William Boyd
Acting
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
Acting145
movieGolden Saddles, Silver Spurs
2000
(archive footage)
Television: The First Fifty Years
1999
Hopalong Cassidy (archive footage)
movieRobert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star
1991
Self (archive footage)
movieGoing Hollywood: The '30s
1984
(archive footage)
tvWestern von gestern
1978
Bill Holbrook (archive footage)
movieMeanwhile, Back at the Ranch
1976
(archive footage)
movieIt's Showtime
1976
Self (archive footage)
movieThe Movie Orgy
1968
Hopalong Cassidy (archive footage)
Little Smokey
1953
Hopalong Cassidy
tvHopalong Cassidy
1952
Hopalong Cassidy
movieThe Greatest Show on Earth
1952
Hopalong Cassidy (uncredited)
movieStrange Gamble
1948
Hopalong Cassidy
movieFalse Paradise
1948
William "Hopalong" Cassidy
movieBorrowed Trouble
1948
Hopalong Cassidy
movieSinister Journey
1948
Hopalong Cassidy
movieThe Dead Don't Dream
1948
Hopalong Cassidy
movieSilent Conflict
1948
Hopalong Cassidy
movieHoppy's Holiday
1947
Hopalong Cassidy
movieThe Marauders
1947
Hopalong Cassidy
movieDangerous Venture
1947
Hopalong Cassidy
movieUnexpected Guest
1947
Hopalong Cassidy
movieThe Devil's Playground
1946
Hopalong Cassidy
movieFool's Gold
1946
Hopalong Cassidy
movieForty Thieves
1944
Hopalong Cassidy
movieMystery Man
1944
Hopalong Cassidy
movieLumberjack
1944
Hopalong Cassidy
movieTexas Masquerade
1944
Hopalong Cassidy
movieRiders of the Deadline
1943
Ranger William "Hopalong" Cassidy
movieFalse Colors
1943
Hopalong Cassidy
movieBar 20
1943
Hopalong Cassidy
movieColt Comrades
1943
Hopalong Cassidy
movieLeather Burners
1943
Hopalong Cassidy
movieBorder Patrol
1943
Hopalong Cassidy
movieHoppy Serves a Writ
1943
Hopalong Cassidy
movieLost Canyon
1942
Hopalong Cassidy
movieUndercover Man
1942
Hopalong Cassidy
movieSecret of the Wastelands
1941
Hopalong Cassidy
movieOutlaws of the Desert
1941
Hopalong Cassidy
movieTwilight on the Trail
1941
Hopalong Cassidy
movieRiders of the Timberline
1941
Hopalong Cassidy
movieStick to Your Guns
1941
Hopalong Cassidy
movieWide Open Town
1941
Hopalong Cassidy
moviePirates on Horseback
1941
Hopalong Cassidy
movieBorder Vigilantes
1941
Hopalong Cassidy
movieIn Old Colorado
1941
Hopalong Cassidy
movieDoomed Caravan
1941
Hopalong Cassidy
movieThree Men from Texas
1940
Hopalong Cassidy
movieStagecoach War
1940
Hopalong Cassidy
movieHidden Gold
1940
Hopalong Cassidy
movieThe Showdown
1940
Hopalong Cassidy
movieSanta Fe Marshal
1940
Hopalong Cassidy
movieLaw of the Pampas
1939
Hopalong Cassidy
movieRange War
1939
Hopalong Cassidy
movieRenegade Trail
1939
Hopalong Cassidy
movieLand of Liberty
1939
(archive footage)
movieSilver on the Sage
1939
Hopalong Cassidy
movieSunset Trail
1939
Hopalong Cassidy
movieThe Frontiersmen
1938
Hopalong Cassidy
movieIn Old Mexico
1938
Hopalong Cassidy
moviePride of the West
1938
Hopalong Cassidy
movieBar 20 Justice
1938
Hopalong Cassidy
movieHeart of Arizona
1938
Hopalong Cassidy
movieCassidy of Bar 20
1938
Hopalong Cassidy
moviePartners of the Plains
1938
Hopalong Cassidy
movieTexas Trail
1937
Hopalong Cassidy
movieHopalong Rides Again
1937
