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Bill Cody

Bill Cody

Actor · Died January 24, 1948, aged 57 · Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA

"B"-picture cowboy star Bill Cody was born William Joseph Cody, Jr., on January 5, 1891, in St. Paul, Minnesota (some sources list his place of birth as Manitoba, Canada). He was no relation to William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody. He was educated at Saint Thomas Military Academy in Minneapolis and later attended St. Johns University in New York. After graduating, he became an actor with the Metropolitan Stock Company, which toured the US 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. It was back to touring with his Wild West show, this time with the Bostock Wild Animal Circus. He saddled up again for the silver screen in 1934, making three westerns for Robert Horner's Awyon Pictures, one of the poorest of the Poverty Row studios. His Awyon Picture The Border Menace (1934) has been called "the worst B-Western ever made". After fulfilling his contract, Cody went back on tour as the star of the Downie Bros. Circus. Bill Cody and his wife Regina had two sons, Bill, Jr. and Frank. Cody signed up with producer Ray Kirkwood to make a series of Westerns in late 1934, and his son, Bill Cody, Jr. co-starred in four of them, beginning with _Frontier Days_ (1934). Bill Cody's last movie for Kirkwood was Outlaws of the Range (1936), which also co-starred Bill, Jr. Spectrum, which released most of his Kirkwood pictures, announced that Bill Cody Sr. and Jr. would star in a series of B-westerns released by Spectrum the 1936-37 season, but it was never made. He took time out from touring with his Wild West Show to star in one final picture, _Fighting Cowboy, The (1939). Cody's last hurrah on the screen were bit parts as a rancher in John Ford's classic Stagecoach (1939) and as a sheriff in the George O'Brien western The Fighting Gringo (1939). He appeared in the serial The Masked Marvel (1943) and also had an uncredited bit part in Walter Wanger's production Joan of Arc (1948). It is likely that he appeared in bit parts in other movies in the 1940s, but no credits currently exist. Bill Cody died at Santa Monica, California, Jan. 24, 1948. He was 57 years old.

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Biography from IMDb.

Born
January 5, 1891
Died
January 24, 1948 (aged 57)
From
Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
7 on MovieCove · 36 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 6% in 30 days

What are Bill Cody's films like?

Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
70%
Bonds
30%
Justice5 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 2 · Serious 3 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 3 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

5 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 5 of 5 analyzed roles.

Hero
5 of 5

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
4
Thrilling
3
Hopeful
2
Absurd
1

How their films linger

Feel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy5

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Bill Cody's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Bill Cody's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

36 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Fighting Gringo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    as Sheriff Fred Warren

  • The Oklahoma Kid(1939)

    as Henchman Outside Saloon (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Stagecoach(1939)

    as Rancher (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Outlaws of the Range (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    as Steve Harper

  • Blazing Justice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    as Ray Healy

  • The Vanishing Riders(1935)

    as Bill Jones

    Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Texas Rambler (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    as Tom 'The Rambler' Manning

  • The Reckless Buckaroo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    as Bill Carter

  • The Cyclone Ranger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    as The Pecos Kid

  • Six Gun Justice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    as Jim Slade

  • Frontier Days(1934)

    as The Pinto Kid

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films

  • Western Racketeers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    as Bill Bowers

  • The Border Menace(1934)

    as Bill 'The Shadow' Williams

    Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Border Guns (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    as Bill Harris, AKA Bill Austin

  • Ann Vickers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    as Guard (uncredited)

  • Law of the North(1932)

    as Bill Roberts

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Texas Pioneers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    as Captain Bill Clyde

  • Mason of the Mounted (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    as Bill Mason

  • Ghost City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    as Bill Temple

  • Land of Wanted Men (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Silent Saunders

  • Oklahoma Jim (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Oklahoma Jim Kirby

  • The Montana Kid(1931)

    as Bill Denton

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Dugan of the Badlands (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Bill Dugan

  • Under Texas Skies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    as Army Captain Jack Hartford

  • Eyes of the Underworld (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    as Pat Doran

  • Gold from Weepah (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    Story · as Bill Carson

  • Born to Battle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    Producer · as Billy Cowan

  • The Arizona Whirlwind (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Bill Farley

  • King of the Saddle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as Billy

  • The Galloping Cowboy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as Bill Crane

  • The Fighting Smile (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Bud Brant

  • Love on the Rio Grande (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    Actor

  • Cold Nerve (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    Actor

  • Riders of Mystery (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Bob Merriwell

  • The Fighting Sheriff (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Larry O'Donnell

  • The Tip Off (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    as Jimmy Lamar

Career shape

Star power in the 36th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 36 titles, 35 of them dated from 1925 to 1939.

Most popular right now

Frontier Days (1934)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting36 of 36: 34 only acting, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score11thWriting1 of 36: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing1 of 36: 0 only producing, 1 with another role

By decade

1920s11 · 11 acting · 2 crew1930s24 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Bill Cody's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 11th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 8th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

8thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

3rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

7thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 7 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up1
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th4

Shape of the crowd

None of their 7 titles divides audiences: 3 are Universally Panned.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Universally Panned3
  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Mixed2

Most loved · actor

Stagecoach (1939)

Midcredits 96th · 84% liked

Reviewers score the acting 28/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 57, detractors 20. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Bill Cody work with?

People who share at least 2 of Bill Cody's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Barney Beasley shares the most, 4.

Directors

Actors

Cinematographers

Producers