Hopalong Cassidy Page at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Western Bookstore

The character of Hopalong Cassidy was created in 1907 by Clarence E. Mulford [1883-1956] as a foul-mouthed cow-hand with a limp – thus the name 'Hop-A-Long'. Mulford wrote 28 Hopalong Cassidy novels, thru 1941. (Several of author Louis L'Amour's earliest books were four 'for hire' Hoppy novels in 1951-52, which were not published under L'Amour's name until 1991.)

William Boyd [1895-1972] was hired to play a minor character in the first Hopalong Cassidy feature film in 1935 (a cheap 'B-movie'). Seeing possibilities in the script, Boyd talked producer Harry Sherman into improving Hoppy's persona and to let Boyd play the lead role. Boyd eventually starred in 66 Hopalong Cassidy feature films between 1935 and 1948 – with his white stallion Topper – during which time Boyd shrewdly acquired the rights to the Hoppy movies and to Mulford's books.

The savvy Boyd owned the Hoppy television series [52 half-hour episodes] outright, and was one of the first to merchandise such a character: he endorsed everything from milk & ice cream to hair tonic to breakfast cereal, and made deals for manufacture of Hoppy-branded bicycles, clothing, lunchboxes, watches & clocks, radios, cookie jars, sleeping bags, pocket knives, coloring books, and more – even barrettes for the girls. Hoppy memorabilia is today a hot ticket on eBay and elsewhere.

Update Summer 2007: Starting in October, publisher Tor-Forge is re-issuing mass-market paperbacks of all 28 of Mulford's Hopalong Cassidy novels.
Update 2008: Producer Mark Canton announced a new Hopalong Cassidy feature film, which is still 'in development' in 2016 {see latest info below}.

first wife Laura Maynard Boyd [] - married 1917-21
second wife actress Ruth Miller Boyd [1903-81] - married 1921-24
infant son
third wife actress Elinor Fair Boyd Daniels Martin [1903-57] - married 1926-1929
fourth wife actress Dorothy Sebastian {Stella Dorothy Sabiston Stafford Boyd Shapiro} [1903-57] - married 1930-36

"The Affairs of Anatol" [1921]
http://www.imdb.com/ra/us/a/B00004W18Y
http://www.imdb.com/ra/us/a/6305765715

"The King of Kings" silent epic [1927] by Cecil B. DeMille
Boyd portrayed Simon of Cyrene, who carried Christ's cross
http://www.imdb.com/ra/us/a/B00005JNGA
http://www.imdb.com/ra/us/a/6304483074

"Painted Desert" [1931] /tt0022243/
http://www.imdb.com/ra/us/a/B000052167
http://www.imdb.com/ra/us/a/B0001XLWLC
http://www.imdb.com/ra/us/a/630324887X
poster for William Boyd movie "Painted Desert" [1931]

poster for William Boyd movie "Painted Desert" [1931]

"The Greatest Show On Earth" [1952]
http://www.imdb.com/ra/us/a/B0001AW08Y
http://www.imdb.com/ra/us/a/6300215938

Update Summer 2007: Starting in October, publisher Tor-Forge (Macmillan) is re-issuing
mass-market paperbacks of all 28 of Mulford's Hopalong Cassidy novels.

"Bar-20" [#1 1907]

Bar 20 Hopalong Cassidy novel by Clarence E. Mulford

Slim Travennes, head of the Sandy Creek Vigilante Committee, was very fast with a gun. No man could go up against him and live. Hopalong Cassidy, cowhand on the Bar-20 Ranch, could stand or die – he had no other choice.
Tor mass pb [10/92] for $4.99
Aeonian Press hardcover [1/74] for $25.95

"Johnny Nelson" [#8 1920]

Johnny Nelson novel by Clarence E. Mulford

"How A One-Time Pupil of Hopalong Cassidy of The Famous Bar-20 Ranch In The Pecos Valley Performed An Act of Knight-Errantry and What Came of It" — Hopalong Cassidy's friend Johnny Nelson meets a young woman on the range attempting to shoot men that she thinks are rustling her cattle; he decides to stay in the area and straighten matters out.
Forge Books mass pb [7/97] out of print/used

