Pro.” Will takes Paul under his wing and mentors him on golf, and, more importantly, on life. Paul’s heart begins to change, but will the change be a lasting one?

THE MULLIGAN tells an entertaining, inspiring story. There are some minor hiccups, but the production values are good. Pat Boone delivers a terrific performance as the Old Pro. He teaches the lead character about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and declares, “God is good.” THE MULLIGAN has a very strong Christian, moral, pro-family worldview. It stresses Christian faith, forgiveness, family, and proper business practices. Also, a pastor recognizes the Christian witness of a believer at a service and stresses the promise of eternal life. THE MULLIGAN has some light violence, brief drunkenness and one obscenity. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for younger children.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.