WILLIAM "HOPPY" BOYD - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 06/10/1953 - HFSID 287817

WILLIAM BOYD
Typed letter signed as "Hoppy," inviting a former cast member to a Western-themed NBC party celebrating 250 consecutive weeks of Hopalong Cassidy telecasts
Typed Letter signed in character: "Hoppy", 1 page, 7½x11½. Beverly Hills, California, 1953 June 10. On Hopalong Cassidy letterhead to "Dear Jim". In full: "The week ending June 21st will mark 250 consecutive weeks of televising the Hopalong Cassidy pictures. Naturally I am proud of this and I am also very grateful, particularly to you and the others who aided in the filming of the pictures and who contributed to their success. In commemoration of the event, the National Broadcasting Company and myself want to invite you to a party on Sunday, June 22. It will be held at the Placeritos (old Monogram) Ranch from three until six Sunday afternoon. In keeping with the spirit of the occasion, we would like to request that you wear some sort of Western garb. There will be refreshments, of course, and I am sure we will have a wonderful time getting re-acquainted and re-living our experiences together. I sincerely hope you can attend. Please call my secretary, Miss Tracey, at CRestview 4-5248 and tell her that you can make it. Kindest personal regards. Sincerely yours". William Boyd (1895-1972) 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 1951-1952. Hopalong Cassidy was televised on NBC from 1949-1951 and was syndicated from 1952-1954. In 1952 Boyd made a cameo as "Hoppy" in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), 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 around edges. Multiple horizontal mailing folds. Unknown stain at top and left edges. Otherwise, fine condition.