R.I.P. The Life and Death of William Boyd! HOPALONG CASSIDY! Hero! Icon! Multi-Millionaire!
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- A WORD ON WESTERN’s Exclusive Salute to William Boyd, born June 5, 1895. Bill Boyd’s identification with fictional cowboy hero Hopalong Cassidy made him rich. After starring in 66 Hoppy movies from 1935 to 1948, Boyd, and his fifth wife, Grace, risked everything they had to buy the rights to the character. With the end of B westerns looming, he was advised against it.
Born in Ohio but raised in Oklahoma, Boyd’s father died when he was 12 and he quit school, ultimately heading west and stardom in silent films. He had a penchant for drinking, womanizing, and gambling. William Boyd’s career had almost been ruined in the early 1930s when his photo was wrongly plastered on the front page of newspapers with headlines of being arrested for a wild Malibu party.
What happened to change his luck? What made him one of the most popular western film stars? How did he become the hero to millions of fans all over the world?
William Boyd’s Hopalong Cassidy is still finding new fans. Learn more about his life and career in this special birthday edition of A WORD ON WESTERNS.
I remember watching reruns of his television shows every Sunday morning in the early to mid 70’s. I looked forward to them. Rob, can you imagine television shows today ending with a moral note to children? Oh how this country might have been better without the moral decay we have today.
I second that Greg .
I still watch hoppy on fire stick
Most or all of hismovie and TV show is on DvD. Thanks to my good friend Ray in England, I'll become one of his newest fans 50 years after his passing.
@@carlevans5760 welcome to family, Carl!
@@gregdavis19 Thank you Greg. I'm a lifelong Westerns fan, can never get my fill.
Also, I grew up with a Greg Davis as a neighbor back so long ago in Kingsville.
I was a Hopalong Cassidy kid. I read my pledge daily. I also got to meet him in Detroit in about 1948. He gave me a lasso but i could never get it to unfurl and catch the fence post.
In 1950, i was 4 yrs old and diagnosed with Rheumatic Fever. My mothers aunt had another niece who lived not far from Hoppy in CA who contacted him and told him of my admiration. He wrote me and sent cards to me for over 3 years and sent me an autographed picture of him on Topper with a coin with his image on it.
I'm 76 and still have my Hoppy picture and coin. Besides my Dad, he will always be my hero.
Hoppy cautioning kids to get lotsa sleep in the 1950s.
Fast forward to today, and it's say no to drugs, don't graffiti the neighbor's garage, don't get tattooed before age twelve and don't use a lawful police shooting as an excuse to loot the local Walmart.
Great follow up to Friday's Hoppy double feature. Thoroughly enjoyed this. Thank you!
Was William Boyd Hoppy or was Hopalong Cassidy Boyd. It is hard to discern the difference? Thanks AWOW!
Really floored me to hear this Hollywood star telling youngsters to be proud to be an American. We sure don’t hear that anymore. This is why so many of us love Westerns. Yearning for the good ol days.
If nothing else? THAT made me tear up a bit. ;-))
I was an Army pilot in “West” Germany when I heard Hoppy had died. This combat vet grieved the loss of one of my heroes. I always tried to be as good as Hoppy. He had a huge impact on a lot of us young cowboys.
It sure did, Capt. Thanks.
I remember when I heard Audie Murphy died in that plane crash. I was 5 at the time, but already knew who he was. I cried sitting on the front porch. The same thing in 1979-when i heard Duke had passed away.
I was stationed in "West" Germany too about that time. I remember when William "Hopalong Cassidy" Boyd died too.
This stirred emotions in me a 72 year old man
Looking up at my two original Hoppy lunch boxes with a tear in my eye, Thanks ,Rob
A great one, Rob! When I was a boy in the early ‘50s , Hopalong was my hero. I had the boots and other gear, plus a Hopalong wristwatch (which I still have! ) When he came to Miami, Fl., where I lived, my father and I stood in the hot Sun for a couple of hours along Biscayne Blvd. to meet him. What a thrill “for a little cowpoke”!! Wm. Boyd was a great guy. GB , Class of ‘70, SU.
I've STILL got my original Hoppy wrist watch, too, Glenn. That's it in the collection of stuff on my desk in the video. Treasures!
