DID YOU KNOW?
Now, in 1883 Cody, with the help of producer and partner Nate Salsbury, organized his own Wild West show—a spectacular outdoor entertainment with a cast of hundreds, featuring fancy-shooting, hard-riding cowboys and yelling Native Americans, along with re-creations of a buffalo hunt, the capture of the Deadwood (South Dakota) stagecoach, and a Pony Express ride. Its stars included Annie Oakley, the famous rifle shot, and, in 1885, Chief Sitting Bull. By the end of the 19th century, Buffalo Bill was one of the most-recognized persons in the world. His shows went on to tour England and Europe with such success that Queen Victoria saw the show three times.
during the winter and continued scouting for the army in the summer or escorting hunting parties to the West. In the process, the line began to blur even further between the scout William F. Cody and the legend and entertainer Buffalo Bill. Cody always wore his flamboyant theatrical clothes into battle, later donning the same outfit to re-create his attack onstage.
Also, that same year Cody, who frequently took dangerous assignments that others refused, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on April 26 as scout for a contingent of the Third Cavalry that was pursuing Native Americans who had stolen army horses near Fort McPherson in Nebraska. (The honor was revoked in 1916 as part of a general review to identify individuals who had received the award but had not technically been members of the military as officers or enlisted men. Scouts were classified as civilians. However, the U.S. Army restored the Medal of Honor to Cody posthumously in 1989.)
Wild Bill Cody, the actor
Now, recognizing the financial possibilities inherent in dramatizing the West, Cody was easily persuaded in 1872 to star in Buntline’s drama The Scouts of the Prairie. Though his acting was far from polished, he became a superb showman, and his audiences greeted him with overwhelming enthusiasm during his 45-year career as an entertainer.
For many years Cody performed