Iron Eyes Cody
He appeared in more than 200 films, including The Big Trail with John Wayne; The Scarlet Letter, with Colleen Moore; Sitting Bull, as Crazy Horse; The Light in the Forest as Cuyloga; The Great Sioux Massacre, with Joseph Cotten; Nevada Smith, with Steve McQueen; A Man Called Horse, with Richard Harris; and Ernest Goes to Camp as Chief St. Cloud, with Jim Varney.
In 1953, he appeared twice in Duncan Renaldo's syndicated television series, The Cisco Kid as Chief Sky Eagle. He guest starred on the NBC western series, The Restless Gun, starring John Payne, and The Tall Man, with Barry Sullivan and Clu Gulager. In 1961, he played the title role in "The Burying of Sammy Hart" on the ABC western series, The Rebel, starring Nick Adams. A close friend of Walt Disney, Cody appeared in a Disney studio serial titled The First Americans, and in episodes of The Mountain Man, Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone. In 1964 Cody appeared as Chief Black Feather on The Virginian in the episode "The Intruders." He also appeared in a 1968 episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood featuring Native American dancers.
Cody was widely seen as the "Crying Indian" in the "Keep America Beautiful" public service announcements (PSA) in the early 1970s.The environmental commercial showed Cody in costume, shedding a tear after trash is thrown from the window of a car and it lands at his feet. The announcer, William Conrad, says: "People start pollution; people can stop it."
The Joni Mitchell song "Lakota", from the 1988 album, Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm, features Cody's chanting. He made a cameo appearance in the 1990 film Spirit of '76.
Living in Hollywood, he began to insist, even in his private life, that he was Native American, over time claiming membership in several different tribes. In 1996, Cody's half-sister said that he was of Italian ancestry, but he denied it. After his death, it was revealed that he was of Sicilian parentage, and not Native American at all.
Cody, at age 94, died of mesothelioma at his home in Los Angeles on January 4, 1999.
Filmography (150 Appearances)
The Hypocrite
The Great Indian Wars 1840-1890
The Spirit of '76
Ernest Goes to Camp
The A-Team
Hollywood
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
Grayeagle
The Quest
The Immortal
El Condor
A Man Called Horse
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County
Medical Center
Then Came Bronson
Something for a Lonely Man
Here's Lucy
Hondo
Nevada Smith
The F.B.I.
The Great Sioux Massacre
Branded
The Virginian
Black Gold
The Mike Douglas Show
Mister Ed
Guestward, Ho!
Outlaws
The Tall Man
The Rebel
Alias Jesse James
Rawhide
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Lawman
The Light in the Forest
Gun Fever
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
Ride Out for Revenge
Maverick
The Thin Man
Sugarfoot
Gun for a Coward
Westward Ho, The Wagons!
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Johnny Moccasin
The Wild Dakotas
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
Cheyenne
Gunsmoke
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
Apache Ambush
Sitting Bull
Arrow In The Dust
Fast Company
Apache War Smoke
Lost in Alaska
Son of Paleface
Ellis in Freedomland
Apache Country
Fort Osage
Night Raiders
Red Mountain
Fort Defiance
Ace in the Hole
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
California Passage
Cherokee Uprising
The Cisco Kid
Broken Arrow
The Iroquois Trail
Cody of the Pony Express
Mrs. Mike
The Cowboy and the Indians
Sand
Massacre River
The Paleface
Indian Agent
Blood on the Moon
Train to Alcatraz
The Gallant Legion
The Senator Was Indiscreet
Bowery Buckaroos
The Last Round-up
Unconquered
Can't Help Singing
The Phantom
Dawn on the Great Divide
Springtime in the Rockies
Overland Mail
King of the Stallions
The Omaha Trail
Pierre of the Plains
Perils of Nyoka
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
My Gal Sal
Lawless Plainsmen
Valley of the Sun
Don Winslow of the Navy
Ride 'Em Cowboy
King of the Texas Rangers
This Woman Is Mine
Saddlemates
In Old Cheyenne
Western Union
Arizona
Hudson's Bay
Pony Post
North West Mounted Police
Young Bill Hickok
Too Many Girls
Colorado
Kit Carson
Untamed
Winners of the West
Young Buffalo Bill
Green Hell
Maintain the Right
Crashing Thru
Overland Mail
Fighting Mad
Overland with Kit Carson
The Oregon Trail
Across the Plains
Union Pacific
The Kid From Texas
Scouts to the Rescue
The Cowboy and the Lady
The Lone Ranger
Prairie Thunder
The Boss Rider of Gun Creek
The Bold Caballero
Ride, Ranger, Ride
Treachery Rides the Range
Custer's Last Stand
Rose Marie
Custer's Last Stand
The Farmer Takes a Wife
Chandu on the Magic Island
The Return of Chandu
Young Eagles
Massacre
Fighting With Kit Carson
King of the Arena
Wild Girl
Texas Pioneers
Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Rainbow Trail
Oklahoma Jim
Fighting Caravans
The Viking