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(5 January 1891, Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Canada - 24 January 1948, Santa Monica, California, USA)
 Bill
Cody, the B-movie cowboy star, was born William Joseph Cody, Jr., on
January 5, 1891 in St. Paul, Minnesota 1891. After graduating, he
became an actor with the Metropolitan Stock Company, which toured
the U.S. and Canada. He wound up in Hollywood in 1922 and got
employment as a stuntman, eventually working his way up to bit parts
as an actor.
As an actor using the pseudonym "Paul Walters," Cody appeared in two
movies for producer Jesse Goldburg's Independent Pictures. In 1924,
Goldburg decided to star Cody, under his own name, in a series of
eight B-Western features, beginning with "Dangerous Days" (1924).
Though he was short, Cody handled himself well in fight scenes,
where he usually took on villains bigger than himself. As was
typical of the genre, Cody's horse "Chico" was featured as a
co-star, though he also rode a horse named "King."
Goldburg dropped Cody after the series, which wound up in 1925. He
moved on to producer Pat Powers' Associated Exhibitors to make two
films in 1926, then starred in The Arizona Whirlwind (1927) for
Myron Selznick, which was released through Pathe Pictures. Possibly
influenced by Selznick, who became a talent agent who pioneered the
production of motion pictures by their stars, Cody created his own
production company, making B-Westerns released by Pathe. Pathe
terminated its relationship with Cody in 1928, and he signed with
with Universal to star in three detective movies that proved to be
his last silent pictures. In 1929, Cody went on tour with the Miller
Bros. 101 Ranch Show.
He made the transition to sound, and was back in the saddle in Under
Texas Skies (1930) in 1930 for W. Ray Johnston's Syndicate Pictures.
He subsequently signed with Monogram and made a series of eight
B-westerns co-starring Andy Shuford in the popular Bill and Andy
Series. In 1932, Monogram decided to replace Cody and its other
western star, Tom Tyler, signing Bob Steele and Rex Bell to take
their place. |
