Hopalong Cassidy

Hopalong Cassidy is an American Western television series that ran from 1949 to 1952 on NBC, starring William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy, a fictional gunslinger who had been created by writer Clarence E. Mulford. It was the first Western television series. The series began as simply broadcasts of edited versions of previous Hopalong Cassidy films, all of which had starred Boyd (66 such films had been produced between 1935 and 1948). Eventually, the series transitioned to original episodes, with a new cast of characters and actors, notably Edgar Buchanan as Hopalong's sidekick Red Connors. The show was created and produced by Boyd. Hopalong Cassidy was a hit, especially among children, and helped lead to a wave of other Western TV series, including The Gene Autry Show and The Roy Rogers Show. It also did well in merchandising, including spawning the first TV series-themed lunchbox. Production The Hopalong Cassidy film series ended in 1948, due to declining revenues, and their star William Boyd, who was now 53 years old, was regarded as a film star of the past. However, Boyd thought Hopalong Cassidy might have a future in television, and spent $350,000 to obtain the rights to his old films; he sold or mortgaged almost everything he owned to raise the money. Boyd approached the fledgling NBC network to broadcast the films. The initial broadcasts were so successful that NBC could not wait for a television series to be produced and edited the feature films to broadcast length. Hopalong Cassidy begain airing on June 24, 1949, and was the first network Western television series, predating The Lone Ranger by several months.