Hopalong Cassidy
movieRustlers' Valley
1937
Hopalong Cassidy
movieNorth of the Rio Grande
1937
Hopalong Cassidy
movieHills of Old Wyoming
1937
Hopalong Cassidy
movieBorderland
1937
Hopalong Cassidy
movieTrail Dust
1936
Hopalong Cassidy
movieHopalong Cassidy Returns
1936
Hopalong Cassidy
movieGo-Get-'Em, Haines
1936
Steve Haines
movieBurning Gold
1936
Jim Thornton
movieThree on the Trail
1936
Hopalong Cassidy
movieFederal Agent
1936
Bob Woods
movieCall of the Prairie
1936
Hopalong Cassidy
movieHeart of the West
1936
Hopalong Cassidy
movieBar 20 Rides Again
1935
Hopalong Cassidy
movieRacing Luck
1935
Dan Morgan
movieThe Eagle's Brood
1935
Hopalong Cassidy
movieHop-a-long Cassidy
1935
Hopalong Cassidy
moviePort of Lost Dreams
1934
Lars Christensen
movieCheaters
1934
Steve Morris
movieEmergency Call
1933
Joe Bradley
movieLucky Devils
1933
Skipper Clark
movieMen Of America
1932
Jim Parker
movieFlaming Gold
1932
Dan Manton
movieCarnival Boat
1932
Buck Gannon
movieSuicide Fleet
1931
Baltimore
movieThe Big Gamble
1931
Alan Beckwith
movieBeyond Victory
1931
Bill Thatcher
movieThe Painted Desert
1931
Bill Holbrook
movieScreen Snapshots Series 10, No. 5
1930
William Boyd
movieOfficer O'Brien
1930
Bill O'Brien
movieHis First Command
1929
Terry Culver
movieThe Flying Fool
1929
Bill Taylor
movieThe Leatherneck
1929
William Calhoun
movieLady of the Pavements
1929
Karl Von Arnim
moviePower
1928
Husky
movieThe Cop
1928
Pete Smith
movieSkyscraper
1928
Blondy
movieThe Night Flyer
1928
Jimmy Bradley
movieDress Parade
1927
Vic Donovan
movieTwo Arabian Knights
1927
Daingerfield Phelps
movieThe Yankee Clipper
1927
Hal Winslow
movieThe King of Kings
1927
Simon Of Cyrene
movieJim the Conqueror
1926
Jim Burgess
movieHer Man o' War
1926
Jim Sanderson
movieThe Last Frontier
1926
Tom Kirby
movieEve's Leaves
1926
Bill Stanley
movieThe Road to Yesterday
1925
Jack Moreland
movieNew Lives for Old
1925
Soldier (uncredited)
movieForty Winks
1925
Lt. Gerald Hugh Butterworth
movieFeet of Clay
1924
Young Society Man (uncredited)
movieTarnish
1924
Bill
movieChanging Husbands
1924
Conrad Bardshaw
movieEnemies of Children
1923
Sidney Godfrey
movieThe Temple of Venus
1923
Stanley Dale
movieHollywood
1923
William Boyd
movieMichael O'Halloran
1923
Douglas Bruce
movieThe Young Rajah
1922
Stephen Van Kovert
movieManslaughter
1922
(uncredited)
movieOn the High Seas
1922
Dick Deveraux
movieNice People
1922
Oliver Comstock
movieMoran of the Lady Letty
1922
Ramon's Friend at Homecoming
movieSaturday Night
1922
Party Guest
movieBobbed Hair
1922
Dick Barton
movieExit the Vamp
1921
Robert Pitts
movieAfter the Show
1921
(uncredited)
movieMoonlight and Honeysuckle
1921
Robert V. Courtney
movieA Wise Fool
1921
Gerard Fynes
movieBrewster's Millions
1921
Harrison
movieThe Jucklins
1921
Dan Stuart
movieForbidden Fruit
1921
Billiards Player
movieA City Sparrow
1920
Hughie Ray
movieSomething to Think About
1920
(uncredited)
movieThe City of Masks
1920
Carpenter
movieThe Six Best Cellars
1920
Holsappel (uncredited)
movieOld Wives for New
1918
(uncredited)
Directing1
movieMen Of America
1932
Director
Production1
tvHopalong Cassidy
1952
Producer