Actor. Born William Lawrence Boyd, he is most fondly remembered for his role of 'Hopalong Cassidy' in numerous Western movies and the popular 1950s TV series "Hopalong Cassidy." In 1918, he arrived in Hollywood and became a full-fledged leading man during the silent film era. His best work from that period included many films for Cecil B. DeMille such as "Why Change Your Wife?" (1920), "The Temple of Venus" (1923), "The Midshipman" (1925) and "The Volga Boatman" (1926). In 1935, Paramount Pictures offered him the lead role in the film "Hopalong Cassidy," which became an instant success and by 1948, he reprised his Hoppy character in over 60 films. In 1950, the Hopalong Cassidy films, which were owned by Paramount, became a TV network broadcast over NBC. For four seasons (1950 to 1954), there were 104 half-hour Hoppy adventures. The end result of all this air-time was that Boyd and the Hoppy character were more popular than ever. In addition to TV, Boyd did circuses, rodeos, parades, personal appearance tours and he brought the Hoppy series to radio. He opened up his own Hoppyland theme park and a merchandising company which sold Hoppy hats, gun belts, lunch buckets and clothing. He also had a series of Hoppy comic books and was on the covers of "TV Guide," "Look" and "Life" magazines. He retired in the mid-1950s, but still made several cameo appearances as the Cassidy character in later years. For his contributions to motion pictures, he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 1734 Vine St. In 1995, he was posthumously inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Actor. Born William Lawrence Boyd, he is most fondly remembered for his role of 'Hopalong Cassidy' in numerous Western movies and the popular 1950s TV series "Hopalong Cassidy." In 1918, he arrived in Hollywood and became a full-fledged leading man during the silent film era. His best work from that period included many films for Cecil B. DeMille such as "Why Change Your Wife?" (1920), "The Temple of Venus" (1923), "The Midshipman" (1925) and "The Volga Boatman" (1926). In 1935, Paramount Pictures offered him the lead role in the film "Hopalong Cassidy," which became an instant success and by 1948, he reprised his Hoppy character in over 60 films. In 1950, the Hopalong Cassidy films, which were owned by Paramount, became a TV network broadcast over NBC. For four seasons (1950 to 1954), there were 104 half-hour Hoppy adventures. The end result of all this air-time was that Boyd and the Hoppy character were more popular than ever. In addition to TV, Boyd did circuses, rodeos, parades, personal appearance tours and he brought the Hoppy series to radio. He opened up his own Hoppyland theme park and a merchandising company which sold Hoppy hats, gun belts, lunch buckets and clothing. He also had a series of Hoppy comic books and was on the covers of "TV Guide," "Look" and "Life" magazines. He retired in the mid-1950s, but still made several cameo appearances as the Cassidy character in later years. For his contributions to motion pictures, he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 1734 Vine St. In 1995, he was posthumously inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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"Hopalong Cassidy"
