The Good Guy in Black
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Some celebrities emphatically proclaim that they don’t want to be role models. They won’t adhere to certain behaviors, even if their limelight activities may be mimicked by children. Others take on the role with pride, using their clout to organize events, raise money for charities, and the new trend of being green.
One celebrity who loved being a role model was William Boyd. Known primarily as Hopalong Cassidy, Boyd wanted the character, and his public appearances, to mean something to people. However, Hoppy wasn’t always that way. As a pulp-fiction character he was a whisky-drinking, hard-living, foul-mouthed wrangler. When Boyd took the role to film he cleaned up the character making him a cowboy hero who didn’t drink, swear, or smoke, and he never started a fight.
Hopalong Cassidy was known as a noble cowboy, and he took that seriously. When Hoppy producer Harry Sherman wanted to cancel the series, Boyd gambled virtually everything he had to buy the character rights from creator Clarence Mulford and movie rights from Sherman. He sold many of his possessions and spent most of his money on the belief that America wanted more Hoppy, and that he could deliver.
Boyd was always good to his fans. He generously gave money to charities and hospitals to help those less fortunate. On a regular basis, he would visit hospitals and take part in children’s programs to interact with his youthful fans. When going to hospitals, dressed as Hoppy, he would bring gifts for children, making their day in the process.
Aside from taking part in charities, he expressed moral justness. By the end of every Hopalong Cassidy show he gave encouraging advice telling people to be kind to animals, support their country, go to church, behave for your parents, etc. At a department store opening he refused to sign autographs until the two lines, one of African American children and one of Caucasian children, were integrated.
William Boyd was not just an entertainer, but a humanitarian. His personal values and unwavering pursuit of morality imparted wisdom to generations of children and that will always be part of his legacy.
Gemstone’s Hopalong Cassidy book is well on its way. Co-authored by his widow, Grace Bradley Boyd, the book will give insight into William Boyd’s life, the love he shared with Grace, and the message he and Hoppy shared with America. Gemstone is still collecting photographs of children dressed as Hoppy. If you have these photos, particularly of the early 1950s, send them to russ@russcochran.com.
