William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody experienced the western frontier in its heyday, then recreated its drama and romance on stage. Born in Iowa in 1846 and moved to Kansas Territory the year it was opened for settlement, Cody had already led a colorful life before he was out of his teens. At times a trapper, prospector and rider for the Pony Express, he also fought for the Union in the Civil War and excelled as a frontier Army scout during the Indian Wars. Cody earned his nickname while working as a buffalo hunter supplying meat to railroad construction crews (1867-1868). Edward Z. C. Judson, a writer using the pen name Ned Buntline, realized that Cody’s real life adventures were ideal for fictionalizing in dime novels. Judson made Cody the hero of his novel, then persuaded him to star in his play, The Scouts of the Prairie (1872). Cody remained on the stage thereafter — always playing himself — amid further stints as a hunter and Indian fighter. In 1883 Cody organized Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, an outdoor extravaganza that dramatized the myths and legends of the vanishing frontier. In addition to cowboys, Indians, horses, buffalo and longhorns, the troupe included at various times sharp shooter Annie Oakley and Chiefs Sitting Bull and Red Cloud. Buffalo Bill’s show toured throughout the world, where it was seen by more people in its 30 years than any other single entertainment.