MY HERO TOO CLASS OF64
I was born in 1965, so I missed the whole Hopalong Cassidy phenomena, and I only discovered him as an adult western fan searching for vintage movies. Still, I became a fan almost as soon as I watched my first Hoppy movie. I got myself a few dvd collections of his movies and tv shows, started to collect his comic book series (both the Fawcett and DC runs), and when I'll grab any collectibles when I find them. Thanks for this documentary Rob. I hope to see one on Tex Ritter one day. He's another of my favorites!
Me too
There's a few DvD sets of some of his if not all of his Westerns and TV shows. After binge watching Barney Miller, I'll be watching Hoppe. ;-))
@@carlevans5760 I love and binge watch "Barney Miller" too.
@@williambilyeu9801 Thank you, I do as well. Next is the 8? seasons of Colombo.
@@carlevans5760 Just did that.
Rob I seen where Bo Hopkins passed away, it's sad I enjoyed the interviews you done with him and I always enjoyed his work.
I had no idea
I thoroughly enjoyed Boo as McQueen called him in everything he did
So sad
@@ryancarroll3961 I hadn't known of that sad news. May he Rest in Peace. The most memorable movie I remember him in, was The Wild Bunch.
Hoppy stood right up there with Roy Rogers as my top Role Models and heroes in the 50's. Sure do wish they made family friendly, good morals shows like those again for kids to look up to real heroes. 👍👍 & 5⭐
I currently forget which Western star had a list of rules to live by? but he was correct. I do remember Roy Rogers had a prayer of sort. It went: "Lord, I reckon I'm not much myself, I fail to do a lot of things I ought to do. But Lord, when trails are steep and passes high, help me ride it straight the whole way through. And when in the falling dusk I get that final call, I do not care how many flowers they send. Above all else, the happiest trail would be for yo to say to me, "Let's ride, my friend" Amen.
There were several great role models in the old television westerns. I think my favorite was the Lone Ranger, but there were so many. I wonder if Hopalong Cassidy and his closing moral messages didn't have a great influence on me too. I know my father was a great role model. (Nice to encounter you again Odee after the meeting on "The Larry Elder Show.")
@@williambilyeu9801 yup. Lucas McCain, George Reeves and many many Clayton Moore's
In the early 50's it was one of the few western on TV. I loved Hopalong and tried not to miss a show. Years ago when I went to the Alabama hills it brought back memories of all those shows and a tear to my eyes which the wife could not understand as she could not see what I saw in those boluders and mountains. Great show again Rob.
I didn't dare miss an episode of Hoppy the early 50's. Still get to watch a few episodes on Pluto TV once in a while. In one episode, I learned how he got his Hoppy nickname. It was after a leg injury when he was hobbling around.
Yep, SS. Boyd only limped in the very first film.
Thank you for an excellent production, Mr. Word. My fond childhood memories of watching Hoppy on TV back in the 50s rival my fond childhood memories of watching John Wayne's B-westerns with my Dad back then.
Duke will always be my number 1. There's so many greats out there that they all fit into the 2 slot ;-))
Very well done! Enjoyed this. Thank you for sharing. Happy Birthday William "Hopalong Cassidy" Boyd!
Glad you enjoyed it, Elizabeth. Thanks.
Thank you Word i didn't know this about Hoppy. He was a hell of a good guy. A real child's actor. Very funny man. I didn't know about two Willam Boyds. Thanx Word you amaze me. With things I never knew.
Thanks, Mark. Glad you're enjoying the work we do for the genre.
I wasn’t aware of Hopalong Cassidy until the watching his show on the Westerns channel . But what wonderful treat it was .
Rob another in a long line of great retrospectives of old Hollywood including the silent era. Your documentation and interviews with these older movie stars and such is a chance for all of us to appreciate our youthful memories or preserve them for younger people so that at least the appreciation can be preserved.
Thanks, rich. I'm doing my best to keep the flow of western film history going.
There's a sense of reverence when Rob talks about William "Hoppy" Boyd, and it shows in this, too. 👍
Rob, this is an excellent interview. Thanks!
Hopalong Cassidy, the Cisco Kid, and Roy Rogers -- a trio of Western movie, radio, & TV characters who certainly livened my childhood.
I enjoyed them all and the Lone Ranger. They were great role models.
