Pony Express rider, Army scout, and buffalo hunter, William Frederick Cody (1846-1917) came to embody the spirit of the West as the living legend called Buffalo Bill. The man who gave the "Wild West" its name, Cody cultivated and nurtured the Buffalo Bill persona through his four-hour Wild West show that traveled throughout the United States and Europe during its 30 year run. Popular media, particularly dime novels and weeklies, along with Cody's marketing and advertising genius combined to form, craft and exploit myths about Buffalo Bill and his West. Arguably for his time the most famous man in the world, Buffalo Bill epitomized popular, mass entertainment. Spanning decades, his international popularity can be compared to that of Elvis Presley of the 1950s, The Beatles of the 1960s, and Michael Jackson of the 1980s.

This man-to-myth-through-media evolution is explored here through commentary and popular western imagery. Ironically, motion pictures would at once supplant in part the Wild West Show and continue to commercially exploit the myth that was Buffalo Bill. A cautionary tale on how media can influence perceptions and understandings about people and events is demonstrated as well.