Yours,
B. Spin.
England.
Cheere
Danny....
I was at the State Fair in Wisconsin (West Allis) and saw Hoppy on Topper, (Topper galloping down the main street of the fair with Hoppy riding him). Well, I ran after them.
Later, I saw Bill Boyd sitting in a small room - I saw him through a screen door, he was sitting on a chair minus his hat, all alone. I wish I would have gone up to the screen and talked to him.
It was Hoppy for me - forget Roy and Gene - it was Hoppy.
Thanks for the website.
Ann in Arizona
When I was a child I spent too many hours watching Hoppy. My father even performed surgery on his sidekick Andy Clyde. Sometime around 1956 or so I was riding on an airplane to Chicago with my mother. I saw this wonderful head of white hair. I immediately recognized the hair as Hoppy's. I asked my mom "is that Hoppy?" She said "yes!" I was too scared to go up to him. When the plane landed and we walked off my mother "pushed" me to see my hero. Getting enough courage I went up and said "hi Hoppy." He was wonderful. He shook my hand and talked to me and gave me a "Hoppy coin." I still have it today some 50 years later and it is one of my most treasured possessions. Hodge
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Dear Sir,
I used to listen to Hopalong Cassidy on the radio in the early to mid fifty`s.
I still have embeded in my brain the words" Hopalong Cassidy Clipperty Clipperty Clop, Hopalong Cassidy Never Never Stop. "This is all I can recall of Hopalong Cassidy from my younger years, apart from someone enroling me in a Hopalong Cassidy Club whereby I received a "Hoppy" badge and photo. The badge has long gone but I still have the photograph of which I show you here. My thanks go to your "Hoppy" site for rekindling memories of chidhood and the B.B.C. for their broadcasts. Did "Hoppy" really sign my photo in the fifty`s?. Yours, B. Spin. England.
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Response by webmaster:
The signature is just like the one on the photo that he sent to me in the sixties - which is real. So I have no doubt yours is real too.
Rob
Response by a site visitor:
To answer a question that I see on your site, Hoppy was in Sydney in 1953 in November. This I know as I am about to list a ticket on ebay for his show which was in my fathers belongings along with a diary naming the year and how much he enjoyed the show.
kind regards
Peter
Ron
I am a distant relative of William Lawrence Boyd, born in the Cambridge
area
of Ohio, June 5, 1895, and died in the Los Angeles Area of CA.,
September
12, 1972, at the age of 77. The Boyd, Law, Glenn, Thompson, Wendell,
Windle,
Parrett, Parrot, Starr, and other families gathered in Guernsey County,
OH.,
and most were from PA. and VA. orginally after having arrived from
Europe.
These families married back and forth. I have a cousin Don Boyd of IL.
who
keeps me posted along with other relatives in Ohio and IA.
Anyway, I met William L. Boyd, "Hoppy", at the Peterson Field Airport
in
Colorado Springs. CO., in April of 1955, when in college there and
working
for an Airport Limo Company. Hoppy gave me a silver coin and said to
me,
"Son, if I give you a silver dollar tip, you will just spend it before
the
day is over, but if I give you this silver coin with my likeness on it,
you
will keep it and someday when you are old (I am now 68), this coin will
be
worth lots of money!"
I thanked him and have kept it sealed since. He was waiting for his
plane
to arrive and was very easy to talk with, had a great voice, beautiful
face
and eyes, was well built, strong and very handsome, I was deeply
impressed
with him! Of course as a child, I have gone to each of his many
western
movies and he was my idol, it was a great thrill to spend a part of
that day
with this great man, he was so special, humble, kind, considerate, so
polite,
tipped his hat to the ladies, just a nice man to be with.
I met him again in Wichita , KS., later in the 50s, when he was there
promoting his movies and working to promote a Milk Co. there, and again
his
was kind to me.
Thanks for letting me send this email to you.
Would you have any idea if this coin of Hoppy might be of value?
Sincerely,
When my brother and I were kids we lived in Columbus, OH for several years. My brother, several years younger than me and a curly red head, worshiped Hoppy.
He had a hoppy outfit - from the black boots right up to the black hat.
Hoppy came to Columbus that summer and put on his traveling show at the local minor league baseball stadium (I think they were called the Red Birds). Anyway, after the fantastic show chocked full of amazing feats by Hoppy, we were leaving the stadium. We were beneath the stadium when all of a sudden a crowd formed .... it was Hoppy with his horse Topper. When Hoppy saw my brother who looked like his midget twin, he stopped to talk. Hoppy took off my brothers hat and affectionately patted him on the head. What a great day.
