Beech Tree News Network

“He didn’t play the guitar, he didn’t sing, he didn’t have to; He is Hopalong Cassidy, (“old B-movie cowboy actor).

Some say there was a character out of the Old West by the same name.  This character by the same name supposedly had a gimpy leg from a gunshot wound; he sort-of hopped along.  Therefore the tag, Hopalong. 

Fast-forward to the 1940’s when B-grade cowboy movies became mostly Saturday fare, a guy by the name of Bill Boyd, adopted the hero-stage name of Hopalong Cassidy.  Who knows why?  

B-grade movies were cookie-cutter, two-fisted affairs, short on plot and long on horse hair and gunsmoke.

These “hay-burners” were cranked-out by the truck loads, by primarily two lesser-known Hollywood studios; Republic and Monogram.  Probably the better-known Cowboy actors like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers worked for Republic.

The hay-day of the B-movie cowboy spanned from the late 1930’s, through the 1940’s, and a small part of the 1950’s.  Then TV cowboys crowded out those in hometown theaters— TV programs like Gunsmoke and Have Gun will Travel began to rule the day. 

Now, through the miracle of rerun TV, many of these are brought back.  You can see Hopalong Cassidy on Dish Western Channel on Saturday mornings.

However, in the case of the Hopalong TV series introduction, noted at the beginning, it seems they are saying anyone who plays a musical instrument and sings is a wimp and a milk-toast.

Well, let’s see:  Gene Autry was a four-engine cargo pilot in World War II, flying the infamous Hump in the China-Burma-Theater, supplying war materials to the American and Chinese troops—fighting the Japanese.

In real life Roy Rogers was no wimp either.  Once eating in a Hollywood restaurant with his wife Dale, this jerk came over and tried to pick a fight with Roy.  “Let’s see if you can really fight,” he told Roy.  Roy whipped him and threw him out the front door.  Both Gene and Roy, played and sang well, as you may know.

A fourteen year old boy named David (later King David of Israel) was a pretty fair player of the harp and he also sang well (The Psalms).  This young shepherd boy, son of Jesse, killed the Philistine giant, Goliath, armed with his sling and “one smooth stone.”  He then cut off the giant’s head with the giant’s own sword; held it aloft for all to see.  Milk-toast?  Neh.

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