A drifting cowboy: Reel Buffalo Bills in the Santa Susanas

The real William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846 - 1917) was an American scout, bison hunter, and showman. Col. William Frederick Cody got his nickname "Buffalo Bill" after the American Civil War when he had a contract to supply Kansas Pacific Railroad workers with buffalo meat. Cody is purported to have killed 4,282 American bison (commonly known as buffalo) in eighteen months, (1867–1868).

As one of the most colorful figures of the American Old West, Buffalo Bill started performing in shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars. He founded his Buffalo Bill's Wild West in 1883, taking his large company on tours throughout the United States and, beginning in 1887, in Great Britain and Europe.

Because Cody became an American folk hero it was natural for Hollywood to make dozens of movies and TV episodes based on his life's adventures.

Reel Buffalo Bill movies filmed in the Santa Susanas include

Iron Horse, The (1924) starring George O'Brien, Madge Bellamy, Charles Edward Bull and George Waggner as Buffalo Bill (Iverson Ranch) Fox Film Corp

Annie Oakley (1935) starring Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, Melvyn Douglas and Moroni Olsen as William 'Buffalo Bill' Cody (Iverson Ranch) RKO

Miracle Rider, The (1935) [serial] starring Tom Mix, Joan Gale, Charles Middleton and Tex Cooper as Buffalo Bill (Iverson Ranch) Mascot

Custer's Last Stand (1936) [serial] starring Rex Lease, Lona Andre, William Farnum and Ted Adams as Buffalo Bill Chapters 6 & 7 (Iverson Ranch) Stage & Screen

Plainsman, The (1936) starring Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, James Ellison as Buffalo Bill (Iverson Ranch) Paramount

Outlaw Express (1938) starring Bob Baker, Cecilia Callejo, Don Barclay and Carlyle Moore Jr. as Bill Cody - Universal

Young Buffalo Bill (1940) starring Roy Rogers as Buffalo Bill, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Pauline Moore (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Pony Express Days (1940) starring George Reeves as William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody, David Bruce, Frank Wilcox (Burro Flats) Warner Bros.

Days of Buffalo Bill (1946) starring Sunset Carson, Peggy Stewart, Tom London (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Buffalo Bill Rides Again (1947) starring Richard Arlen as Buffalo Bill, Jennifer Holt, Lee Shumway (Iverson Ranch) Jack Schwarz

Law of the Golden West (1949) starring Monte Hale as Bill Cody, Paul Hurst, Gail Davis (Iverson Ranch) Republic

King of the Bullwhip (1950) starring Lash La Rue, Al St. John, Jack Holt and Tex Cooper as Buffalo Bill (Iverson Ranch) Western Adventures

Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory (1952) starring Clayton Moore as Buffalo Bill, Slim Andrews, Charles Harvey, Rodd Redwing (Corriganville) United Artists