At my age I do remember watching all of those great Saturday morning westerns such as Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Roy Rodgers, and even Sky King. This episode of WoW brought back many of those fond memories. May I make a program suggestion? I recently watched an old "The Gambler" episode with Reba MacEntire. Maybe it would be interesting to hear about working with so many TV western stars, such as Hugh O'Brian, Chuck Conners, James Dury, and others playing their iconic characters?
Thanks for the suggestion, Jon. Reba's done a couple of westerns.
Thank you Rob for this background info on William Boyd. He overcame a lot of setbacks in his life… his infectious laugh clues me he wasn’t melancholic over them. Interesting he filmed w/Clark Gable… only film I know of Clark Gable is Gone With the Wind… rerun in 1967 in my local small theatre in Kansas. I was a junior in high school and my cousin took me because I’d just read the book for my classic book report in Literature. I especially like watching the old films, we didn’t have TV in my growing up years in ‘50-‘60’s, only went occasionally to theatre. William Boyd was a man of vision to be an example of good morals to children as Hoppy. It shows in his talks at the end of his shows. Parkinson’s is a hard disease to live with, understandable he didn’t go in public, he had become a hero in children’s minds. Stayed true to the image he’d made. Even in this 70’s year old gal watching old reruns. 🤠
Thank you for your thoughts, Sue. Glad you're able to catch up on viewing these days.
I became a fan of Clark Gable watching many of his films. I still think that he did the best version of "The Call of the Wild."
Now at 74 I remember hoppy`s half hour tv show and to my amazement was able to buy the entire series on disc from Walmart . GOD BLESS his memory .
I have those as well.
Very nicely put together! I knew about the mistaken identity thing which is not as uncommon as one would hope, and really can mess up peoples' lives. And newspapers never were (and especially in years past) real big on retractions. A front page scandal might be followed a few days later with a one-line apology buried on page 36. I wonder what alerted Boyd to the value of marketing his character. People just weren't thinking about things like that at the time. Even in the '60s, Epstein made crazy bad deals for The Beatles. But that was England. Roy Rogers turned his name into an empire, but could have profited a whole lot more with the right legal team. Thanks, Rob, for a very interesting look at an American legend!
Thanks Rob for remembering such an important part of our lives back in the fifties. He told you to obey your parents and brush your teeth. You could use role models for kids like that today. God bless Hoppy.
I enjoyed the message of being proud to be an American from the last double feature. I wonder if those epilogue messages didn't have a great influence on me later in life. My father was probably the greatest influence, but so were many of my western heroes like Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, and the Lone Ranger. They were great role models.
When I was a young boy I was a huge fan of Hopalong Cassidy and had play toys of Hoppy and horse Topper. The biggest thrill for me was seeing him in person. He was appearing at the Michigan State Fair I believe or perhaps Ringling Bros. Circus, I can’t recall. They had a big top set up and we were in the stands when they announced Hopalong Cassidy and his horse Topper. The spotlight lit up a corner of the big top and in he rode all dressed in black and on the big white stallion. He doffed his hat to the crowd and rode around the ring to cheers and applause. That was 70 years ago but I’ve never forgotten that moment in my young life when I actually saw my hero in person.
Great tribute!
Holy Mackel ! Looks like Hoppy discovered Monument Valley before Ford did.
I was a bit too young to watch Hoppy often on TV but his voice and face I’ll never forget!
When I got seriously into Westerns, around the summer of 2020, I made it my mission to watch as many of these Hopalong Cassidy films as I could find. And to my surprise, I found them all! They're right here on RUclips, and I couldn't have been happier to have seen them. The series as a whole had its ups and downs, as all film series do, but it remained fun and entertaining until the very end. As far as B Westerns go, Hopalong Cassidy is the cream of the crop.
If you collect DvDs? As far as I know, they're all on DvDs. I have his Movies and TV show on them to binge watch with my new bride who is Brazilian and also grew up on Westerns.
I bought a “complete set “ all his movies [ some 50+] at a Walmart, 3(?) years ago.
$40.oo
📻🙂
I have never heard of Hopalong Cassidy till i found the chanel of Mr. Word. Hoppy became one of my favorite cowboys. Grest actor and a great man. Thank you Mr. Word and greetings from germany. 💖
Great memories from a great actor at a time that fulfilled a demand of entertainment relief for so many.
