Acting
William Boyd
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
Film · 2000
Television: The First Fifty Years
Film · 1999
Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star
Film · 1991
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Film · 1984
Western von gestern
Series · 1978
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
Film · 1976
It's Showtime
Film · 1976
The Movie Orgy
Film · 1968
Little Smokey
Film · 1953
The Greatest Show on Earth
Film · 1952
Hopalong Cassidy
Series · 1952
Sinister Journey
Film · 1948
Borrowed Trouble
Film · 1948
False Paradise
Film · 1948
Silent Conflict
Film · 1948
Strange Gamble
Film · 1948
The Dead Don't Dream
Film · 1948
Dangerous Venture
Film · 1947
Unexpected Guest
Film · 1947
Hoppy's Holiday
Film · 1947
The Marauders
Film · 1947
Fool's Gold
Film · 1946
The Devil's Playground
Film · 1946
Forty Thieves
Film · 1944
Texas Masquerade
Film · 1944
Mystery Man
Film · 1944
Lumberjack
Film · 1944
Border Patrol
Film · 1943
False Colors
Film · 1943
Leather Burners
Film · 1943
Riders of the Deadline
Film · 1943
Colt Comrades
Film · 1943
Hoppy Serves a Writ
Film · 1943
Bar 20
Film · 1943
Undercover Man
Film · 1942
Lost Canyon
Film · 1942
Doomed Caravan
Film · 1941
Riders of the Timberline
Film · 1941
In Old Colorado
Film · 1941
Pirates on Horseback
Film · 1941
Secret of the Wastelands
Film · 1941
Stick to Your Guns
Film · 1941
Twilight on the Trail
Film · 1941
Border Vigilantes
Film · 1941
Wide Open Town
Film · 1941
Outlaws of the Desert
Film · 1941
Stagecoach War
Film · 1940
Hidden Gold
Film · 1940
The Showdown
Film · 1940
Three Men from Texas
Film · 1940
Santa Fe Marshal
Film · 1940
Range War
Film · 1939
Renegade Trail
Film · 1939
Law of the Pampas
Film · 1939
Sunset Trail
Film · 1939
Silver on the Sage
Film · 1939
Land of Liberty
Film · 1939
Bar 20 Justice
Film · 1938
Pride of the West
Film · 1938
The Frontiersmen
Film · 1938
In Old Mexico
Film · 1938
Partners of the Plains
Film · 1938
Cassidy of Bar 20
Film · 1938
Heart of Arizona
Film · 1938
Hopalong Rides Again
Film · 1937
North of the Rio Grande
Film · 1937
Texas Trail
Film · 1937
Rustlers' Valley
Film · 1937
Borderland
Film · 1937
Hills of Old Wyoming
Film · 1937
Hopalong Cassidy Returns
Film · 1936
Three on the Trail
Film · 1936
Heart of the West
Film · 1936
Call of the Prairie
Film · 1936
Trail Dust
Film · 1936
Go-Get-'Em, Haines
Film · 1936
Burning Gold
Film · 1936
Federal Agent
Film · 1936
The Eagle's Brood
Film · 1935
Hop-a-long Cassidy
Film · 1935
Bar 20 Rides Again
Film · 1935
Racing Luck
Film · 1935
Port of Lost Dreams
Film · 1934
Cheaters
Film · 1934
Lucky Devils
Film · 1933
Emergency Call
Film · 1933
Carnival Boat
Film · 1932
Men Of America
Film · 1932
Flaming Gold
Film · 1932
The Big Gamble
Film · 1931
Suicide Fleet
Film · 1931
Beyond Victory
Film · 1931
The Painted Desert
Film · 1931
Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 5
Film · 1930
Officer O'Brien
Film · 1930
High Voltage
Film · 1929
The Flying Fool
Film · 1929
Lady of the Pavements
Film · 1929
His First Command
Film · 1929
The Leatherneck
Film · 1929
The Cop
Film · 1928
The Night Flyer
Film · 1928
Skyscraper
Film · 1928
Power
Film · 1928
The Yankee Clipper
Film · 1927
Dress Parade
Film · 1927
Two Arabian Knights
Film · 1927
The King of Kings
Film · 1927
The Volga Boatman
Film · 1926
Her Man o' War
Film · 1926
Eve's Leaves
Film · 1926
The Last Frontier
Film · 1926
Jim the Conqueror
Film · 1926
Forty Winks
Film · 1925
New Lives for Old
Film · 1925
The Midshipman
Film · 1925
The Road to Yesterday
Film · 1925
Feet of Clay
Film · 1924
Changing Husbands
Film · 1924
Tarnish
Film · 1924
The Temple of Venus
Film · 1923
Enemies of Children
Film · 1923
Hollywood
Film · 1923
Michael O'Halloran
Film · 1923
Bobbed Hair
Film · 1922
Manslaughter
Film · 1922
Nice People
Film · 1922
Moran of the Lady Letty
Film · 1922
The Young Rajah
Film · 1922
Saturday Night
Film · 1922
On the High Seas
Film · 1922
After the Show
Film · 1921
A Wise Fool
Film · 1921
Brewster's Millions
Film · 1921
The Affairs of Anatol
Film · 1921
Forbidden Fruit
Film · 1921
Moonlight and Honeysuckle
Film · 1921
Exit the Vamp
Film · 1921
The Jucklins
Film · 1921
The Six Best Cellars
Film · 1920
Something to Think About
Film · 1920
A City Sparrow
Film · 1920
The City of Masks
Film · 1920
Was He Guilty?
Film · 1919
Old Wives for New
Film · 1918