IRON EYES CODY

'Iron Eyes Cody' (April 3, 1904 – January 4, 1999) was an actor born in Gueydan, Louisiana. He was born 'Espera De Corti', the son of Sicilian immigrants Francesca Salpietra and Antonio De Corti. In some of his earliest acting credits Iron Eyes Cody was listed as Tony de Corti. He was not born a Native American, but he claimed to be part Cherokee and part Cree. Cody and his wife Bertha Parker adopted children that were Native American. Cody began his acting career at the age of 12 and continued to work until the time of his death. In 1996, the ''New Orleans Times-Picayune'' reported his Sicilian heritage, but Cody denied it because he was so ashamed of his "Italian" hertiage.
He appeared in more than 200 films including ''A Man Called Horse'' (1970) and ''Ernest Goes to Camp'' in 1987. However, he is most famous for his "Crying Indian" role in the ''Keep America Beautiful'' public service announcement in the early 1970's, an ecology commercial in which he sheds a tear after some trash is thrown from a speeding car and lands at his feet.
The Joni Mitchell song "Lakota", from the 1988 album Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm, features him chanting. [1]
He had a cameo in the 1990 film, Spirit of '76.
On his passing in 1999, Iron Eyes Cody was interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. He is survived by his adopted son, the Native American flautist Robert "Tree" Cody.

Contents

The "Crying Indian" in popular culture

External links

The "Crying Indian" in popular culture

★ He was parodied in an episode of ''The Simpsons'' after Homer literally "trashed" Springfield, and an episode of ''Futurama'' when Zapp dropped a can on the ground.

★ An episode of Kappa Mikey parodies the Indian, but when using a tissue to dry his eyes, he also throws it on the ground.

★ The "Crying Indian" announcement was also parodied in a 2001 E
★ TRADE Super Bowl ad, ruing the passing of such dot-com icons as the Pets.com sock puppet.

★ He was referenced during the end credits of Wayne's World 2, when the "weird naked Indian guy" was cleaning up after Waynestock.

★ He has also been referenced in stand up routines by Dave Chappelle.

★ He was featured on The Word segment of the Colbert Report.

★ In an episode of ''Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'', Apache Chief parodies the "Crying Indian," after Birdman throws a disposable cup out of his car window.

★ In Bob and George, Megaman and Tomahawkman parody the "Crying Indian."

★ He is referenced in the lyrics of the Eels song "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues" with the line "The load on the road brings a tear to the indian's eye".

★ The issue of Iron Eyes Cody's ancestry was featured as a minor plot device in a 2002 episode of ''The Sopranos''. In that episode, members of the Mafia threaten to expose Cody's Sicilian ancestry in order to embarrass Native American activists.

★ He was referenced in the film Evan Almighty by Evan Baxter.

★ In an episode of Married with Children, Al carries around a fake tear to imitate the indian when he became the spokesman for a Chicago environmental campaign.

★ In Kingpin (film), a car full of drunk native americans throws garbage at Ish's feet, and the camera focuses on his face shedding a lone tear.

★ In the ''Friends'' episode "The One Without the Ski Trip", while starnded at a rest stop, Chandler attemps to save them by littering, saying the Crying Indian will come and save them.

★ Garage Punk band the Mummies have a song titled "The Ballad of Iron Eyes Cody" on their album "Never Been Caught".

External links

★ Google Video - 'Crying Indian' public service announcement

★ Snopes article: Was Iron Eyes Cody an American Indian?

★ Find-A-Grave profile for Iron Eyes Cody

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★ Keep America Beautiful Keep America Beautiful campaign

★ "Snakes All Around Us" - a poem inspired by one of the talks Cody gave on the dangers of drugs for American Indian kids.