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18 December 1889, New York, New York
- 20 March 1935, Los Angeles, California)
 Theatre
actor who appeared in a few films.
William "Stage" Boyd was an accomplished Broadway actor who, when
making the crossover into film, found out that another William Boyd
(later famous for the Hopalong Cassidy film series) was already in
the business. Loath to change his name, it was suggested that he
play on his theater background by literally making "Stage" his
middle name, thereby differentiating himself from the other William
Boyd.
His bad behavior (which included arrests for alcohol and drug
posession) not only wrecked his own career, but inadvertantly
derailed William Boyd's career as well. When the first stories broke
about "Stage" Boyd's escapades, the photos splashed across the
newspapers were of the wrong Boyd. The day before, Boyd had signed a
large contract with RKO, one that was immediately terminated by
invoking the morals clause. |