Follow Your Stars story collection by Susie Coffman

"Follow Your Stars" [2005] by Susie Coffman
for the Hoppy completist; 22 short stories, of which eight are Hoppy-related
CAVEAT: Amazon reviews include complaint about terrible grammar
Sweet Water Press hardcover [2005] out of print/used

Hopalong Cassidy movies complete collection DVD box set

"Hopalong Cassidy: Complete Collection" [2007]
Infinity Ent. b&w/color DVD set [8/2007] 12 disks for $59.99
includes all 52 half-hour black-and-white TV programs, the Starz/Encore documentary "Public Hero #1" [2001] (featuring Boyd's widow Grace Bradley Boyd, film critic/historian Leonard Maltin & actor Dennis Weaver), and ten feature films: "Bar 20 Justice" [1938], "The Frontiersmen" [1938], "In Old Mexico" [1938], "Pride of The West" [1938], "Law of The Pampas" [1939], "The Renegade Trail" [1939], "Range War" [1939], "Silver On The Sage" [1939], "Sunset Trail" [1939] & "Santa Fe Marshal" [1940]

"Hopalong Cassidy Classic Feature Film Westerns"
Starring William Boyd

Hopalong Cassidy Western feature films on DVD, volume 2 starring William Boyd

Hopalong Cassidy Western feature films on DVD, volume 4 starring William Boyd

Hopalong Cassidy Western feature films on DVD, volume 8 starring William Boyd

Volume 1: Platinum Disc b&w DVD [8/2004] for $6.99
includes "Border Patrol" [1943], "Doomed Caravan" [1941], "Fool's Gold" [1947], "Forty Thieves" [1944] & "Hidden Gold" [1940]
Volume 2: Platinum Disc b&w DVD [8/2004] for $6.99
includes "Borrowed Trouble" [1948], "Dangerous Venture" [1947], "False Colors" [1943], "The Devil's Playground" [1946] & "Pirates On Horseback" [1941]
Volume 3: Platinum Disc b&w DVD [8/2004] for $6.99
includes "In Old Colorado" [1941], "Leather Burners" [1943], "The Showdown" [1940], "Sinister Journey" [1948] & "Stagecoach War" [1940]
Volume 4: Platinum Disc b&w DVD [8/2004] for $6.99
includes "False Paradise" [1943], "Riders of The Deadline" [1943], "Riders of The Timberline"
[1941], "Unexpected Guest" [1947] & "Wide Open Town" [1941]
Volume 5: Platinum Disc b&w DVD [11/2004] for $6.99
includes "Colt Comrades" [1943], "The Dead Don't Dream" [1948], "Stick To Your Guns"
[1941], "Three Men From Texas" [1940] & "Undercover Man" [1942]
"Hopalong Cassidy Collector Edition" [2005] same contents as Volumes 1 thru 5 above, $4 cheaper; Platinum Disc b&w DVD box set [6/2005] 5 disks for $30.99
Volume 6: Platinum Disc b&w DVD [11/2004] for $6.99
includes "Hoppy Serves A Writ" [1943], "Hoppy's Holiday" [1947], "Mystery Man" [1944], "Secrets of The Wasteland" [1941] & "The Silent Conflict" [1948]
Volume 7: Platinum Disc b&w DVD [11/2004] for $6.99
includes "Border Vigilantes" [1941], "The Marauders" [1947], "Texas Masquerade" [1944], "Twilight On The Trail" [1942] & "Strange Gamble" [1948]
Volume 8: Platinum Disc b&w DVD [11/2004] for $6.99
includes "Bar 20 Justice" [1938], "The Eagle's Brood" [1935], "Lost Canyon" [1942], "Lumberjack" [1944] & "Outlaws of The Desert" [1941]

