Iron Eyes Cody
Known for Acting · 153 credits
- Born
- 1907-04-03
- Died
- 1999-01-03
- Place of birth
- Gueydan, Louisiana, USA
- Also known as
- Iron Eyes · The Crying Indian (nickname) · Espera Oscar de Corti
Biography
Iron Eyes Cody (born Espera Oscar de Corti), was an Italian American actor. He portrayed Native Americans in Hollywood films, famously as Chief Iron Eyes in Bob Hope's The Paleface. He also played a Native American shedding a tear about litter in one of the country's most well-known television public service announcements, "Keep America Beautiful". Cody began acting in the early 1930s. He worked in film and television until his death. Cody claimed his father was Cherokee (and his mother Cree), also naming several different tribes, and frequently changing his claimed place of birth. To those unfamiliar with Indigenous American or First Nations cultures and people, he gave the appearance of living "as if" he were Native American, fulfilling the stereotypical expectations by wearing his film wardrobe as daily clothing—including braided wig, fringed leathers and beaded moccasins—at least when photographers were visiting, and in other ways continuing to play the same Hollywood-scripted roles off-screen as well as on.
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.
Known For
TV Shows (31)
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
as Self
Bonanza
1959
as Long Bear
The A-Team
1983
as Chief Watashi
Maverick
1957
as Indian (uncredited)
Lawman
1958
Cheyenne
1955
The Virginian
1962
as Chief Black Feather
The F.B.I.
1965
as Medicine Man
Gunsmoke
1955
as Indian
Rawhide
1959
as Medicine Man (uncredited) / John Redcloud
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
1955
Here's Lucy
1968
as Medicine Man
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Nemanna
The Rebel
1959
as Sammy Hart
The Tall Man
1960
Mister Ed
1961
as Chief Thundercloud
Sugarfoot
1957
as Joe White Cloud
Medical Center
1969
as Chanter
The Cisco Kid
1950
as Chief Big Cloud
The Thin Man
1957
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
Outlaws
1960
Branded
1965
Then Came Bronson
1969
as Chief John Carbona
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
1955
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
1951
Guestward, Ho!
1960
Hondo
1967
The Immortal
1970
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
1957
as Eskimo Pilot (uncredited)
Hollywood
1980
as Self
Movies (122)
Unconquered
1947
as Red Corn
Broken Arrow
1950
as Teese (uncredited)
Ace in the Hole
1951
as Indian Copy Boy (uncredited)
The Hypocrite
2024
as Crying Indian (archival footage)
North West Mounted Police
1940
as Indian Brave (Uncredited)
Wild Girl
1932
as Indian (uncredited)
Ernest Goes to Camp
1987
as Old Indian Chief
Nevada Smith
1966
as Taka-Ta (uncredited)
Texas Pioneers
1932
as Little Eagle
Grayeagle
1977
as Standing Bear
Green Hell
1940
as Indian (uncredited)
Vaudeville
1997
as Self
Alias Jesse James
1959
as 2nd Indian on Train (uncredited)
Blood on the Moon
1948
as Toma (uncredited)
A Man Called Horse
1970
as Medicine Man
Johnny Moccasin
1956
as Mountain Cloud
Western Union
1941
as Indian Who Drinks Chemical Solution
El Condor
1970
as Santana
Union Pacific
1939
as Indian (uncredited)
Red Mountain
1951
as Ute Indian
Young Eagles
1934
as Temple Guard
The Light in the Forest
1958
as Cuyloga's Counsellor
The Paleface
1948
as Chief Iron Eyes
The Cowboy and the Lady
1938
as Rodeo Indian (uncredited)
The Bold Caballero
1936
as Indian (uncredited)
Treachery Rides the Range
1936
as Little Deer
Ride 'Em Cowboy
1941
as Indian (uncredited)
The Spirit of '76
1990
as Iron Eyes Cody
Sitting Bull
1954
as Crazy Horse
Gun for a Coward
1956
as Chief
Pierre of the Plains
1942
as Indian (uncredited
Arrow In The Dust
1954
as Chief Rasacura (uncredited)
Son of Paleface
1952
as Chief Yellow Cloud
The Great Sioux Massacre
1965
as Crazy Horse
Train to Alcatraz
1948
as Geronimo
Fighting Caravans
1931
as Indian After Firewater (uncredited)
The Last Round-up
1947
Arizona
1940
as Indian (uncredited)
Ride Out for Revenge
1957
as Cheyenne Indian (uncredited)
My Gal Sal
1942
as Indian (uncredited)
Kit Carson
1940
as Indian
Lost in Alaska
1952
as Canook (uncredited)
The Quest
1976
as Old Indian
The Phantom
1943
as Native (uncredited)
The Farmer Takes a Wife
1935
as Indian
Murders in the Rue Morgue
1932
as Indian at Sideshow (uncredited)
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County
