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Notable people · Actor · Television Pioneer

William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy)

Raised in Cambridge, Boyd became a silent-film star and then the screen's Hopalong Cassidy. In 1948 he bought the film rights and took the films to NBC, making him one of television's first national stars.

William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy)
Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born
1895-06-05
Died
1972-09-12
Known as
Actor, Television Pioneer
Organizations
NBC, Hopalong Cassidy Enterprises

Life story

William Boyd was born in Hendrysburg, Ohio, in 1895 and grew up in Cambridge and then Tulsa, Oklahoma (1909-1913). After his father, a day laborer, died he went to California and worked odd jobs before acting.

He became a silent-film matinee idol in the 1920s, then lost his RKO contract in 1931 when a newspaper ran his photo in a story about a different William 'Stage' Boyd arrested on gambling charges. In 1935 he won the lead in Hop-Along Cassidy and turned the rough pulp character into a clean-living hero.

When the producer gave up the series, Boyd sold or mortgaged almost everything to buy the films and rights for $350,000. In 1948 he took a print to NBC, and the response made him one of television's first national stars, with a merchandise business of watches, comics and cowboy outfits. He died in 1972 and is buried at Forest Lawn in Glendale.

Timeline

  • 1895-06-05: Born in Hendrysburg (Hendrysburg, OH) source
  • 1909: Lives in Tulsa (to 1913) (Tulsa, OK) source
  • 1925: Breakout role in The Road to Yesterday source
  • 1931: RKO ends contract after the mistaken-identity newspaper photo source
  • 1935: Wins title role in Hop-Along Cassidy source
  • 1948: Brings Cassidy films to NBC (New York, NY) source
  • 1972-09-12: Dies in Laguna Beach (Laguna Beach, CA) source

What William is known for

  • Played Hopalong Cassidy in 66 films
  • Bought the Hopalong Cassidy film library and brought it to early television (1948)
  • Hopalong Cassidy film series (66 films)

Honors and things named for them

  • Hollywood Walk of Fame star, 1734 Vine Street
  • Western Performers Hall of Fame (1995)

Family

  • wife: Grace Bradley

Ohio places

Where William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy) was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.

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