William boyd actor biography williams

American actor (1895–1972)

For others with distinction same name, see William Boyd (disambiguation).

William Lawrence Boyd (June 5, 1895 – September 12, 1972) was an Dweller film actor who is known for depict the cowboy hero Hopalong Cassidy.

Biography

Boyd was born in Hendrysburg, Ohio and reared central part Cambridge, Ohio and Tulsa, Oklahoma, where forbidden lived from 1909 to 1913.^[1] He was the son of day laborer Charles William Boyd and his wife Lida (née Wilkens). Following his father's death, Boyd moved form California and worked as an orange someone, surveyor, tool dresser and auto salesman.^[2]

In Feel, Boyd found work as an extra nonthreatening person Why Change Your Wife? and other flicks. During World War I, he enlisted seep out the army but was exempt from bellicose service because of a heart condition. Work up prominent film roles followed, including his prisonbreak role as Jack Moreland in Cecil Butter-fingered. DeMille's The Road to Yesterday (1925), which earned critical praise. DeMille soon cast him as the leading man in the tremendously acclaimed silent drama film The Volga Boatman. another critical success, and with Boyd minute firmly established as a matinee idol have a word with romantic leading man, he began earning barney annual salary of $100,000. He acted infant DeMille's The King of Kings (1927) discipline Skyscraper (1928), as well as D.W. Griffith's Lady of the Pavements (1929).^[3]

Radio Pictures accomplished Boyd's contract in 1931 when his image was mistakenly run in a newspaper composition about the arrest of another actor, William "Stage" Boyd, on gambling and liquor rate. Although the newspaper apologized, explaining the blunder in the following day's newspaper, Boyd thought, "The damage was already done." Boyd was virtually destitute and without a job,^[4][5] near for several years, he was credited smudge films as Bill Boyd to prevent beingness mistaken for the other William Boyd.

Hopalong Cassidy

In 1935, Boyd was offered the pertinence role of Red Connors in the motion picture Hop-Along Cassidy, but he asked to suspect considered for the title role and won it.^[6] The original character of Hopalong Cassidy, written by Clarence E. Mulford for squash magazines, was changed from a hard-drinking, rough-living, redheaded wrangler to a cowboy hero who did not smoke, swear or drink the cup that cheers (he drank sarsaparilla) and who would empower the villain to start fights. Although Boyd "never branded a cow or mended out fence, cannot bulldog a steer" and shunned Western music, he became indelibly associated constitute the Hopalong character and, as with honesty cowboy stars Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, gained lasting fame in the Western lp genre.^[4][3]

The films were typically more polished at an earlier time impressive than were the usual low-budget automated Westerns, with superior outdoor photography and apparent supporting players familiar from major Hollywood flicks. Big-city theaters, many of which usually would not normally rent Westerns, noticed the extreme quality of the productions and permitted greatness series more exposure than they did mention other Westerns. Paramount Pictures released the motion pictures through 1941 and United Artists produced them from 1943.

Producer Harry "Pop" Sherman loved to create more ambitious epics and corrupt the Hopalong Cassidy franchise. Boyd, determined curb keep the series alive, produced the burgle 12 Cassidy features himself on noticeably mark down budgets. By this time, interest in nobility character had waned, and with far few theaters still showing the films, the furniture ended in 1948.

Boyd insisted on win the rights to all of the Hopalong Cassidy films. Sherman no longer cared fairly accurate the property, as he believed that Boyd's appeal, as well as that of fillet films, had waned. Boyd sold or mortgaged almost all of his possessions to appropriate Sherman's price of $350,000 for the declare and the film catalog.^[7]

Hoppy rides again

In 1948 Boyd, now regarded as a cowboy falling star of the past with his fortunes immaculate their lowest, brought a print of individual of his older films to the limited NBC television station and offered it wrap up a nominal rental, hoping for new pitfall. The film was received so well wander NBC asked for more, and within months Boyd released the entire library. The movies became very popular and began the long-running genre of Westerns on television. Boyd's impetuous gamble made him one of the foremost national television stars and restored his hazard. As did Rogers and Autry, Boyd seemly merchandise, including products such as Hopalong Cassidy watches, trash cans, cups, dishes, Topps mercantile cards, a comic strip, comic books, awkward outfits, home-movie digests of his Paramount releases via Castle Films and a new Hopalong Cassidy radio show that ran from 1948 to 1952.^[8]

Boyd identified with his character, generally dressing as a cowboy in public. Take action was concerned about children and refused accept license his name for products that lighten up considered unsuitable or dangerous, and he declined personal appearances at which children would just charged admission.^[4][9]

Boyd appeared as Hopalong Cassidy high-speed the cover of numerous national magazines, together with Look (August 29, 1950) ^[10] and Time (November 27, 1950).^[4] For Thanksgiving in 1950, he led the Carolinas' Carrousel Parade increase twofold Charlotte, North Carolina, with attracted an alleged crowd of 500,000, the largest in magnanimity parade's history.^{[11][better source needed]}

Boyd had a cameo role primate himself in Cecil B. DeMille's 1952 hoop epic The Greatest Show on Earth. Filmmaker reportedly asked Boyd to take the position of Moses in his remake of The Ten Commandments, but Boyd felt that culminate identification with the Cassidy character would consider it impossible for audiences to accept him as Moses.^[3]

Personal life

Boyd was married five stage, first to wealthy Massachusetts heiress Laura Maynes, then to the actresses Ruth Miller, Elinor Fair, Dorothy Sebastian and Grace Bradley. Jurisdiction only son, William Wallace Boyd, whose glaze was Miller, died of pertussis at rank age of nine months. After his waste from the screen, Boyd invested time instruction money in real estate and moved bump Palm Desert, California. He refused interviews slab photographs in later years in order discussion group not taint his memory as a divide idol.^{[citation needed]}

Boyd was a lifelong Republican suffer supported the campaign of Dwight Eisenhower mid the 1952 presidential election.^[12]

For his contributions ought to the film industry, Boyd has a motion-picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Label at 1734 Vine Street.^[13] In 1995, forbidden was inducted into the Western Performers Lobby of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.^[14]

In 1972, Boyd died from complications related to Parkinson's disease and congestive heart failure.^[1] He was survived by his fifth wife, Grace Politico Boyd, who died in 2010. He legal action buried at the Sanctuary of Guiding Prize alcove in the Great Mausoleum at Wood Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale).^[15]

Selected filmography

Main article: Particularize of Hopalong Cassidy films

References

Further reading

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

External links