	"Hopalong Cassidy Rarities" DVD box set [2007] Koch Intl. DVD [1/2007] 2 disks - out of prodn/used seven not-really-rare Hopalong Cassidy movies; reviewers on Amazon complain of terrible transfers to DVD; also includes interview with Mrs. Grace Boyd and 'vintage cowboy commercials' the seven feature films included are "Border Patrol" [1943], "The Eagle's Brood" [1935], "Hidden Gold" [1940], "In Old Mexico" [1938], "Law of The Pampas" [1939], "Sunset Trail" [1939] & "Texas Masquerade" [1944]
	"Hopalong Cassidy Collectors Edition" DVD box set [2007] Starring William Boyd and Topper Echo Bridge Home Ent. b&w DVD set [6/2007] 4 disks for $24.99 12 feature films in black & white, including "Border Vigilantes" [1941], "Borrowed Trouble" [1948], "Colt Comrades" [1943], "Dangerous Venture" [1947], "The Dead Don't Dream" [1948], "The Eagle's Brood" [1935], "False Colors" [1943], "False Paradise" [1943], "Fool's Gold" [1947], "Forty Thieves" [1944], "Hidden Gold" [1940] & "Hoppy Serves A Writ" [1943], plus the 1953 promotional reel "The World's Greatest Salesman"; other extras unknown
	"Hopalong Cassidy Movie Collection" DVD Box Set [2008] Critic's Choice DVD set [3/2008] 4 disks - out of prodn/used contains 10 'digitally-restored' feature films: "Bar 20 Justice" [1938], "The Frontiersman" [1938], "In Old Mexico" [1938], "Law of The Pampas" [1939], "Pride of The West" [1938], "Range War" [1939], "Renegade Trail" [1939], "Santa Fe Marshall" [1940], "Silver On The Sage" [1939], and "Sunset Trail" [1939]; extras unknown
	"Hopalong Cassidy Tin Lunchbox with Handle" DVD Box Set [2008] Echo Bridge Home Ent. b&w tin lunchbox DVD set [7/2008] 3 disks for $13.99 contains 15 feature films: "Border Patrol" [1943], "Borrowed Trouble" [1948], "Dangerous Venture" [1947], "The Devil's Playground" [1946], "Doomed Caravan" [1941], "False Colors" [1943], "Fool's Gold" [1947], "Forty Thieves" [1944], "Hidden Gold" [1940], "In Old Colorado" [1941], "Leather Burners" [1943], "Pirates On Horseback" [1941], "The Showdown" [1940], "Sinister Journey" [1948], and "Stagecoach War" [1940]; extras unknown
	"Hopalong Cassidy: A True American Icon" DVD Box Set [2010] Echo Bridge Home Ent. b&w DVD set [6/2010] 2 disks for $9.99 contains 10 feature films: "Bar 20 Rides Again" [1935]; "Borderland" [1937]; "Call of The Prairie" [1936]; "Cassidy of Bar 20" [1938]; "Heart of Arizona" [1938]; "Heart of The West" [1936]; "Hills of Old Wyoming" [1937]; "Hopalong Cassidy Enters" [1935]; "Rustler's Valley" [1937]; and "Texas Trail" [1937]; extras unknown

"Dangerous Venture" [1947]
"The Dead Don't Dream" [1948]
"The Devil's Playground" [1946]
"Doomed Caravan" [1941]
"The Eagle's Brood" [1935]

"The Renegade Trail" [1939]
"Riders of The Deadline" [1943]
"Riders of The Timberline" [1941]

"The Showdown" [1940]
"The Silent Conflict" [1948]
"Silver On The Sage" [1939]
"Sinister Journey" [1948] aka "Two Gun Territory"

"Stagecoach War" [Paramount Pictures July 1940]

'Stagecoach War' Western movie starring Hopalong Cassidy

Hoppy chases stagecoach bandits who sing as they rob • Produced by Joseph W. Engel & Harry Sherman; directed by Lesley Selander; written by Norman Houston & Harry F. Olmsted, based on characters created by Clarence E. Mulford; starring William Boyd {as Hopalong Cassidy}, Russell Hayden {as sidekick Lucky Jenkins}, Julie Carter, Harvey Stephens, J. Farrell MacDonald, Britt Wood, Rad Robinson, Eddy Waller, Frank Lackteen, Jack Rockwell, Eddie Dean, and The King's Men {as the singing outlaws}
DVD/Blu-ray not available • Timeless Multimedia b&w VHS [6/97] for $3.97
watch full movie [4/2018 update; 59:33] online at YouTube
full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia

"Stage Coach War" short film [Castle Films 1954]
Seems to be a 9-minute 16mm short cobbled together from archive footage of the above Hoppy feature: purpose unknown • credits at IMDb

