Bill Cody (actor)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bill Cody (actually William Joseph Cody ; born January 5, 1891 in St. Paul , Minnesota , † January 24, 1948 in Santa Monica , California ) was an American film actor .

Life

After completing college at St. John's University in New York City, Cody joined the Metropolitan Stock Company, with whom he toured the United States and Canada. In 1922 he arrived in Hollywood, where he first found work as a stuntman and small actor. The acquaintance with the independent producer Jesse Goldburg led to better contracts; initially he starred in two films under the name Paul Walters , then Goldburg discovered the potential to exploit the equality of the actor's maiden name with that of Buffalo Bill , and financed a number of competently staged, small B-Westerns filmed in attractive surroundings and based on neat books with "Bill Cody" in the lead role.

After that, Cody made two films for the Associated Ehibitors by Pat Powers and one film for Pathe Productions , before he got his own series written by Myron Selznick , which was produced until the start of the sound film era. After three detective films for Universal Pictures , Cody left the film business for a year and toured a Wild West show. In 1931 he was back and played after a service in a supporting role in an eight-part film series alongside the teenage Andy Shuford for the Monogram . After another year of appearances in a circus (the "Bostock Wild Animal Circus"), he shot three miserable westerns for Robert Horner , which suffered from their almost non-existent budget, before he - again after a circus intermezzo - for producer Ray Kirkwood in one Series of nine films starring Spectrum Productions ; his son Bill Cody Jr. was there four times. (1925–1989) can be seen at his side.

1939 and 1943 were followed by short phases in which Cody played again in two films.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1925: Dangerous Odds
  • 1931: Dugan of the Badlands
  • 1943: The Masked Marvel (Serial, Episodes 5 + 6)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Cody, Bill
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cody, William Joseph (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film actor
DATE OF BIRTH January 5, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Paul , Minnesota
DATE OF DEATH January 24, 1948
Place of death Santa Monica , California