William Boyd Western Movies to Watch Free.
William Lawrence Boyd (June 5, 1895 – September 12, 1972) was an American film actor known for portraying cowboy hero Hopalong Cassidy. Boyd was born in Hendrysburg in Belmont County, located 26 miles east of Cambridge, Ohio. He was reared in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of day laborer Charles William Boyd and his wife, the former Lida Wilkens. 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 extra work in Why Change Your Wife? and other films. During World War I, he enlisted in the army but was exempt because of a “weak heart”. More prominent film roles followed, and he became famous as a leading man in silent film romances, earning an annual salary of $100,000. He was the lead actor in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Volga Boatman (1926) and DeMille’s extravaganza, The King of Kings, helping Christ carry the cross as Simon of Cyrene and also in DeMille’s Skyscraper. 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. Having been reckless with his money, Boyd was broke and without a job, and for a few years he was credited in several films as “Bill Boyd” to prevent being mistaken for his actor namesake.
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In 1935, he was offered the supporting role of Red Connors in the movie Hop-Along Cassidy, but asked to be considered for the title role and won it. The original Hopalong Cassidy character, written by Clarence E. Mulford for pulp fiction, was changed from a hard-drinking, rough-living wrangler to its eventual incarnation as a cowboy hero who did not smoke, swear, or drink alcohol (his drink of choice being sarsaparilla) and who always let the bad guy start the fight. Although Boyd “never branded a cow or mended a fence, cannot bulldog a steer”, and disliked Western music, he became indelibly associated with the Hopalong character and, like rival cowboy stars Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, gained lasting fame in the Western film genre. The Hopalong Cassidy series ended in 1948 after 66 films, with Boyd producing the last 12.
Anticipating television’s rise, Boyd spent $350,000 to purchase the rights to the Hopalong Cassidy character, books and films. In 1949, he released the films to television, where they became extremely popular and began the long-running genre of Westerns on television. Like Rogers and Autry, Boyd licensed much merchandise, including such products as Hopalong Cassidy watches, trash cans, cups, dishes, Topps trading cards, a comic strip, comic books, and cowboy outfits. The actor identified with his character, often dressing as a cowboy in public. Although Boyd’s portrayal of Hopalong made him very wealthy, he believed that it was his duty to help strengthen his “friends” – America’s youth. The actor refused to license his name for products he viewed as unsuitable or dangerous, and turned down personal appearances at which his “friends” would be charged admission.
Boyd also appeared in the Hopalong Cassidy radio program from 1948 to 1952.
Boyd appeared as Hopalong Cassidy on the cover of numerous national magazines, including the August 29, 1950 issue of Look and the November 27, 1950 issue of Time. For Thanksgiving in 1950, he led the Carolinas’ Carrousel Parade in Charlotte, North Carolina and drew an estimated crowd of 500,000 persons, the largest in the parade’s history.
Boyd had a cameo as himself in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1952 circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth. DeMille reportedly asked Boyd to take the role of Moses in his remake, The Ten Commandments, but Boyd felt his identification with the Cassidy character would make it impossible for audiences to accept him as Moses.
At his death in 1972, he was survived by his fifth wife, actress Grace Bradley Boyd, who died on September 21, 2010, on her 97th birthday.
