Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

Hopalong
Leaps Into
Limelight
From KEIII DI)UNSTAN, in
Hollywood.
'1?HE HOPALONG Cassidy craze
has gone so far in recent
months that this easy-going cow
boy has licked in popularity every
American hero who ever existed.
Babe Ruth, Lindbergh, Buffalo Bill,
Mickey Mouse-none of them ever
swept the country the way Bill
Boyd has dlone.
A circus recently billedt Hopa
long (Bill Boyd) Cassidy as the
"Outstanding Personality in the
World To-day." Perhaps hIe is
not quite, but yout can't walk anly
where on Long Island or anywhere
else for that matter without seeing
squads of small fry shooting it
out in thieir Hopalong suits.
Twelve months ago HIopalong
Cassitly was a back number andt
Bill Boyd did not even have the
price of a train ticket from Los
Angeles to New York. This year
he expects to make more than a
million dollars. The secret of his
success, of course, is the revival
of his films on television. Tele
vision has brought many oldtimers
back to fame, but Hopalong has
staggered everyone.
This year .there will be a total
U.S. retail sale of 70 million dol
lars' worth of HIopalong Cassidy
goods. Thlere are Hopalong cow
boys suits, Hopalong bicycles fit
ted with necessary holsters, guns,
waterbottles, etc., HIopalong skates
fitted with spurs, and Hopalong wal
lets, waste paper baskets, ties,
cookies, cereals, candy, plastic
mnasks, underpants, blankets, wall
paper, two million comic books
and a Hopalong comic strip which
is syndicated right throughout
America.
One company has sold 400,000
bars of Hoppy soap, another sold
one million Hoppy knives in the
first 10 days. Bill Boyd's happy
rake-off on all these things is 5
per cent.
Anything associated with Hoppy
just can't lose. On the West
Coast a company has launched a
Hopalong Troopers' Club. Tomn
Sholts overnight found himself
with an organisation big enough to
rival the Boy Scouts. There were
two million members, he had no
programme, and not knowing w'hat
to do with all the gun-toting kids
he had a nervous breakdown.
THIS HOPPY is a different
character from thle one I re
member. In the old days he used
to slosh down his rotgut neat from
the bottle, spit tobacco juice, treat
his women rough, and kill three
or four men each picture.
Now he drinks sarsparilla,
doesn't smoke, hIas polished man
ners, is polite to women and never
kills anyone.
He married for the fifth time
recently, but still has no children.
Not his own, that is-usually on
a tour of any large city there is
a stampede of anything up to
200,000 children. In their chaps,
cowboy boots, spurs and 10gal.
hats, they shake his hIand, look
fiercely into his eyes and say,
"Howdy, podner." And he loves it.
RON RANDELL, after having
been barred by Actors Equity
under their local laws from acting
on Broadway, is now back in
Hollywood. IHe was bitterly dis
appointed when Equity would not
let himn play the lead in Jean Gi
raudoux's play, "The Enchanted."
But he forgot his troubles and
went to England for a holiday.
Now he is back, and this week
he starts work as Tomn Faggus,
the would-be hlighwayman in the
technicolor version of R. D. Black
Inore's famous novel, "Lorna
Doone." He has what they call
a top supporting role. Richard
Greene and Barbara I-ale will play
the leading roles.
* * *
BOB HOPE. according to re
ports, is making more money
this year than any other earner
in the wvrld. His new radio deal
gives him more than 1,500,000
d-llars a year. He's getting 50
per cent. profit'from each pic
lure he makes. and that should
be another million. Hils television
shows for this year come to 250,000
dollars, and his Hope Enterprises
have an enterprising finger in
every kind of business pie you can
think of. If reports are right,
Bob Hope will make 2,750,000 dol
lars without counting Hope Enter
prises, which includes substantial
oil assets. They say this alone
makes him a millionaire.
I-ERE ARE some short bits: The
smoke of battle and the noise
of guns are getting thicker and
louder in Hollywood. At the mo
ment there are 14 pictures recount
ing the campaigns in the Pacific
and Europe-on land, sea and in
the air.
Americans feel rather smug be
catse Bing Crosby has been listed
n the 102nd edition of the British
Who's Who. He is the only crooner
and only star of film musicals list
ed. Bing summed utp his career for
"Who's Who" in 19 words.
This remark was attributed to
Ella Raines: "If they'd cast her as
Lady Godiva the horsewould steal
Ithe show."
$