Known For
Acting
Born
Jun 04, 1895
Died
Sep 12, 1972
Place of Birth
Hendrysburg, Ohio, USA
Credits
145 titles
William Boyd
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William Lawrence Boyd (June 5, 1895 – September 12, 1972) was an American film actor who is best known for portraying the cowboy hero Hopalong Cassidy. Boyd was born in Hendrysburg, Ohio, and reared in Cambridge, Ohio and Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was the son of a day laborer, Charles William Boyd, and his wife, the former Lida Wilkens (aka Lyda). Following his father's death, he moved to California and worked as an orange picker, surveyor, tool dresser and auto salesman. In Hollywood, he found work as an extra in Why Change Your Wife? and other films. During World War I, he enlisted in the army but was exempt from military service because of a "weak heart". More prominent film roles followed, including his breakout role as Jack Moreland in Cecil B. DeMille's The Road to Yesterday (1925) which starred also Joseph Schildkraut, Jetta Goudal, and Vera Reynolds. Boyd's performance in the film was praised by critics, while movie-goers were equally impressed by his easy charm, charisma, and intense good-looks. Due to Boyd's growing popularity, DeMille soon cast him as the leading man in the highly acclaimed silent drama film, The Volga Boatman. Boyd's role as Feodor blew critics away, and with Boyd now firmly established as a matinee idol and romantic leading man, he began earning an annual salary of $100,000. He acted in DeMille's extravaganza The King of Kings (in which he played Simon of Cyrene, helping Jesus carry the cross) and DeMille's Skyscraper (1928). He then appeared in D.W. Griffith's Lady of the Pavements (1929). Radio Pictures ended Boyd's contract in 1931 when his picture was mistakenly run in a newspaper story about the arrest of another actor, William "Stage" Boyd, on gambling and liquor charges. Although the newspaper apologized, explaining the mistake in the following day's newspaper, Boyd said, "The damage was already done." William "Stage" Boyd died in 1935, the same year William L. Boyd became Hopalong Cassidy, the role that led to his enduring fame. But at the time in 1931, Boyd was virtually broke and without a job, and for a few years he was credited in films as "Bill Boyd" to prevent being mistaken for the other William Boyd.
Known For
Filmography
Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs
(archive footage)
Television: The First Fifty Years
Hopalong Cassidy (archive footage)
Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star
Self (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
Western von gestern
Bill Holbrook (archive footage)
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
(archive footage)
It's Showtime
Self (archive footage)
The Movie Orgy
Hopalong Cassidy (archive footage)
Little Smokey
Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Cassidy
The Greatest Show on Earth
Hopalong Cassidy (uncredited)
Strange Gamble
Hopalong Cassidy
False Paradise
William "Hopalong" Cassidy
Borrowed Trouble
Hopalong Cassidy
Sinister Journey
Hopalong Cassidy
The Dead Don't Dream
Hopalong Cassidy
Silent Conflict
Hopalong Cassidy
Hoppy's Holiday
Hopalong Cassidy
The Marauders
Hopalong Cassidy
Dangerous Venture
Hopalong Cassidy
Unexpected Guest
Hopalong Cassidy
The Devil's Playground
Hopalong Cassidy
Fool's Gold
Hopalong Cassidy
Forty Thieves
Hopalong Cassidy
Mystery Man
Hopalong Cassidy
Lumberjack
Hopalong Cassidy
Texas Masquerade
Hopalong Cassidy
Riders of the Deadline
Ranger William "Hopalong" Cassidy
False Colors
Hopalong Cassidy
Bar 20
Hopalong Cassidy
Colt Comrades
Hopalong Cassidy
Leather Burners
Hopalong Cassidy
Border Patrol
Hopalong Cassidy
Hoppy Serves a Writ
Hopalong Cassidy
Lost Canyon
Hopalong Cassidy
Undercover Man
Hopalong Cassidy
Secret of the Wastelands
Hopalong Cassidy
Outlaws of the Desert
Hopalong Cassidy
Twilight on the Trail
Hopalong Cassidy
Stick to Your Guns
Hopalong Cassidy
Riders of the Timberline
Hopalong Cassidy
Wide Open Town
Hopalong Cassidy
Pirates on Horseback
Hopalong Cassidy
Border Vigilantes
Hopalong Cassidy
In Old Colorado
Hopalong Cassidy
Doomed Caravan
Hopalong Cassidy
Three Men from Texas
Hopalong Cassidy
Stagecoach War
Hopalong Cassidy
Hidden Gold
Hopalong Cassidy
The Showdown
Hopalong Cassidy