And there was Edgar Buchanan, DDS! I remember him removing all those tonsils in "Cheaper by the Dozen" and in so many other great performances.
What a great show hoppy and tropper, like Roy Rogers and trigger, there Will never be some like Them again, thanks lord Rob Word of Word on Westerns laird of Word manor your friend tom now and always 🤩 🤩 USA 😎
I especially like the 1935-40 Hoppy movies with Gabby and I watch them over and over to this day. Gabby, THE best side kick ever. What a mistake it was to lose him to Roy over money.
That he was, and so was Al St. John.
What a great video. What history!
Robert Mitchum wow!
I didn’t know that.
What a Classic Character
My grandmother sent me a Hopalong Cassidy wrist watch for Christmas when I was 6yrs old! I loved it and I wish I still had it! I'm now 70 and I still wish I had it! Hoppy was my hero! RIP! Hoppy!
Thanks, Margaret.
Hoppie,Roy,Gene and Cisco. MY favorites.
Loved the chemistry between (Gabby Hayes/Hoppy/whom ever was third lead)...seemed like the jokes they played on each other while filming were genuine and the laughter (Boyd's) in the background were left in the scenes.
Thank you for a comprehensive history of Hopalong Cassidy. I almost forgot about him. I'm glad that his career had a second chance.
Many thanks, Rob. I grew up watching Boyd's TV program in the 1950s. Memorable with above average scripting, acting and direction, and very much a product of the period. I appreciate your exploration into his backstory. Many thanks again.
Thanks, Arline. His was an amazing story.
@@AWordonWesterns It truly was. And he had an impact on a whole generation of children, while also successfully entertaining many adults. His TV program, however, was very much a product of that period and reflects much of the industry and also that of the nation. Many thanks again for your work. P.S. Hoppy (and Roy/Dale) had the most beautiful horses too! As a city child I was mesmerized by horses, which is why I initially fell in love with the Western genre. Giddyap!
Wow! If William Boyd was still alive, I think he'd be celebrating his 127th birthday.
I've been waiting in anticipation to watch this episode Rob.
Thankyou Rob for the tireless work you continue to do, which allows us all to appreciate western films & the people that collaborated to make them.
Kind regards from Adelaide, South Australia.
Thanks, Sammy. How could I not celebrate our western heroes? I’m still watching them all!
@@AWordonWesterns Firstly Rib, my apologies, I think our William Boyd would have been 137 years today.
And yes Rob, You certainly did justice to Hoppy's birthday.
This episode was produced exceotionally well.
What a wonderful tribute not only to William Boyd, but so many other screen legends.
As I watch certain westerns after they have been colourised &/ digitally enhanced, I feel like I'm watching them for the first time. You get to see things that you may have missed when the film was blurry.
Thank you for your tireless efforts Rob.
Kind regards
@@sammychicken3457 Thanks.
Growing up in Fresno CA, I saw Hoppy's face every time I had cereal for breakfast: the.milk from Producer's Dairy was reputed to be "Hoppy's favorite."
“Hoppyland” (1951-1954) 80 acre amusement park may have served as inspiration for “Disneyland!”
This Cowboy business is pretty rough and tumble. Enjoyed the stories. Thank you!
I saw Hoppy in a tent show as a kid, I was in heaven, as he was my hero. Great role model for a 5 year old.
Wow. Lucky you, Ben. Nice memories.
I wish Hoppy was around today he could give those moral clauses I wish those were shown on TV today Everyone Needs those and need God and Jesus Christ and the sooner the better!!😇🙏🥰😉
I loved watching "Hoppy" as a kid on TV. We all accepted his white hair, black outfit and white horse. He was likeable and a hero.
Producers milk was Hoppys favorites, never forget looking at him on the milk carton as a little guy, those were the days
Hoppy was my favorite western hero when I was a boy. I had Hoppy toys and watched his TV show in the Fifties. I watched many of his Hopalong Cassidy movies when they were shown as Saturday Matinee features. It seemed to me that Hopalong Cassidy made it possible for Roy Rogers and Gene Autry to become the stars they were. This tribute to Hoppy was most enjoyable. I didn’t remember that William Boyd had Parkinson’s Disease. Thanks Rob for bringing back memories of when I watched Saturday morning and Sunday movie westerns.
thanks, Richard.
