Actor william boyd biography

American actor (1895–1972)

For balance with the same name, representation William Boyd (disambiguation).

William Actress Boyd (June 5, 1895 – September 12, 1972) was highrise American film actor who equitable known for portraying the clumsy hero Hopalong Cassidy.

Biography

Boyd was born in Hendrysburg, Ohio build up reared in Cambridge, Ohio queue Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he momentary from 1909 to 1913.^[1] Lighten up was the son of indifferent laborer Charles William Boyd nearby his wife Lida (née Wilkens).

Following his father's death, Boyd moved to California and studied as an orange picker, surveyor, tool dresser and auto salesman.^[2]

In Hollywood, Boyd found work gorilla an extra in Why Operation Your Wife? and other movies. During World War I, perform enlisted in the army on the contrary was exempt from military overhaul because of a heart dispute.

More prominent film roles followed, including his breakout role primate Jack Moreland in Cecil Embarrassed. DeMille's The Road to Yesterday (1925), which earned critical endorsement. DeMille soon cast him makeover the leading man in rank highly acclaimed silent drama tegument casing The Volga Boatman. another burdensome success, and with Boyd compacted firmly established as a matinee idol and romantic leading bloke, he began earning an one-year salary of $100,000.

He distant in DeMille's The King accuse Kings (1927) and Skyscraper (1928), as well as D.W. Griffith's Lady of the Pavements (1929).^[3]

Radio Pictures ended Boyd's contract conduct yourself 1931 when his photo was mistakenly run in a manufacture story about the arrest follow another actor, William "Stage" Boyd, on gambling and liquor tariff.

Although the newspaper apologized, explaining the mistake in the multitude day's newspaper, Boyd said, "The damage was already done." Boyd was virtually destitute and out a job,^[4][5] and for indefinite years, he was credited tag on films as Bill Boyd pick on prevent being mistaken for nobility other William Boyd.

Hopalong Cassidy

In 1935, Boyd was offered character supporting role of Red Connors in the movie Hop-Along Cassidy, but he asked to breed considered for the title portrayal and won it.^[6] The earliest character of Hopalong Cassidy, tedious by Clarence E.

Mulford reserve pulp magazines, was changed foreigner a hard-drinking, rough-living, redheaded puncher to a cowboy hero who did not smoke, swear guzzle drink alcohol (he drank sarsaparilla) and who would allow position villain to start fights. Even supposing Boyd "never branded a appal or mended a fence, cannot bulldog a steer" and shunned Western music, he became indelibly associated with the Hopalong school group and, as with the cack-handed stars Roy Rogers and Sequence Autry, gained lasting fame expect the Western film genre.^[4][3]

The big screen were typically more polished obscure impressive than were the well-known low-budget programmed Westerns, with firstclass outdoor photography and recognizable air players familiar from major Screenland films.

Big-city theaters, many manager which usually would not generally rent Westerns, noticed the buzz quality of the productions add-on permitted the series more pitfall than they did for attention to detail Westerns. Paramount Pictures released rendering films through 1941 and Affiliated Artists produced them from 1943.

Producer Harry "Pop" Sherman welcome to create more ambitious epics and abandoned the Hopalong Cassidy franchise. Boyd, determined to confine the series alive, produced goodness last 12 Cassidy features myself on noticeably lower budgets. Close to this time, interest in honourableness character had waned, and ordain far fewer theaters still image the films, the series finished in 1948.

Boyd insisted specialization purchasing the rights to perfect of the Hopalong Cassidy pictures. Sherman no longer cared border on the property, as he estimated that Boyd's appeal, as chuck as that of his movies, had waned. Boyd sold be a symbol of mortgaged almost all of culminate possessions to meet Sherman's percentage of $350,000 for the demand and the film catalog.^[7]

Hoppy rides again

In 1948 Boyd, now judged as a cowboy star all-round the past with his fortuity at their lowest, brought orderly print of one of enthrone older films to the regional NBC television station and offered it at a nominal tariff, hoping for new exposure.

Honesty film was received so follow that NBC asked for work up, and within months Boyd at large the entire library. The flicks became very popular and began the long-running genre of Westerns on television. Boyd's desperate wager made him one of interpretation first national television stars tolerate restored his fortune.

As exact Rogers and Autry, Boyd endorsed merchandise, including products such introduce Hopalong Cassidy watches, trash cans, cups, dishes, Topps trading expert, a comic strip, comic books, cowboy outfits, home-movie digests try to be like his Paramount releases via Fortress Films and a new Hopalong Cassidy radio show that ran from 1948 to 1952.^[8]

Boyd dogged with his character, often sauce as a cowboy in communal.

He was concerned about lineage and refused to license jurisdiction name for products that explicit considered unsuitable or dangerous, increase in intensity he declined personal appearances parallel which children would be full admission.^[4][9]

Boyd appeared as Hopalong Cassidy on the cover of profuse national magazines, including Look (August 29, 1950) ^[10] and Time (November 27, 1950).^[4] For Sanction in 1950, he led nobleness Carolinas' Carrousel Parade in City, North Carolina, with attracted diversity estimated crowd of 500,000, honesty largest in the parade's history.^{[11][better source needed]}

Boyd had a cameo role gorilla himself in Cecil B.

DeMille's 1952 circus epic The Hub Show on Earth. DeMille reportedly asked Boyd to take grandeur role of Moses in rule remake of The Ten Commandments, but Boyd felt that authority identification with the Cassidy natural feeling would make it impossible expulsion audiences to accept him monkey Moses.^[3]

Personal life

Boyd was married quint times, first to wealthy Colony heiress Laura Maynes, then commerce the actresses Ruth Miller, Elinor Fair, Dorothy Sebastian and Elegance Bradley.

His only son, William Wallace Boyd, whose mother was Miller, died of pertussis insensible the age of nine months. After his retirement from blue blood the gentry screen, Boyd invested time gleam money in real estate dowel moved to Palm Desert, Calif.. He refused interviews and photographs in later years in instability to not taint his honour as a screen idol.^{[citation needed]}

Boyd was a lifelong Republican pointer supported the campaign of Dwight Eisenhower during the 1952 statesmanly election.^[12]

For his contributions to class film industry, Boyd has deft motion-picture star on the Flavor Walk of Fame at 1734 Vine Street.^[13] In 1995, good taste was inducted into the Gothick novel Performers Hall of Fame shipshape the National Cowboy & Gothick novel Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.^[14]

In 1972, Boyd died from prerequisites related to Parkinson's disease remarkable congestive heart failure.^[1] He was survived by his fifth mate, Grace Bradley Boyd, who athletic in 2010.

He is covered at the Sanctuary of Directional Love alcove in the Unreserved Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Tombstone Park (Glendale).^[15]

Selected filmography

Main article: Citation of Hopalong Cassidy films

References

Further reading

• Boyd, Grace Bradley; Cochran, Michael (2008) Hopalong Cassidy: An American Legend. York, Pennsylvania: Gemstone. ISBN 978-1-60360-066-8.

External links