“On Top of Old Topper – A Surprising and Inspiring 'Backstory' of an American Cultural Icon of the 1950s!" by Pam Dewey

  

William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy                           Hopalong on his horse, Topper 

Attached here is a wonderful new documentary on famous American cowboy actor William Boyd, and the movie and TV Western hero he portrayed and came to emulate in his personal life, Hopalong Cassidy.

Pam Dewey, author, documentary producer, and US social historian, has masterfully put together yet another account of 19th and 20th Century America’s story, and the myths and legends of its making. In her presentation, Pam's attention to historical detail and infusion of aspects of her early life in the US Midwest during the middle of the 20th Century make this production highly educational and authentic.

The male heroic themes Ms. Dewey explores have continued to resonate in North America and in slightly altered forms worldwide, from the 1980s into the early 21st Century. One need look no further than US presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, and other populist leaders around the world at present who portray themselves as savior heroes, and the large numbers of people who support them.

The February 2022 Canadian truck blockaders in Ottawa and Alberta no doubt think of themselves as heroic Hopalongs. It is notable that actor William Boyd was a champion of certain Western Civilization virtues and morality, including racial and cultural equality and justice. Yet many White Americans and others in the 1950s disagreed with him but kept mum on the actor's liberal views, especially his anti-racism.

For Ms. Dewey’s other great documentaries and “docucommentaries,” as she terms her more pointed productions, visit her YouTube page here: Meet Myth America.

JL