Hopalong Cassidy was a character in a series of twenty-eight books written by Clarence E. Milford, first published in 1907. Movies and television shows were made based on the character. The best-known actor playing Hopalong Cassidy was William Lawrence Boyd. His first movie appearance was in 1919, but the first Hopalong Cassidy film was not made until 1934. Sixty-six films were made. The sixty-six films were known as "Hoppies," distributed by Paramount Pictures, and showed a clean-cut Cassidy in place of the crude and dangerous original. In 1948, William Boyd purchased the television rights to the movies, then later made fifty-two new programs. In the 1950s, Hopalong Cassidy and his horse, named Topper , were seen in comics, records, toys, and other products. Boyd died in 1972.
