Just read a article in the Spring edition "Guns of the Old West" In a article by Jack Lewis it claims that Iron Eyes Cody the indian who did the commercial with the tear from his eye for the "Keep America Beautiful Campaign." was not a Indian at all but a Italian from Louisiana. (Born in 1904 and Christened Esperea De Corti) Iron Eyes played the fake for 8 decades and was a indian in movies and TV westerns. The truth came out in a newspaper article (New Orleans Times-Picayune) 3 years before his death in 1996. Cody died in 1999 at the age of 94. While a lot of white men portrayed indians in the movies and on tv you could sense that they were not indians and some of them were really noticeable. Not Cody he looked indian and played indian right to a T! The article stated that while some indians who worked for the movies and TV knew Cody was not a indian they never told his secret to the public. Cody lived his part to the fullest and was probably more indian in spirit than some indians. He took a indian wife and adoped 2 indian children to raise as his own. I found this interesting as he had me fooled I figured he was a indian in every thing I saw him play in. SO I thought I would just pass it on. Jim
