Early life
- Born Angelo Rossitto on April 3 1904 in the Bronx, New York City, United States.
- Of Sicilian‑Italian descent; his parents were immigrants from Sicily.
Career
- Adopted the stage name “Iron Eyes Cody” and presented himself as a Native American.
- Began appearing in Western films in the 1930s, often cast as a stunt performer, extra, or supporting actor portraying Native American characters.
- Appeared in more than 200 films and television series, including The Searchers (1956), Little Big Man (1970), and the television series The Lone Ranger.
- Became widely recognized for his role in the 1971 public‑service announcement “Crying Indian,” produced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Keep America Beautiful campaign. The PSA, which showed Cody as a tearful Native American witnessing environmental pollution, is credited with raising public awareness of litter and pollution issues.
Personal life
- Married Bertha Parker, a Native American archaeologist and museum curator, in 1939; the couple had two children.
- Lived most of his adult life on a ranch in Burbank, California, where he cultivated an image consistent with his public persona as a Native American elder.
Revelation of ancestry
- In the 1990s, after his death on January 4 1999, investigative reports and family statements confirmed that Cody’s heritage was Italian, not Native American.
- Despite the discrepancy, many scholars note that Cody’s career reflected broader Hollywood practices of “typecasting” and “racist casting” that frequently employed non‑Indigenous actors in Indigenous roles.
Legacy
- Cody’s image remains iconic in American environmental history due to the “Crying Indian” PSA, which continues to be referenced in discussions of environmental activism and advertising.
- His career is also examined in film and cultural studies as a case study of ethnic representation, identity construction, and the long‑standing practice of “passing” in the entertainment industry.
Selected filmography (highlights)
- The Searchers (1956) – as a Cherokee Warrior
- Little Big Man (1970) – as an Apache Scout
- The Great Sioux War (1972) – as a Native American Elder
- Crying Indian (1971) – public‑service announcement
References
- Biographical entries in major film encyclopedias and historical analyses of mid‑20th‑century American cinema.
- EPA archives on the “Crying Indian” campaign.
- News articles and scholarly works documenting the posthumous revelation of Cody’s ancestry.
