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Iron Eyes Cody (April 3, 1904 – January 4, 1999) was an American actor. He was recognized for portraying Native Americans in Hollywood films. Near the end of his life, his Italian ancestry was made public. In 1995 he was honored by the Native American community for his portrayals.
Cody was born as Espera Oscar de Corti in Kaplan, Louisiana, a son of Antonio de Corti and his wife, Francesca Salpietra, immigrants from Sicily, Italy. They had a local grocery store in Gueydan, Louisiana, where he was raised. In some of his earliest acting credits, Cody was listed as Tony de Corti. Cody was drawn to the Native American people finding comfort/similarities for himself in their struggle. He later changed his name to Tony Cody, and from then on lived his life as if he were of aboriginal descent, both on and off the screen. Cody married Bertha "Birdie" Parker, a woman of aboriginal descent.
Cody began his acting career at twelve and worked until the time of his death. He appeared in more than 200 films, including The Big Trail (1930), with John Wayne; Sitting Bull (1954), as Crazy Horse; Nevada Smith (1966), with Steve McQueen; A Man Called Horse (1970), with Richard Harris; and Ernest Goes to Camp (1987), with Jim Varney. In 1953, he appeared twice as Chief Big Cloud in Duncan Renaldo's television series, The Cisco Kid.
He was most famous for his "crying Indian" role in the "Keep America Beautiful" Public Service Announcement (PSA) in the early 1970s. It was an ecology commercial in which an Indian (Cody) sheds a tear after some trash is thrown from a speeding car and lands at his feet. The announcer, William Conrad, of Bullwinkle and Cannon fame, memorably declares: "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.
In the episode of The Sopranos titled "Christopher" (2002), Ralph Cifaretto (Joseph Pantoliano) threatens to expose Cody's apparently still-unknown Sicilian ancestry as leverage against anti-Columbus protests by a Native American group; the gambit fails, with a response that James Caan is not Italian.
In 1995, the Hollywood Native American community honored Cody for his contributions to Native American life. In 1996, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported his Sicilian heritage, but Cody denied it. He lived all his adult life claiming he was Native American and supported related causes. Cody and his wife Bertha, who was, in fact, a Native American, adopted several children, all of Native American descent.
Cody died in 1999, aged 94 and was interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. He was survived by his adopted son, Native American flautist Robert "Tree" Cody.
Thomas King named and created a character based on Iron Eyes in his novel Green Grass, Running Water.
"Nearly all my life, it has been my policy to help those less fortunate than myself. My foremost endeavors have been with the help of the Great Spirit to dignify my People's image through humility and love of my country. It is my sincerest wish to reach the hearts of the people of the world by my Keep America Beautiful film of 'The Crying Indian' so they will be more aware of the dangers of pollution facing the world today. If I have done that, then I have done all I need to do!"
Iron Eyes Cody
Iron Eyes Cody was the man who played the Indian that sheds a single tear for a blighted American environment in "Keep America Beautiful" ads that ran from 1971 into the 1980s.
Iron Eyes Cody
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Espera Oscar DeCorti
3 April 1907, Gueydan, Louisiana
4 January 1999, Los Angeles, California
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Cody's Native American heritage was challenged in 1996 by a New Orleans (Louisiana, USA) newspaper which reported that he was in fact of Italian ancestry, which he of course denied.
Father of Joseph Cody
Interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood California next to his wife, who died in 1978.
His daughter died in a childhood hunting accident.
Was actually of Italian descent.
Brother of J.W. Cody.
In 1995, the Hollywood Native American community honored Cody for his contributions to Native American life. They cared for the activities which he had carried out.[3]
In 1996, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported his Sicilian heritage, but Cody denied it. He lived all his adult life as a Native American and supported their causes. Cody and his wife Bertha, who was Native American, adopted several children, all Native Americans.
Cody died in 1999. He was interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. He was survived by his adopted son, Native American flautist Robert "Tree" Cody.
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