Four days later came crunch time at our house. My brother was still refusing to wash his hair because Hoppy had touched it. It seems silly now, but I'll never forget the tears when my father, obviously not a Hoppy fan, scrubbed his head!
Harry
Bill T.
Hoppy was actually born in Hendrysburg, Ohio, which is located about
20-25 miles east of Cambridge on the Old National Road.
My great-grandmother, Cora Wilkins-Hill and Hoppy's mother were
sisters.
Just wanted to pass that along.
Bradley Troy
Webmaster's Note: If any reader has an answer to this or any other question, please email us and we will forward your email.
Nice page you have here. My recollection of Hoppy is that for their
time, they were the best stories and intelligent acting coupled with
humor. He is definitely my favorite western hero. I saved the ends from
the Bond bread wrappers as a kid; they had all different pictures of
Hoppy and Topper on them! The license plate on my Lincoln Town Coupe is
BAR-20 Sincerely VK
Hoppy and a child who loved him Dear Hoppy, take my hand, lead me through a childhood i don't understand. Restore my faith in fatherhood and man.Hug me please. Know what your arms surrounding touch means to this child withdrawn to her own land. Teach me right from wrong to see that good is not evil and evil is not good. Take me to your world where truth, kindness, respect still stand. Anchor me in your gentleness.Resuscitate my trust in adults by trusting you.With all affection finding your smile a warm embrace, your presence a safety net, a refuge home ,a hiding place. In your laughter tranquillity, security abound. My childhood ended yet i love you now as then. In a quirky sense Hoppy,,our generations quardian angel who was there for us, somehow. Miss you my invincible friend.
Diane
I have a question that has been bugging me for years, did William Boyd ever have any relatives from northenr N.Y.??? My grand father was named Frank Boyd. I remember that my grandmother once told me [ about 60 years ago that he was an uncle of mine... please clear this up for me dean
Hello, I am trying to get the names/residence's of Bill Boyd's parents. I was told by my grandmother (50 yrs ago) that Bill Boyd was my 4th cousin. I don't know how true this may be. All I know is that my grandmother and Great-grandparents were from Ohio. I am just trying to justify this for my own satisfaction. If you can provide any information about Bill's early childhood and residence's, I would deeply appreciate this . Thank you
Robin
In the mid-late 40's I lived with my grandparents. Grandpap had a small lean-to that he kept firewood and an old rickity saw horse underneath. Beside it was an old mailbox that I used to keep my six shooters, holster and lasso inside. When I wanted to dream of becoming a cowboy, I used to don my shootin irons and ride that horse. Those days of good cowboys that managed to apprehend the bad guys without bloodshed are a thing of the past. The fists did the trick. Many a young boys grew up with a hero like Hopalong Cassidy in their minds. They were real hero's to most and wonderful role models. I will never forget the movies I went to see at the old Elzane theater in Martins Ferry, Ohio. I am now 66 and I can still see that saw horse and my six shooters in the mailbox, riding the trail beside Hoppy. G. C.
About 1953 I met Hopy, he was doing a promotional gig at the
Pennsburg firehouse, I was about 8 years old and thought he was the
greatest cowboy alive. He drew some schetches of the Our Gang characters for
me. I kept getting back in line to have him draw just one more! I think I got
him to draw about 8 different characters, Alfalfa, Spanky , Buckwheat and
some of the others, it was really a nite to remember. I looked for those
photographs recently and I guess the were thrown out when we moved to
another house, I sure wish I still had them! That was a nite I'll
never forget the nite I met Hopy!
Dear sir: I saw Hoppy in Hawaii, when I was 12 years old,and I will always remember that moment. Today Iam 62 years young, and I still record and watch Hoppy on TV. I have a record of Phamton Pass, and a movie album, where the spurs ring to let you no when to turn the pages. Made by Capital Records, 78 playing size. With album cover and picture book inside. Can you tell me the value of this records, of Bozo the clown picture in the top right corner? Thank you very much.