"Texas Trail" [Paramount Nov 1937]

Hopalong Cassidy movie "Texas Trail" [1937]

The U.S. Army needs horses for the Spanish-American War, and they ask Hopalong Cassidy to help; after 500 wild horses are rounded up, Black Jack Carson's gang mixes stolen horses with the herd, and the Bar-20 crew is arrested for rustling. Directed by David Selman; starring William Boyd, Russell Hayden, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Judith Allen, Billy King, Alexander Cross & Karl Hackett
Image Ent. Double Feature b&w DVD [12/2002] out of prodn/used with "Rustlers' Valley" [1937]
Timeless Multimedia b&w VHS [12/96] for $12.99
full credits at IMDb

TV star William Boyd appeared as Hoppy in a cameo in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Greatest Show On Earth" [Paramount 1952]. Boyd figured
that he owed DeMille a favor for the break that he received by being hired to portray Simon of Cyrene in DeMille's 1927 silent epic "King of Kings".

untitled Hopalong Cassidy project [still in development 2016]
Announced 11/2008: Mark Canton is co-producing a Hopalong Cassidy feature film with Barney Cohen & Pterodactyl Productions,
for 2012 release; not much news since then, but the IMDb entry still exists • latest info at IMDb

"Hopalong Cassidy" TV series [NBC-TV June 1949 - April 1950]
The first year of Hoppy on TV were versions of the feature films edited down to one hour.

"Hopalong Cassidy" 104-episode radio program
[recorded 1948-1951, broadcast on Mutual Network Jan-Sept 1950, then CBS Radio Sept 1950-March 1952]
starring William Boyd {as Hoppy} and Andy Clyde {as California Carlson}
free online Hopalong Cassidy radio episodes

Hopalong Cassidy Cowtown Troubleshooters radio programs on audio CD

"Hopalong Cassidy: Cowtown Troubleshooters" [2009]
Radio Spirits audio CD set [4/2009] 20 episodes on 10 disks for $30.38
contains 20 digitally-restored & remastered half-hour episodes, 1951-52: "Coming Attraction: Murder" 02-03-51, "The Cold Country" 02-24-51, "Buckshot Badman" 03-03-51, "The Boss of Vinegar Bend" 03-10-51, "The Man In The Yellow Mask" 06-16-51, "Run, Sheep, Run" 06-23-51, "Hoppy Meets His Match" 06-30-51, "Bayou Drums Mean Death" 10-27-51, "Cleanup of Caribou Mesa" 11-03-51, "Six Little Men Who Were Green" 11-10-51, "The Devil and El Diablo" 11-24-51, "The Secret In The Hill" 12-08-51, "The Memory of Mace Melot" 12-15-51, "The Killers of Lion Canyon" 12-29-51, "The Wastrels of Juarez" 01-05-52, "Danger Wears Two Faces" 01-19-52, "Bull Fight" 02-09-52, "The Women of Windy Ridge" 02-16-52, "Stampede At Semple's Crossing" 03-01-52, and "Cowtown Troubleshooters" 03-08-52, plus a program guide booklet

Hopalong Cassidy Bullets On The Range radio programs on audio CD

"Hopalong Cassidy: Bullets On The Range" [2010]
Radio Spirits audio CD set [5/2010] 16 episodes on 8 disks for $21.09
contains 16 digitally-restored & remastered half-hour episodes, 1950-52: "The Failure" 01-26-50, "The Killers of Sandy Gulch" 04-09-50, "The Red Death" 04-16-50, "Bullets For Ballots" 04-30-50, "Range War" 05-21-50, "Letter From The Grave" 05-28-50, "Death Paints A Picture" 06-04-50, "Border of Nowhere" 06-11-50, "The Medicine Man" 06-18-50, "Flying Outlaw" 06-25-50, "The Plague of Parson's Folly" 12-09-50, "The Case of The Last Word" 01-06-51, "Bad Medicine At Rimrock" 01-13-51, "Kidnapper's Trail" 05-05-51, "The Lawyer of Laredo" 12-01-51, and "Gambler's Luck" 01-12-52, plus a program guide booklet

"Hopalong Cassidy" comic books
Fawcett Comics published a one-shot issue in 1943, followed by an ongoing series from 1946 to 1953, when the company shut down (even though
Hoppy comic books sold 15 million copies in 1949). DC Comics took over the title and published issue #86 thru #135 from 1954 to 1959.

