West Saint Paul Antiques

Birth Name: William Boyd

Date Of Birth: 5th June 1895

Place Of Birth: Hendrysburg, Ohio, USA

Date Of Death: 12th September 1972

Place Of Death:
Laguna Beach, California, USA

Height: 6’

Nickname: Hoppy

Spouses:
Grace Bradley (1937 - 1972)
Dorothy Sebastian (1931 - 1935)
Elinor Fair (1926 - 1929)
Ruth Miller (1921 - 1924)

Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas -- William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy)

William Boyd (1895 – 1972) was a B-Western star who was best known for his portrayal of Hopalong Cassidy.

In 1935, Boyd won the title role for the original Hopalong Cassidy movie, and went on to make 66 films ending in 1947.  He even produced the final 12 films.

Believing in television's potential, he purchased the rights to the Hopalong Cassidy character (including books and films) for $350,000, and released the films to television in 1949.  They became extremely popular and began a long-running history on television. Like Rogers and Autry, Boyd licensed much merchandise, including such products as Hopalong Cassidy watches, trash cans, cups, dishes, Topps trading cards, a comic strip, comic books, radio shows and cowboy outfits.  Boyd so completely identified with his character that he dressed as Hoppy in public.

Bill's Santa Susanas locations filmography

Dangerous Venture (1947) - William Boyd - United Artists

Lumberjack (1944) - William Boyd with Andy Clyde (Iverson Ranch)(photo above) United Artists

The Marauders (1947) - William Boyd (Iverson Ranch)(photos above and below) United Artists

Mystery Man (1944) - William Boyd (Iverson scenes) United Artists

The Showdown (1940) - William Boyd (Iverson Ranch) 

Undercover Man (1942) - William Boyd (Iverson Ranch)(lobby photos above and below)

Several of the "Hopalong Cassidy TV Series" (1952–1954) episodes had outdoor scenes filmed on the Iverson Ranch.

Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of popular short stories and many novels based on the character.

In his early writings, Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. Beginning in 1935, the character—as played by movie actor William Boyd in films adapted from Mulford's books—was transformed into a clean-cut on-screen hero. A total of sixty-six immensely popular films were released, only a few of which relied on Mulford's original story lines. Mulford later revised and republished his earlier works to be more consistent with the character's new, polished on-screen persona.

The sixty-six Hopalong Cassidy pictures were filmed by independent producers who released the films through the studios. Most of the "Hoppies," as the films were known, were distributed by Paramount Pictures to highly favorable returns. They were noted for their fast action and excellent outdoor photography (usually by Russell Harlan). Harry Sherman was anxious to make more ambitious movies and tried to cancel the Cassidy series, but popular demand forced Sherman to go back into production, this time for United Artists release. Sherman gave up the series once and for all in 1944, but William Boyd wanted to keep it going. To do this, he gambled his entire future on Hopalong Cassidy, mortgaging virtually everything he owned to buy both the character rights from Mulford and the backlog of movies from Sherman.

In the first film, Hopalong Cassidy (then spelled "Hop-along") got his name after being shot in the leg. Hopalong's "drink of choice" was the nonalcoholic sarsaparilla.

Boyd began work on a separate series of half-hour westerns made especially for television; Edgar Buchanan was his new sidekick, Red Connors (a character from the original stories and a few of the early films). The theme music for the television show was written by veteran songwriters Nacio Herb Brown (music) and L. Wolfe Gilbert (lyrics). The show ranked number 7 in the 1949 Nielsen ratings. The success of the show and tie-ins inspired several juvenile television westerns, such as The Range Rider, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Annie Oakley, The Gene Autry Show, and The Roy Rogers Show.

After Boyd's death, his company devoted to Hopalong Cassidy, U.S. Television Office, retained control of the entirety of Cassidy films but, by the mid-1960s, had withdrawn them from television availability and sales in any of the home movie markets. This remained the situation until the mid-1990s, after many of the loyal Cassidy fans had died, when the company's officers made available to The Western Channel a package series of restored and cleaned negative-based prints of the films to cable TV viewers. These remained available on that channel until 2000, when they were again withdrawn. Minimal effort was made at that time, nor has it been made since, to offer the films for private purchase on home video, excepting two packages of compressed, multi-title Hopalong Cassidy anthology DVDs, the first requiring purchase of the entire TV series in order to obtain copies of about a dozen films and then, in 2014, a reissuance of the remaining stock of these same DVD pressings combined with the remaining titles in a first-time pressing.

William “Bill” Boyd, known best for playing the famous Hopalong Cassidy, prided himself in setting good examples to all youngsters who watched him on television or on the big screen. However, he didn’t always follow that straight and narrow path.

When Boyd first entered the Hollywood spotlight, and celebrity status took hold, he did what many young, rich, good-looking actors of Hollywood did and still continue to do; he partied continuously with friends and spent lavishly with little regard to his future finances. It wasn’t until Boyd accepted the role of children's hero Hopalong Cassidy that he voluntarily changed his ways. When Boyd began playing the role, he changed the cowboy from a drinking, smoking, gambling, swearing gunslinger to a respectable hero who never swore, never drank, never smoked, and never started the fight. He also made some personal decisions as well. He figured if his character didn’t do any of these things, than he shouldn’t either.

Before becoming Hoppy, everything was working out fantastically for Bill until another actor who went by the name William Boyd entered the Hollywood scene and almost cost Bill his good name and image. This William Boyd was a mean drunk who liked to pick fights and was constantly in trouble for his quarrelsome behavior. Neither of the Boyd’s agreed to change their name, even though the press confused the two on a regular basis. Finally, to alleviate some of the confusion, Bill was listed as William “Bill” Boyd and the other was listed as William “Stage” Boyd, because he got his big break as a stage actor performing in New York.

One day newspapers across the country released a news article stating that William H. Boyd was charged with drug and alcohol possession, gambling equipment, and pornography. Since this occurred during the time of prohibition, alcohol was an illegal substance, as were roulette wheels, and any other gambling devices. The papers claimed that L.A. police raided the actor’s home during a night while he was throwing a wild party. One newspaper even reported that when Boyd answered the door he knocked the lead officer right to the ground. Men and women in attendance scattered throughout the house in an attempt to escape charges. Police were not concerned with those fleeing out windows and back doors, but they did arrest “Stage” Boyd, Pat O’Brian, an actor who frequently played the role of priests, and Walter Catlett, an actor who usually portrayed snobbish types. Needless to say, newspapers raced to the opportunity to expose Boyd’s naughty doings. Unfortunately for William “Bill” Boyd, they ran his picture by mistake with the headline, “Bill Boyd Held For Gambling” underneath. The mistake nearly cost Hoppy his career, not to mention his heroic reputation.