Marvin
Sirs; I will start off by telling you I am 65 years old. I can remember seeing Hopalong Cassidy movies (my favorite) at our local movie theater, The "Grand" in my home town New Albany, Indiana. When TV came along in the 1950s my dad bought a 6" Motorola set, well my Mom & I would get a bag of chips & set in front of that little TV about 15mins. early so we would not miss any of the "Hopalong Cassidy" show. We loved it then and I still do. The man was a good role model before the term became popular. The world would be better off of we had more men like that. Thats about all I have to say except, keep up the good work of geting Hoppy's message out. Bye . Your loyal fan, Frank
My grandfather attended school with Hoppy and I was told that they
got suspended from school together. Hoppy attended My grandparents wedding
I love your site,great job. When I was a boy growing up in the 50's my heroes were cowboys. Of course Hopalong Cassidy was one of those silver screen riders. His stories were about the old west and they were set in the 1800's unlike a lot of the Gene and Roy movies. I loved his voice and his white horse Topper.Hoppy was always a gentleman around the ladies and although when he first starred as Hoppy, he was not a good horseman. He became a much better one with each new movie. You couldn't help but love that laugh and the things that Hopalong stood for. Fair play, love of God and country and always helping someone in trouble.I miss William Boyd and all the cowboy heroes we grew up with. We need more heroes like these find men who protraited the cowboy with a high standard of morals.
Sincerely, Kurt
Many years ago around 50 maybe a little more
my father took me into Sydney, {Australia} a wet morning
and me on my fathers shoulders as there were crowds lining
the streets to see the man in black pass by, I was a fan then and I still am and the memory of that day is still as
strong today!
I met "Hoppy" at the Winchester, Virginia Apple Blossom Festival in
1953. I
was five years old. I can remember my father holding me up as a tugged
on
Hoppy's sleeve so he would look at me.
Are there any photos of Hopalong at the 1953 Apple Blossom Festival? I
would love to find one and have it enlarged to be hung in my office.
Thanks
for the help.
It is truly a treat to find so many web sites dedicated to Hoppy.The Hoppalong Cassidy
character was truly a heroe in my eyes as a child growing up.I vividly remember watching the television series as a child as I was sitting on my rocking horse.I believe the reason I
was so fond of Hoppy was because he always talked to the kids and gave a good message to them.As far as I was concerned,Hoppy was a straight shooting ,father figure who could do no wrong.God bless Hoppy,as he truly helped guide me to be a good man,
in the same manner as my own father and grandfathers did!
Greetings;
Virgel
In the early fifties, when I was about 7, I was a
fanatical Hoppy fan. I lived in southern California
and, as a matter of fact, I lived on the street
where they filmed the Life Of Riley, starring
William Bendix. I met him several times and used to
stand around and watch while they filmed. However,
the high point of my life, then, was the day I met
and shook hands with Hopalong Cassidy. I still have
a picture of myself, at that age, wearing my
Hopalong Cassidy shirt. Today I have recorded
movies of Hoppy and I still enjoy the fact that
Hoppy would rather shoot the Colt out of a man's
hand or simply out draw him and make him put his gun
away. Rarely, he took a man's handgun; almost as if
he didn't need to prove anything to anybody. It is
also the mark of a real pistolero who does not care
if you are armed or not. I wish there were still
movies heros like him. J.E.
Love your website. I am a first time visitor linking up from cowboy
pal. I
have been collecting "Hoppy" movies for several years and have all of
them
save about a dozen.
The Encore Westerns channel is doing a great job of showing the Hoppy
movies
in full length with great quality. According to the May schedule, they
will
be showing:
Renegade Trail, North of the Rio Grande, Hills of Old Wyoming and Lost
Canyon.
I plan on being a frequent visitor to your website. Keep up the good
work.
I met Bill Boyd, Hoppy, in the Airport at Colorado Springs, Colorado inthe
50's and he talked with me and gave me a silver coin with his image on it and
said to me, " son, if I give you a silver dollar, you will just spend it and
it will be gone, if I give you this personal coin of me, you will keep it and
someday it will be worth a lot more than the silver dollar will." Needless
to say, I still have his coin, have no idea if it is worth anything or not,
but to me it is worth a great deal as a reminder of our encounter, I saw him
again in Wichita, KS., later when he was promoting a film or series and
representing a milk company in Wichita.
I am a distant relative, so I am told, connected via the Thompson/Boyd/Law
line in Ohio and Iowa, am still working on the connection.
Would it be possible to get a copy of his family tree or birth place and parents?
>Howdy! I'm a cowboy reenactor and western fan from way back. Glad to
>see that you are a Hoppy fan as well. I have a modest collection of
>Hoppy videos etc.--including a viewmaster reel made in the early
>fifties. I assume that you know about the authorized Hopalong Cassidy
>newsletter. If not, write to Hopalong Cassidy Newsletter 6310
>Friendship Drive New Concord OH 43762 9708 for more information.
>
>Also, drop by my site when you have the time! Happy trails! Teddy
>Blue
>
See Jerry Rosenthal regarding Hoppy Land videos. jerry@hopalong.com
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