Acting credits
1952-1954 Hopalong Cassidy (TV Series)
Hopalong Cassidy / Marshal Hopalong Cassidy / Sheriff Hopalong Cassidy / …
– Tricky Fingers (1954) … Hopalong Cassidy
– The Emerald Saint (1954) … Marshal Hopalong Cassidy
– The Black Sombrero (1954) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Frameup for Murder (1954) … Marshal Hopalong Cassidy
– Masquerade for Matilda (1954) … Hopalong Cassidy
– 3-7-77 (1954) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Silent Testimony (1954) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Steel Trails West (1954) … Marshal Hopalong Cassidy
– Grubstake (1954) … Sheriff Hopalong Cassidy
– The Outlaw’s Reward (1954) … Hopalong Cassidy
– New Mexico Manhunt (1954) … Marshal Hopalong Cassidy
– Copper Hills (1954) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Double Trouble (1954) … Sheriff Hopalong Cassidy
– The Renegade Press (1954) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Don’t Believe in Ghosts (1953) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Frontier Law (1953) … Marshal Hopalong Cassidy
– Death by Proxy (1953) … Marshal Hopalong Cassidy
– Arizona Troubleshooters (1953) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Gypsy Destiny (1953) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Illegal Entry (1953) … Hopalong Cassidy
– The Jinx Wagon (1953) … Hopalong Cassidy
– The Last Laugh (1953) … Hopalong Cassidy posing as John Smith
– Twisted Trails (1953) … Hopalong Cassidy
– The Valley Raiders (1953) … Hopalong Cassidy
– The Sole Survivor (1953) … Hopalong Cassidy
– The Devil’s Idol (1953) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Sinister Journey (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Unexpected Guest (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– The Marauders (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Fool’s Gold (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Strange Gamble (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Lawless Legacy (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Black Sheep (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– The Vanishing Herd (1952) … Bill Hopalong Cassidy
– The Promised Land (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Don Colorado (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Blind Encounter (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Black Waters (1952) … Bill Hopalong Cassidy
– Marked Cards (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Ghost Trails (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– The Feud (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Alien Range (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– The Trap (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– The Knife of Carlos Valero (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Guns Across the Border (1952) … Hopalong Cassidy
– Devil’s Playground … Hopalong Cassidy
1953 Little Smokey: The True Story of America’s Forest Fire Preventin’ Bear (Short)
Hopalong Cassidy – Narrator
1952 The Greatest Show on Earth
Hopalong Cassidy (uncredited)
1948 Strange Gamble
Hopalong Cassidy
1948 False Paradise
Hopalong Cassidy
1948 Borrowed Trouble
Hopalong Cassidy
1948 Sinister Journey
Hopalong Cassidy
1948 The Dead Don’t Dream
Hopalong Cassidy
1948 Silent Conflict
Hopalong Cassidy
1947 Hoppy’s Holiday
Hopalong Cassidy
1947 The Marauders
Hopalong Cassidy
1947 Dangerous Venture
Hopalong Cassidy
1947 Unexpected Guest
Hopalong Cassidy
1946 Fool’s Gold
Hopalong Cassidy
1946 The Devil’s Playground
Hopalong Cassidy
1944 Forty Thieves
Hopalong Cassidy
1944 Mystery Man
Hopalong Cassidy
1944 Lumberjack
Hopalong Cassidy
1944 Texas Masquerade
Hopalong Cassidy
1943 Riders of the Deadline
Hopalong Cassidy
1943 False Colors
Hopalong Cassidy
1943 Bar 20
Hopalong Cassidy
1943 Colt Comrades
Hopalong Cassidy
1943 Leather Burners
Hopalong Cassidy
1943 Border Patrol
Hopalong Cassidy
1943 Hoppy Serves a Writ
Hopalong Cassidy
1942 Lost Canyon
Hopalong Cassidy
1942 Undercover Man
Hopalong Cassidy
1941 Secrets of the Wasteland
Hopalong Cassidy
1941 Outlaws of the Desert
Hopalong Cassidy
1941 Twilight on the Trail
Hopalong Cassidy
1941 Riders of the Timberline
Hopalong Cassidy
1941 Stick to Your Guns
