WILLIAM "HOPPY" BOYD - AUTOGRAPH ENVELOPE SIGNED CIRCA 1943 - HFSID 75727

WILLIAM BOYD
Actor William Boyd addressed this envelope to singer and author Chaw Mank in 1943, signing it "Bill Boyd" in the return address.
Autograph envelope signed "Bill Boyd" in return address in brown ink. 6x5¼. Postmarked Dallas, Texas, Dec. 13, 1943. Addressed to Mr. Chaw Mank, Staunton, Illinois. One 1½¢ brown and white Martha Washington stamp affixed. CHAW MANK (1902-1985) was many things in the entertainment biz, including a songwriter, bandleader, record producer, newspaper columnist, radio personality, author (his short story about Ruldoph Valetino was adapted in the 1977 movie Valentino) and even a psychic. WILLIAM BOYD (1895-1972) first starred as Hopalong Cassidy, a western hero who dressed in black and rode a white horse ("Topper"), in 66 features filmed between 1935 and 1948. He personally acquired the television rights to the films and edited the features into 30 and 60-minute segments. The series proved so popular that Boyd filmed an additional 52 episodes for television in 1951 to 1952. Hopalong Cassidy was televised on NBC from 1949 to 1951 and was syndicated from 1952 to 1954. In 1952, the year he signed this document, Boyd was also also seen in a cameo as "Hoppy" in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), which was directed by Cecil B. DeMille, who had launched Boyd's career as a matinee idol when he cast Boyd as the romantic lead in The Volga Boatman (1926). In 1956, Boyd would be DeMille's first choice to play Moses in The Ten Commandments, but Boyd turned down the role, thinking that his association with "Hoppy" would hurt the film. Lightly toned, creased and soiled. Torn open at top and right edges. Otherwise in fine condition.