Topper was a pure white Arabian stallion, owned and ridden by American actor William Boyd in most of the films in which he played the character Hopalong Cassidy. Boyd bought the horse as a two-year-old in 1937, shortly after his marriage to actress Grace Bradley, who reputedly chose the name because she was a fan of the comic fantasy fiction novels ‘Topper’ and ‘Topper Takes a Trip’, written by Thorne Smith.
In his early Hopalong Cassidy films, including the original ‘Hop-a-long Cassidy’, released by Paramount Pictures in 1935, Boyd was reliant on rental horses. However, Bradley said later, “He [Boyd] had a horse, but it was not what he wanted…” Indeed, Topper was originally acquired as a stunt double for another horse, King Nappy but, when that horse was injured, he was promoted to a starring role. Topper subsequently starred in the Hopalong Cassidy films produced by Paramount Pictures and United Artists and the television series ‘Hopalong Cassidy’, which ran on NBC from 1949 to 1952. Topper was trained, cared for and transported to public appearances by Mike Nimeth, who also appeared as a (originally uncredited) wrangler in several of the Hopalong Cassidy films.
It would be fair to say that the cinematic version of Hopalong Cassidy was a ‘watered-down’ version of the original character created by Clarence Mulford for serialised stories in dime magazines in 1904. Neverless, the combination of Hopalong Cassidy, who typically dressed completely, or almost completely, in black and Topper, his striking white steed, mde for an iconic pairing. Topper was renowned for this gentleness, obedience and patience, on and off the screen and, with Cassidy living by a strict code of honour, they became an aspirational pairing, too. In fact, they were the first Western stars to be celebrated on lunchboxes and other mass-produced merchandise. Topper died in January 1959 and was buried at the Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park in Calabasas, California. Coincidentally, his former handler Mike Nimeth died from a heart attack three weeks later, prompting Boyd to retire the Hopalong Cassidy character. Boyd, himself, died in 1972 from compluactiosn related to Parkinson’s Disease and congestive heart failure.