An amiable, big-nosed former vaudevillian from Tennessee, Brit Wood's main claim to cinematic fame was his brief 1939-1940 stint as William Boyd's comic sidekick Speedy in the long-running Hopalong Cassidy B-Western series. Although he was summarily replaced with the better-known (and plain better) Andy Clyde, Wood wasn't too annoying and could actually play dramatic scenes better than most B-Western rubes. An accomplished harmonica virtuoso, Wood supplied hillbilly tunes to several B-Westerns, including "The Covered Wagon Rolled Right Along" from Gene Autry's Saddle Pals (1947).
Britt Wood
Share on