William Boyd
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- June 4, 1895
- Died
- September 12, 1972
- Birthplace
- Hendrysburg, Ohio, USA
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.
Filmography
Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs 2000
as (archive footage)
- Television: The First Fifty Years
Television: The First Fifty Years 1999
as Hopalong Cassidy (archive footage)
Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star 1991
as Self (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s 1984
as (archive footage)
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch 1976
as (archive footage)
It's Showtime 1976
as Self (archive footage)
The Movie Orgy 1968
as Hopalong Cassidy (archive footage)
- Little Smokey
Little Smokey 1953
as Hopalong Cassidy
The Greatest Show on Earth 1952
as Hopalong Cassidy (uncredited)
Strange Gamble 1948
as Hopalong Cassidy
False Paradise 1948
as William "Hopalong" Cassidy
Borrowed Trouble 1948
as Hopalong Cassidy
Sinister Journey 1948
as Hopalong Cassidy
The Dead Don't Dream 1948
as Hopalong Cassidy
Silent Conflict 1948
as Hopalong Cassidy
Hoppy's Holiday 1947
as Hopalong Cassidy
The Marauders 1947
as Hopalong Cassidy
Dangerous Venture 1947
as Hopalong Cassidy
Unexpected Guest 1947
as Hopalong Cassidy
The Devil's Playground 1946
as Hopalong Cassidy
Fool's Gold 1946
as Hopalong Cassidy
Forty Thieves 1944
as Hopalong Cassidy
Mystery Man 1944
as Hopalong Cassidy
Lumberjack 1944
as Hopalong Cassidy
Texas Masquerade 1944
as Hopalong Cassidy
Riders of the Deadline 1943
as Ranger William "Hopalong" Cassidy
False Colors 1943
as Hopalong Cassidy
Bar 20 1943
as Hopalong Cassidy
Colt Comrades 1943
as Hopalong Cassidy
Leather Burners 1943
as Hopalong Cassidy
Border Patrol 1943
as Hopalong Cassidy
Hoppy Serves a Writ 1943
as Hopalong Cassidy
Lost Canyon 1942
as Hopalong Cassidy
Undercover Man 1942
as Hopalong Cassidy
Secret of the Wastelands 1941
as Hopalong Cassidy
Outlaws of the Desert 1941
as Hopalong Cassidy
Twilight on the Trail 1941
as Hopalong Cassidy
Stick to Your Guns 1941
as Hopalong Cassidy
Riders of the Timberline 1941
as Hopalong Cassidy
Wide Open Town 1941
as Hopalong Cassidy
Pirates on Horseback 1941
as Hopalong Cassidy
Border Vigilantes 1941
as Hopalong Cassidy
In Old Colorado 1941
as Hopalong Cassidy
Doomed Caravan 1941
as Hopalong Cassidy
Three Men from Texas 1940
as Hopalong Cassidy
Stagecoach War 1940
as Hopalong Cassidy
Hidden Gold 1940
as Hopalong Cassidy
The Showdown 1940
as Hopalong Cassidy
Santa Fe Marshal 1940
as Hopalong Cassidy
Law of the Pampas 1939
as Hopalong Cassidy
Range War 1939
as Hopalong Cassidy
Renegade Trail 1939
as Hopalong Cassidy
Land of Liberty 1939
as (archive footage)
Silver on the Sage 1939
as Hopalong Cassidy
Sunset Trail 1939
as Hopalong Cassidy
The Frontiersmen 1938
as Hopalong Cassidy
In Old Mexico 1938
as Hopalong Cassidy
Pride of the West 1938
as Hopalong Cassidy
Bar 20 Justice 1938
as Hopalong Cassidy
Heart of Arizona 1938
as Hopalong Cassidy
Cassidy of Bar 20 1938
as Hopalong Cassidy
Partners of the Plains 1938
as Hopalong Cassidy
Texas Trail 1937
as Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Rides Again 1937