"Hopalong Cassidy" syndicated comic strip [Jan 1950 - 1955]
drawn by Dan Spiegel

Hopalong Cassidy and the Square Dance Holdup 78rpm record

"Hopalong Cassidy and The Square Dance Holdup" + "Hopalong
Cassidy and The Singing Bandit" 78rpm record [1950]
Capitol Records Reader 78rpm vinyl record [1950] out of prodn/scarce
'non-breakable' 78rpm vinyl record in 10½-inch by 12-inch binder, which means that recording length was limited to about three minutes per story; the Records Reader label includes a printed booklet with story text.

Hoppyland Amusement Park [1951-54]
in Venice Beach, California
William Boyd invested in the year-old 80-acre Venice Lake Park in 1951 and converted it to a Hopalong Cassidy theme park; opening day
was 26 May 1951. Although Boyd often appeared at the park in character as Hoppy, it was not successful and closed in 1954.

"Screen Snapshots: Hopalong In Hoppy Land" documentary short [Columbia Pictures Oct 1951]
Screen Snapshots Series 10-minute b&w short produced & directed by Ralph Staub of the park's opening day ceremonies; featuring William Boyd &
Grace Bradley Boyd, Don DeFore, Susan Hayward, Van Johnson & Eve Johnson, Pat O'Brien, Dennis O'Keefe, Richard Widmark & Bill Williams
credits at IMDb

Hopalong Cassidy's private railcar parked in Chicago

Photo of private Pullman observation car for actor William 'Bill' Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy taken at the Logan Square Bridge in Chicago, Illinois on 22 April 1950. Boyd starred in numerous movies and on television, and also appeared as Hopalong Cassidy in the Cole Brothers' Circus, which was likely the occasion surrounding this photo; the ornate Pullman railing on the car dates from the 1890s.
click to enlarge photo (in new window)

here on the Hopalong Cassidy Page at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Western Bookstore

Visiting this webpage from outside the U.S.A.? It is possible to make purchases from these coded Amazon (USA) links
via other Amazon sites: just follow these instructions.

	"Hopalong Cassidy: King of The Cowboy Merchandisers" [1995] by Harry L. Rinker Schiffer Publng 10¾x8½ pb [3/95] out of print?/used
	"Hopalong Cassidy Collectibles" [1997] by Joseph J. Caro Cowboy Collector 11x8½ pb [4/98] for $42.50 Cowboy Collector 1st edition pb [7/97] for $42.50
	"Hoppy" [2003] by Hank Williams Sweet-Water Press hardcover [2003] out of print/used
	"Hopalong Cassidy: An American Legend" [2008] by {widow} Grace Bradley Boyd & Michael Cochran Preface by President Bill Clinton, Foreword by Don McLean Gemstone Publishing 12½x5½ pb [10/2008] out of print/used Grace Bradley Boyd [1913-2010] credits [1932-1954] at IMDb

	"Trouble Shooter" [1952 & 1994] by Tex Burns {Louis L'Amour} Hoppy arrives in New Mexico to help his friend, Pete Melford, and finds that Pete has been murdered, all traces of his ranch have disappeared, Pete's lovely niece is on the scene, and rancher Colonel Treadway is blocking her efforts to find out the truth. Bantam mass pb [4/95] for $5.50 BDD hardcover [5/94] out of print/used Amereon Ltd. hardcover [10/80] for $24.94
	"The Riders of High Rock" [1951 & 1993] by Tex Burns {Louis L'Amour} Looking for his old friend Red Connors, Hopalong Cassidy rides into cattle country just east of the California line and finds Red wounded and holed up in a mountain cave after he caught a gang of rustlers in the act. Bantam mass pb [5/94] for $5.50 BDD 9¼x6½ hardcover [6/93] out of print/used Amereon Ltd. hardcover [6/74] out of print/used
	"The Trail To Seven Pines" [1951 & 1992] by Tex Burns {Louis L'Amour} Hopalong Cassidy discovers two men – one dead, the other badly wounded – on the rain-drenched trail to the lawless town of Seven Pines. Returning with medical help, he finds that the wounded man has been shot through the temple. Determined to find the killer, Hoppy hires on at Bob Ronson's Rocking R Ranch, which is beset by rustlers. Bantam mass pb [6/93] for $5.50 BDD 9x6¼ hardcover [6/92] out of print/many used Amereon Ltd. hardcover [6/76] for $22.95
	"The Rustlers of West Fork" [1951 & 1991] by Tex Burns {Louis L'Amour} Hopalong Cassidy heads for the Circle J Ranch to deliver a fortune in bank notes to his old friend, Dick Jordan, and discovers that the rancher and his daughter are being held prisoner by a desperate band of outlaws. Bantam mass pb [5/92] for $5.50 BDD 9¼x6¼ hardcover [6/91] out of print/many used Amereon Ltd. hardcover [6/76] out of print/used

