William Boyd, ‘Hopalong Cassidy,’ Dies (Published 1972) (2024)

HOLLYWOOD, Sept. 13 (AP) —William Boyd, who rose to stardom as Hopalong Cassidy, died last night at a South Laguna Beach, Calif., hospital of complications from Parkinson's disease and congestive heart failure. He was 74 years old.

Mr. Boyd's portrayal of Hopalong—a “good guy” who wore a black hat but was a paragon of virtue — was the longestrunning characterization in Hollywood history. He rode the range on his horse, Topper, for a quarter of a century in movies and on television.

Hoppy, a character half conceived by writers, half by Boyd, didn't smoke, drink or swear: He captured villains rather than shoot them, The responsibility of being a children's hero transformed Mr. Boyd, a one‐time playboy, into a philanthropist devoted to strengthening the fiber of American youth.

“When you've got kids looking up to you,” he would say, “when you've got parents saying what a wonderful guy Hoppy is, what do you do? You have to be a wonderful guy.”

Born in Hendrysburg, Ohio, to a poor farm laborer, Mr. Boyd quit school after the sixth grade and went to work. He ‘came to Hollywood as a young man and appeared in films such as “The Volga Boatman,” “King of Kings” and “Two Arabian Nights.” He became a romantic idol of the '20s, in a class with such stars as Wallace Reid and Rod LaRocque.

He spent freely, gambled heavily and lived lavishly. He bought a Beverly Hills mansion, a Malibu beach house and ranch. He married and divorced three actresses, Ruth Miller, Elinor Fair and Dorothy Sebastian. Miss Miller bore him a son, who lived only nine months.

Then, in 1932, the good life came to a halt. A Broadway actor named William Boyd, now dead, was arrested at a drinking and gambling party. In the morning papers ,in Hollywood, Mr. Boyd's picture was published in error. An apology was printed later, but his career plunged downhill.

He was a has‐been in 19351 when a Paramount producer offered to star him in a series of cowboy films. Mr. Boyd asked for a few changes in his role, then made the first. “Hopalong Cassidy” movie.

Movie executives said that Mr. Boyd, who couldn't ride a horse, had made Hopalong too much of a gentleman. But,‐he persisted, became a good rider and adopted Topper who would be his mount for 19 years.

The movies were popular and he quietly bought up all television rights to the idea. In 1948 the first Hoppy show appeared on television. Viewers’ reaction told the story—Mr. Boyd had hit a jackpot.

In 1937 he had married Grace Bradley, and he credited her with his success. He remained devoted to her until his death.

Mr. Boyd founded a club called Hoppy's Troopers, which rivaled the Boy Scouts in membership. It had a Hopalong Code of Conduct, which preached loyalty, honesty, ambition, kindnesS and other virtues.

He donated money to children's hospitals and homes, saying: “The way I figure it, if it weren't for the kids, I'd be bum today. They're the ones who've made my success possible. They're the ones that should benefit from it.”

He retired in 1953 after making 106 Hoppy shows. He, and his wife bought real estate and moved to Palm Desert where they lived quietly.

In 1968 he underwent surgery for removal of a cancerous tumor from a lymph gland. From then on Mr. Boyd refused all interviews and photographs.

The character of Hopalong’ Cassidy had been conceived many years before Mr. Boyd, first took the part, by Clarence E. Mulford, then a Brooklyn license clerk, who had been turning out Western fiction on the East Coast since 1904.

Mr. Mulford's Hopalong was1 a standard rough‐talking harddrinking gambling gunslinger. His nickname came from a knee injury in a gunfight that gave him an irregular gait off his horse.

But Mr. Boyd succeeded in imposing his own vision of the Hopalong character on the series of films produced by Harry Sherman. He had had his fill of playing heavies, and soon Hopalong was a kind of, middle‐aged Galahad in shining black cowboy suit and boots.

Mr. Mulford, who died in 1956, did not take this amiss: he accepted the idea that the old‐time Hopalong was Tor adults, while the new, shinier model was for children.

“I have a great deal of ad‐, miration for Boyd's accomplishments,” he said. “Let Bill have his Hopalong. I have mine....”