William Boyd (actor)
William Lawrence Boyd (born June 5, 1895 in Hendrysburg , Ohio , † September 12, 1972 in Laguna Beach, California ) was an American western actor whose fame reached its peak in the 1930s and 1940s.
Life
Boyd was best known as the actor who played the cowboy Hopalong Cassidy in the film series of the same name and as the leading actor in the Western Enmity with which Clark Gable began his sound film career. In 1919, Boyd arrived in Hollywood and quickly became a sought-after leading actor in the silent film era, as well as a matinee idol. In the early 1930s his career took a turn when scandals over a William Boyd were attributed to him. However, it was an acting colleague of the same name, but the role offers became sparse towards the end of the silent film era . In 1935 he signed a contract with Paramount Pictures for a western series, the character of Hopalong Cassidy from then on accompanied him in his further career. After moving to United Artists , the series was discontinued in 1944. Two years later, however, Boyd continued by producing the films himself. After 70 films he recognized the possibilities of television early on and switched to the screen, where fifty-two half-hour episodes were made from 1952 onwards. In addition, he marketed the character in the circus, variety shows and on advertising tours.
He made the cover of Time Magazine in the November 27, 1950 issue and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . In 1995 he was immortalized in the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City . There is also a Hopalong Cassidy Museum in Cambridge, Ohio .
Private
Boyd was married a total of five times:
- Grace Bradley (June 5, 1937 - September 12, 1972) - his death
- Dorothy Sebastian (December 19, 1930 - May 30, 1936) - divorced
- Elinor Fair (January 13, 1926 - November 16, 1929) - divorced
- Ruth Miller (1921-1924) - divorced
- Laura Maynard (1917–1921) - divorced
He has a child from his third marriage.
Filmography (selection)
- 1920: aberrations of a marriage (Why Change Your Wife?)
- 1922: Women on the wrong track (Manslaughter)
- 1923: Adam's rib (Adam's Rib)
- 1924: triumph (triumph)
- 1926: The Volga Boatmen (The Volga Boatman)
- 1927: The Two Arabian Knights
- 1928: The Cop
- 1928: skyscrapers (skyscraper)
- 1929: The Leatherneck
- 1931: Enmity (The Painted Desert)
- 1931: streets of the metropolis ( City Streets )
- 1933: The House on 56th Street
- 1937: The Death Ranch (North of the Rio Grande)
- 1938: The Avenger of Old Mexico (In Old Mexico)
- 1939: Devil Rider of Texas (Range War)
- 1940: Three Men from Texas
- 1941: Pirates on Horseback
- 1941: The Wolves of Kansas (Wide Open Town)
- 1941: Arabs, Bedouins and Fraudsters (Outlaws of the Desert)
- 1942: Undercover Man
- 1943: Bar 20
- 1944: Lumberjack
- 1952: The Greatest Show on Earth (The Greatest Show on Earth)
- 1952–1954: Hopalong Cassidy (TV series, 40 episodes)
Web links
- The Boyd Family Information Center (English)
- William Boyd in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Pictures by William Boyd In: Virtual History
- Biography (English)
Individual evidence
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Boyd, William |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Boyd, William Lawrence (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | US-American actor |
DATE OF BIRTH | June 5, 1895 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Hendrysburg , Ohio |
DATE OF DEATH | September 12, 1972 |
Place of death | Laguna Beach, California |