	"Hopalong Cassidy TV Collection" [2006-2007] Volume 1: Critic's Choice b&w DVD [8/2006] 4 disks for $31.44 includes 12 first-season episodes, plus the Starz/Encore documentary "Public Hero #1" [2001], featuring Boyd's widow Grace Bradley Boyd, actor Dennis Weaver, and film critic/historian Leonard Maltin Volume 2: Critic's Choice b&w DVD [1/2007] 4 disks for $6.09 includes 14 first-season episodes
	"Hopalong Cassidy: Complete Collection" [2007] Infinity Ent. b&w/color DVD set [8/2007] 12 disks for $59.99 includes all 52 half-hour black-and-white TV programs, the Starz/Encore documentary "Public Hero #1" [2001] (featuring Boyd's widow Grace Bradley Boyd, film critic/historian Leonard Maltin & actor Dennis Weaver), and ten feature films: "Bar 20 Justice" [1938], "The Frontiersmen" [1938], "In Old Mexico" [1938], "Pride of The West" [1938], "Law of The Pampas" [1939], "The Renegade Trail" [1939], "Range War" [1939], "Silver On The Sage" [1939], "Sunset Trail" [1939] & "Santa Fe Marshal" [1940]
	"Hopalong Cassidy: The Complete Series" [2011] excellent reproductions of all 52 episodes Shout! Factory b&w/color DVD set [6/2011] 6 disks - out of prodn/used
	"Hopalong Cassidy: The Complete TV Series" [2013] excellent reproductions of all 52 episodes Timeless Media b&w/color DVD set [8/2013] 6 dosks for $29.93

	"Hopalong Cassidy: The Clarence E. Mulford Story" [1991] by Bernard A. Drew Scarecrow Press pb [1/91] out of print/used Scarecrow Press hardcover [1/91] out of print/used
	"Bar-20: The Life of Clarence E. Mulford, Creator of Hopalong Cassidy" [1993] (includes seven original stories) by Francis M. Nevins, Jr. McFarland & Co 9½x6 hardcover [11/93] out of print/used

	"Hopalong Cassidy Ultimate Collector's Edition" [2015] Echo Bridge Home Ent. b&w/color DVD set [9/2015] 10 disks for $49.99 contains all 66 feature films; extras include 3 radio shows
	"Hopalong Cassidy Ultimate Collector's Edition" DVD Tin Lunchbox Set [2009] Echo Bridge Home Ent. b&w/color DVD tin lunchbox set [6/2009] 14 disks - SOLD OUT! contains all 66 feature films; extras include 3 radio shows, poster gallery, photo gallery; comic strip gallery, Hopalong Cassidy biography

	"Jingle of The Silver Spurs: The Hopalong Cassidy Radio Program, 1950-52" [2005] by Bernard A. Drew BearManor Media 8¾x6 pb [1/2005] for $16.95 "Hopalong Cassidy Rides The Airwaves of The Old West" [1995] by Bernard A. Drew Attic Revivals Press pb [6/95] out of print/used
	"Hopalong Cassidy: Adventures In The West" Radio Program [2007] 20 half-hour episodes from 1950-51 starring William Boyd Radio Spirits audio CD [4/2007] 10 disks - out of prodn/used

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Hopalong Cassidy