Hopalong Cassidy posing as Tex Riley
1941 Wide Open Town
Hopalong Cassidy
1941 Pirates on Horseback
Hopalong Cassidy
1941 Border Vigilantes
Hopalong Cassidy
1941 In Old Colorado
Hopalong Cassidy
1941 Doomed Caravan
Hopalong Cassidy
1940 Three Men from Texas
Hopalong Cassidy
1940 Stagecoach War
Hopalong Cassidy
1940 Hidden Gold
Hopalong Cassidy
1940 The Showdown
Hopalong Cassidy
1940 Santa Fe Marshal
Hopalong Cassidy
1939 Law of the Pampas
Hopalong Cassidy
1939 Range War
Hopalong Cassidy
1939 Renegade Trail
Hopalong Cassidy
1939 Silver on the Sage
Hopalong Cassidy
1939 Sunset Trail
Hopalong Cassidy
1938 The Frontiersmen
Hopalong Cassidy
1938 In Old Mexico
Hopalong Cassidy
1938 Pride of the West
Hopalong Cassidy
1938 Bar 20 Justice
Hopalong Cassidy
1938 Heart of Arizona
Hopalong Cassidy
1938 Cassidy of Bar 20
Hopalong Cassidy
1938 Partners of the Plains
Hopalong Cassidy
1937 Texas Trail
Hopalong Cassidy
1937 Hopalong Rides Again
Hopalong Cassidy
1937 Rustlers’ Valley
Hopalong Cassidy
1937 North of the Rio Grande
Hopalong Cassidy
1937 Hills of Old Wyoming
Hopalong Cassidy
1937 Borderland
Hopalong Cassidy
1936 Trail Dust
Hopalong Cassidy
1936 Hopalong Cassidy Returns
Hopalong Cassidy
1936 Go-Get-‘Em, Haines
Steve Haines (as Bill Boyd)
1936 Burning Gold
Jim Thornton (as Bill Boyd)
1936 Federal Agent
Bob Woods (as Bill Boyd)
1936 Three on the Trail
Hopalong Cassidy
1936 Call of the Prairie
Hopalong Cassidy
1936 Heart of the West
Hopalong Cassidy
1935 Bar 20 Rides Again
Bill ‘Hopalong’ Cassidy
1935 Racing Luck
Dan Morgan
1935 The Eagle’s Brood
Bill Hop-Along Cassidy
1935 Hop-a-long Cassidy
Hop-Along Cassidy
1934 Port of Lost Dreams
Lars Christensen
1934 Cheaters
Steve Morris (as Bill Boyd)
1933 Emergency Call
Joe (as Bill Boyd)
1933 Lucky Devils
Skipper Clark (as Bill Boyd)
1932 Men of America
Jim Parker
1932 Flaming Gold
Dan Manton (as Bill Boyd)
1932 Carnival Boat
Buck Gannon (as Bill Boyd)
1931 Suicide Fleet
Baltimore (as Bill Boyd)
1931 The Big Gamble
Alan Beckwith (as Bill Boyd)
1931 Beyond Victory
Sergeant Bill Thatcher (as Bill Boyd)
1931 The Painted Desert
Bill Holbrook (as Bill Boyd)
1930 Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 5 (Short)
William Boyd
1930 Officer O’Brien
Bill O’Brien
1929 His First Command
Terry Culver
1929 High Voltage
Bill (The Boy) (as Bill Boyd)
1929 The Flying Fool
Bill Taylor
1929 The Leatherneck
William Calhoun
1929 Lady of the Pavements
Count Karl Von Arnim
1928 Power
Husky
1928 The Cop
Pete Smith
1928 Skyscraper
Blondy
1928 The Night Flyer
Jimmy Bradley
1927 Dress Parade
Vic Donovan
1927 Two Arabian Knights
W. Daingerfield Phelps III
1927 The King of Kings
Simon Of Cyrene
1927 The Yankee Clipper
Captain Hal Winslow
1927 Wolves of the Air
Jerry Tanner
1926 Jim, the Conqueror
Jim Burgess
1926 Her Man o’ War
Jim Sanderson
1926 The Last Frontier
Tom Kirby
1926 Eve’s Leaves
Bill Stanley
1926 The Volga Boatman
Feodor, A Volga Boatman
1925 Steel Preferred
Wally Gay
1925 The Road to Yesterday
Jack Moreland
1925 The Midshipman
Spud
1925 Forty Winks
Lt. Gerald Hugh Butterworth
1924 Feet of Clay
Young Society Man (uncredited)
1924 Tarnish
Bill
1924 Changing Husbands
Conrad Bardshaw
1924 Triumph (uncredited)
1923 Enemies of Children
1923 The Temple of Venus
Stanley Dale
1923 Adam’s Rib
Party Guest (uncredited)
1923 Michael O’Halloran
Douglas Bruce
1922 The Young Rajah
Stephen Van Kovert
1922 Manslaughter (uncredited)
1922 On the High Seas
Dick Deveraux
1922 Nice People
Oliver Comstock
1922 Bobbed Hair
Dick Barton
1922 Moran of the Lady Letty
Ramon’s Friend at Homecoming (uncredited)
1922 Saturday Night (uncredited)
1921 Fool’s Paradise (uncredited)
1921 Exit the Vamp
Robert Pitts
1921 After the Show (uncredited)
1921 The Affairs of Anatol
Guest (uncredited)
1921 Moonlight and Honeysuckle
Robert V. Courtney
1921 A Wise Fool
Gerard Fynes
1921 Brewster’s Millions
Harrison
1921 Forbidden Fruit
Billiards Player (uncredited)
1921 Paying the Piper (uncredited)
1921 The Jucklins
Dan Stuart
1920 A City Sparrow
Hughie Ray
1920 Something to Think About (uncredited)
1920 The City of Masks
Carpenter
1920 Why Change Your Wife?
Naval Officer at Hotel (uncredited)
1920 The Six Best Cellars
Holsappel (uncredited)
1919 Was He Guilty? (uncredited)
1918 Old Wives for New
Extra (uncredited)