Hopalong: A cowboy who made a killing
He’s the cowboy who wore black hats, but he was a goodie rather than a baddie – and instead of beer he liked sarsaparilla.
Hopalong Cassidy was unorthodox, having earned his nickname after being shot in the leg, and there was much about him that seemed to clash with the typical idea of a tough cowboy.
But boy was he popular when the first TV western appeared on telly 70 years ago, on June 24, 1949.
By 1950, American kids could buy Hopalong watches, knives, soap, roller skates, pillows and even dinnerware.
He had also been on the cover of all the big magazines and became the biggest thing ever for kids everywhere.
Playing Hopalong Cassidy in various movies would be the perfect launchpad for future film stars such as Robert Mitchum, but in those early pictures it was William Boyd in the starring role.
He had been offered a supporting role in a much earlier version, in 1935, but dared to suggest he might actually be suited to the lead.
They eventually gave it to him and he was proved right. By 1940, Boyd reckoned he had fired 30,000 shots and killed 100 foes in 30 movies! He would even dress as the cowboy in his life away from the big and small screens, as he felt the public expected to
see him as Hopalong. Now, that’s a star who cares! Although it made him a very rich man, Boyd would only have his name linked to merchandise and other products if he thought they were suitable for youngsters. Boyd would even start a company to look after the legacy of Hopalong Cassidy, and it still holds all the rights to the name, movies and TV material.
Apart from the fact we had never seen anything like it on telly, it was also quite a groundbreaker with Hopalong’s quirky appearance.
Nobody would have dared have anyone but baddies wearing black hats before – they were just for the villains, went the received wisdom. But Mr Cassidy blew that out of the water.
He was also a well-spoken, gentle chap, not having the tough drawl usually associated even with the nicest cowboys. Fair play and decency were big with him, despite his ability to use a gun. It was often because of bad people doing horrible things to good people that Hopalong got involved, and this type of storyline was a regular feature of the series.
This historic first series was edited together from the vast number of old westerns Boyd had made.
It proved a hit, the studio asked for more and he gave them material from 70 films.
They still look great today.