as Hopalong Cassidy
Rustlers' Valley 1937
as Hopalong Cassidy
North of the Rio Grande 1937
as Hopalong Cassidy
Hills of Old Wyoming 1937
as Hopalong Cassidy
Borderland 1937
as Hopalong Cassidy
Trail Dust 1936
as Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Cassidy Returns 1936
as Hopalong Cassidy
Go-Get-'Em, Haines 1936
as Steve Haines
Burning Gold 1936
as Jim Thornton
Three on the Trail 1936
as Hopalong Cassidy
Federal Agent 1936
as Bob Woods
Call of the Prairie 1936
as Hopalong Cassidy
Heart of the West 1936
as Hopalong Cassidy
Bar 20 Rides Again 1935
as Hopalong Cassidy
Racing Luck 1935
as Dan Morgan
The Eagle's Brood 1935
as Hopalong Cassidy
Hop-a-long Cassidy 1935
as Hopalong Cassidy
Port of Lost Dreams 1934
as Lars Christensen
Cheaters 1934
as Steve Morris
Emergency Call 1933
as Joe Bradley
Lucky Devils 1933
as Skipper Clark
Men Of America 1932
as Jim Parker, Director
Flaming Gold 1932
as Dan Manton
Carnival Boat 1932
as Buck Gannon
Suicide Fleet 1931
as Baltimore
The Big Gamble 1931
as Alan Beckwith
Beyond Victory 1931
as Bill Thatcher
The Painted Desert 1931
as Bill Holbrook
Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 5 1930
as William Boyd
Officer O'Brien 1930
as Bill O'Brien
His First Command 1929
as Terry Culver
The Flying Fool 1929
as Bill Taylor
High Voltage 1929
as Bill
The Leatherneck 1929
as William Calhoun
Lady of the Pavements 1929
as Karl Von Arnim
Power 1928
as Husky
The Cop 1928
as Pete Smith
Skyscraper 1928
as Blondy
The Night Flyer 1928
as Jimmy Bradley
Dress Parade 1927
as Vic Donovan
Two Arabian Knights 1927
as Daingerfield Phelps
The Yankee Clipper 1927
as Hal Winslow
The King of Kings 1927
as Simon Of Cyrene
Jim the Conqueror 1926
as Jim Burgess
Her Man o' War 1926
as Jim Sanderson
The Last Frontier 1926
as Tom Kirby
The Volga Boatman 1926
as Feodor
Eve's Leaves 1926
as Bill Stanley
The Road to Yesterday 1925
as Jack Moreland
The Midshipman 1925
as Spud
New Lives for Old 1925
as Soldier (uncredited)
Forty Winks 1925
as Lt. Gerald Hugh Butterworth
Feet of Clay 1924
as Young Society Man (uncredited)
Tarnish 1924
as Bill
Changing Husbands 1924
as Conrad Bardshaw
Enemies of Children 1923
as Sidney Godfrey
The Temple of Venus 1923
as Stanley Dale
Hollywood 1923
as William Boyd
Michael O'Halloran 1923
as Douglas Bruce
The Young Rajah 1922
as Stephen Van Kovert
Manslaughter 1922
as (uncredited)
On the High Seas 1922
as Dick Deveraux
Nice People 1922
as Oliver Comstock
Moran of the Lady Letty 1922
as Ramon's Friend at Homecoming
Saturday Night 1922
as Party Guest
Bobbed Hair 1922
as Dick Barton
Exit the Vamp 1921
as Robert Pitts
After the Show 1921
as (uncredited)
The Affairs of Anatol 1921
as Guest
Moonlight and Honeysuckle 1921
as Robert V. Courtney
A Wise Fool 1921
as Gerard Fynes
Brewster's Millions 1921
as Harrison
The Jucklins 1921
as Dan Stuart
Forbidden Fruit 1921
as Billiards Player
A City Sparrow 1920
as Hughie Ray
Something to Think About 1920
as (uncredited)
The City of Masks 1920
as Carpenter
The Six Best Cellars 1920
as Holsappel (uncredited)
- Was He Guilty?
Was He Guilty? 1919
Actor
Old Wives for New 1918
as (uncredited)
Credits from TMDB.