Yeah that brings back some good memories from the 50’s for me also. I have all of his movies now and still watch them! What a good man!
My father who is now 86 will bring up Hopalong when ever everybody's talking movies and point out the biggest star of his childhood was. Thanks for another good show Rob. T.C.B.
Thanks, Eric. Kind regards to your father. Hope you showed him this episode about Bill Boyd.
In todays messed up world, being involved in a scandal and speaking out on how bad America is seems to make an actor more popular, a sad commentary on how the country has changed
Rob, sure glad you featured Hoppy! One of the best of the Cowboy stars. He was a role model for millions of kids. He knew that fact and took extra care to live a moral life. Our stars today could learn from him. I once saw a film of him making train stops across the country. Thousands of children showed up to say hello to their faithful partner. I still enjoy watching his moves. Thanks again Partner for your great work!
Another splendid retrospective on a true western icon. Thanks so much Rob!
Yep, a terrific actor and classic cowboy star. Got one of his watches, too.
This is really good. Thank you Rob 👍🏻😎
Happy Birthday William Boyd!🎂
And thank you Mr. Word!
Dennis Weaver hosted an Hoppy special.He even interviewed Grace.That one told about Dorothy L'Amour son being in acoma.Boyd ran into her mother and asked about her grandson.Hearing he worshipped Hoppy,he did a wonderful thing.He went to the hospital as Hoppy and the kid ca.e out of his coma.
I still have my lunch box/thermos along with Hoppy TV action books. We would mark the TV guide when it came in the mail so we didn’t miss the shows.
My grandma took me to the Saint Patrick's day parade in San Francisco when I was only four years old. I was a sickly asmatic child who listened to Hopalong Cassidy's radio show. Hopalong Cassidy came riding up on Topper throwing out those coins with his image on them. He saw me rode up and handed me one of those coins. I think I still have that coin in my collection. I'm a black native American born in California. I'll be eighty years old this August.
Hoppy passed away on my 25th Birthday. I was stationed in Misawa, Japan, with the U.S. Air Force. Never missed a Hoppy show. I'll be 75 come this Sept 12, 2022.
Early Hoppy birthday, Rich.
I had Hoppy six guns and hat when I was a little kid.
That was the best profile on a star I've seen. LOVE Hopalong Cassidy.
Thanks, TI!
Great documentary, very clear and no dreadful background noise as in other documentaries.
Thanks, Ed. We are pretty picky here. Hoppy Halloween!
Saturday afternoon with Hopalong at the old Princess theatre matinee
About thirty years ago my friend went to I believe the Gene Autry museum and got to take close up photos of Hoppy’s Colts. He then had our friend Frank Leaman engrave a pair of Colts identical to them. He even included a couple mistakes. Grips were ivory with medallions. I’m not sure, but I think one gun was .45 and the other .44-40. Both using the same 1 in 5 blanks. I made him a two gun rig for them. He dressed as Hoppy at re-enactments and shooting matches for years.
Cool, Johnny. Thanks
I got all 66 movies and the TV series. Wonderful pictures.
I watched his tv show in the '50's. One of my heroes! God bless you pardner!
I’m 75 so I remember the original tv shows.
another video on Hopalong Cassidy said his outfit was blue but photographed as black in black and white.
I remember him when I was a little boy I loved his laugh it might have been put on but it was so good he was a nice looking man nothing I really like the bottom he didn't go after the girls and up when I was 8 years old I met him at goldblatt's opened up in Chicago on Madison Street he was there with his horse I believe and I got to shake his hand he seemed like a tall man course I was a little kid so anybody taller than me but he had that laugh and I said something to him and he started laughing and he shook my hand and I don't know what he said to me but it really made me feel good
I got hooked on Hopalong around 2010....the Western-Channel/TCM/Dennis Weaver doc., brought new fans to Hoppy/and gang to a new generation.