1970
as Crazy Foot
Gun Fever
1958
as 1st Indian Chief
Rose Marie
1936
as Indian Dancer (uncredited)
The Gallant Legion
1948
as Indian Warrior
Colorado
1940
as Indian Henchman
Can't Help Singing
1944
as Indian Scaring Caroline (uncredited)
Too Many Girls
1940
as Indian (uncredited)
In Old Cheyenne
1941
as Indian
Hudson's Bay
1940
as Indian (uncredited)
Fort Defiance
1951
as Brave Bear (as Iron Eyes)
California Passage
1950
as Indian
The Lone Ranger
1938
as Bullet-Bringer
The Cowboy and the Indians
1949
as Indian Farmer (uncredited)
Custer's Last Stand
1936
as Chief Brown Fox
The Senator Was Indiscreet
1947
as Indian
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
1942
as Indian (uncredited)
Apache Country
1952
as Indian with Pat (uncredited)
This Woman Is Mine
1941
as Hostile Indian
Sand
1949
as Indian (uncredited)
The Oregon Trail
1939
as Crow Foot
The Omaha Trail
1942
as 1st Friendly Indian
Springtime in the Rockies
1942
as White Cloud (uncredited)
Overland Mail
1942
as Indian
Young Buffalo Bill
1940
as Acuna's Aide
Crashing Thru
1939
as Indian Joe - Harrington's Henchman
Don Winslow of the Navy
1942
as Native Henchman at Mill [Ch. 5]
The Return of Chandu
1934
as Cat Man
Lawless Plainsmen
1942
as Indian
Apache War Smoke
1952
as Apache with Major Dekker's Hat
King of the Stallions
1942
The Kid From Texas
1939
as Wild West Show Indian
Apache Ambush
1955
Massacre River
1949
as Chief Yellowstone
Fort Osage
1952
as Osage Brave - Blue Shirt
Ellis in Freedomland
1952
as Male Model
Valley of the Sun
1942
as Indian (uncredited)
Dawn on the Great Divide
1942
as Indian
Something for a Lonely Man
1968
as Chief
Perils of Nyoka
1942
as Arab
The Viking
1928
as Indian (uncredited)
Ride, Ranger, Ride
1936
as Comanche War Party Leader (uncredited)
Massacre
1934
as Indian (uncredited)
Scouts to the Rescue
1939
as Indian
The Iroquois Trail
1950
as Huron Indian (uncredited)
Custer's Last Stand
1936
as Chief Brown Fox
Winners of the West
1940
as indian
Westward Ho, The Wagons!
1956
as Many Stars
Indian Agent
1948
as Wovoka
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
1979
as Self
Night Raiders
1952
as Henchman Cherokee
Cody of the Pony Express
1950
as Indian Who Slugs Cody (archive footage) (uncredited)
Young Bill Hickok
1940
as Big Bear
Chandu on the Magic Island
1935
as Cat Man
Mrs. Mike
1949
as Chief Iron Eyes (uncredited)
The Wild Dakotas
1956
as Red Rock
Untamed
1940
as Indian (uncredited)
Fighting With Kit Carson
1933
as Cheyenne Rider
Bowery Buckaroos
1947
as Indian Joe
The Rainbow Trail
1932
as John Tom
King of the Texas Rangers
1941
as Carlos
Overland with Kit Carson
1939
as Running Wolf
Pony Post
1940
as Indian
Saddlemates
1941
as Black Eagle
Fighting Mad
1939
as 2nd Indian at Post
Black Gold
1962
as Charlie Two-Bits
Fast Company
1953
as Ben Iron Mountain
Maintain the Right
1940
as Killer
The Boss Rider of Gun Creek
1936
Cherokee Uprising
1950
as Longknife
Across the Plains
1939
as Brave
King of the Arena
1933
as Circus Indian
Overland Mail
1939
as Indian Chief
Prairie Thunder
1937
as Indian (uncredited)
The Great Indian Wars 1840-1890
1991
About Iron Eyes Cody
Iron Eyes Cody (born Espera Oscar de Corti), was an Italian American actor. He portrayed Native Americans in Hollywood films, famously as Chief Iron Eyes in Bob Hope's The Paleface. He also played a Native American shedding a tear about litter in one of the country's most well-known television public service announcements, "Keep America Beautiful". Cody began acting in the early 1930s. He worked in film and television until his death. Cody claimed his father was Cherokee (and his mother Cree), also naming several different tribes, and frequent… With 153 credits spanning from 1928 to 2024, Iron Eyes Cody has appeared in 122 films and 31 TV shows.
Fans searching for Iron Eyes Cody movies, Iron Eyes Cody filmography, or the latest projects starring Iron Eyes Cody can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Iron Eyes Cody Movies
- Unconquered (1947) — as Red Corn
- Broken Arrow (1950) — as Teese (uncredited)
- Ace in the Hole (1951) — as Indian Copy Boy (uncredited)
- The Hypocrite (2024) — as Crying Indian (archival footage)
- North West Mounted Police (1940) — as Indian Brave (Uncredited)
Where to Watch Iron Eyes Cody Films
Most Iron Eyes Cody movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Iron Eyes Cody, check our movies catalogue and browse page.