Born in 1970 ,I missed out growing up with Hopalong Cassidy. 53 now, and having Internet now to search these great older Westerns on RUclips it has been a pleasure catching up on ALL I've missed. Watched reruns of The Lone Ranger ,The Cisco Kid , Roy Rogers and the like . Bonanza and Gunsmoke could be found on several channels in my youth . I really appreciate you sharing the life of William Boyd "Hoppy" Hopalong Cassidy ❤ Thanks, Mr. Word
Thanks, doc
Good show/Thanx, Rob...!
I remember watching these when I was a child. I’m 75 so it was long ago.
Rob, enjoyed seeing the Hoppy video !👍👍
I just happened up on his movies recently on Pluto tv and I Love Hoppy!!! I’ve been binge watching his movies!! They are so sweet and make you want to be good. Thanks for this wonderful interview Rob!!!👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thanks, Diane.
A great retrospective, Rob! I am a student and writer of history and I love learning new things. I always seem to learn new things listening to and watching your program. I do remember William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy and I knew much of this already. I liked the photos of Grace and felt a little "lust at first sight" myself. I knew a lot about his earlier career, especially with Cecil B. DeMille, but you add to things even in your introductions and replies to viewer's comments. Thank you so much. (By the way, I encountered a comment from Odee Dillon on "The Larry Elder Show" and I have mentioned your program in my comments there.)👍
Thanks, Bill. It all helps grow the appreciation for fans of westerns.
Hoppy was more my big brothers hero. I was was a Roy and Dale girl. One thing I did notice, after I grew up, watching old reruns was he was a very good looking man! Could be why he was married 5 times.
Hmmmm. Well, kathy, he struck gold when he married Grace.
OMG, OMG! For a child of the 50's, Hoppy was the #1 hero of the day. He was like a 2nd dad to us kids. Like many others, I had my cap guns and also my Annie Oakley fringed skirt and vest. We used to play bad guys, all of us boys and girls together, trading characters. I have all the Hoppy movies and still watch them today. I bought all the happy books and read them through! There was just something about this character and this man that instilled pride in us and a want to do good. Thank you for sharing this with us!!
Thanks, Mary. Glad you enjoyed it.
My favorite western films Hopelong Cassidy . My mom brought me the lunch box with thermo . I watch every week 1960’s . Memories that live in my heart and mind . I love cinema .
Thanks, Lou
I met him in the 50s when I was a little boy in LA nice guy
I still have my Hopalong Viewmaster. Thank you Rob for this beautiful production
I've got one, too, Kit!
Love the man........
While I would truly love to see the character of Hopalong Cassidy revived for a new generation, because we truly need the morals and principles he embodied, I can’t see anybody doing it better than Willian Boyd.
I agree, Nelson.
Terrific! 👏👏👏
Love Hoopy ❤️🙏
When I was a kid, you couldn’t get me to watch 3 minutes of a Western. I just couldn’t stand them. Now, I own dozens of them, AND, 16 Western TV shows.
[ I have 7 William Boyd movies, including Yankee Clipper ( a favorite of mine), and 6 “Hoppys”.]
📻🙂
Thanks for this video i learned many things about Mr W Boyd and the movies 🙏
Glad you enjoyed it!
My brother and I met Hoppie at the opening of the Bar 20 dairy in Fresno California in either 1958 or 1959. What a treasure it was to meet our cowboy hero so very kind to all of the kids that surrounded him that day. Will never forget that day. Thank you for sharing this.
he was a dream
Just saw this one. I have a great friend who lives in England-Ray. He grew up watching Hopalong Cassidy as well as Randolph Scott. Towards the end of this video-the part with another actor with Edgar Buchannan, I don't remember that actor's name? but he was in the first episode of Gunsmoke as a gunslinger. Sadly, I have never seen him as Hoppy on the big or little screen. However, I have his collections of TV shows and Hoppy Westerns on DvD's. Being I am still categorizing my DvD collection--I am looking forward to experiencing Hoppy as a newish found fan. Thanks again for your wonderful work Rob.
I only knew of Hopalong Cassidy because he promoted Mars Spangles! I later learned that this played badly with Mars (who were always very tight fisted with advertising budgets), with Forrest Mars commenting that 'he should have paid us'!
I knew of Hoppy from the early '70s. I didn't see any of his movies or TV shows until much later. I knew him from a series of commercials he did for Producer's Milk. It was Hoppy's favorite.
Great memories for this 73 yearold.
Whatta honey of a guy. Thanks.