Buffalo Bill on Stage

Between 1872 and 1886, before he achieved acclaim for his Wild West show, "Buffalo Bill" led a troupe of traveling actors known as a Combination across the country performing in frontier melodramas. Biographies of William Frederick Cody rarely address these fourteen rather obscure years when Cody honed the skills that would make him the world-renowned entertainer as he is now remembered.

In this revision of her earlier book, Buffalo Bill, Actor, Sandra Sagala chronicles the decade and a half of Cody's life as he crisscrossed the country entertaining millions. She analyzes how the lessons he learned during those theatrical years helped shape his Wild West program, as well as Cody, the performer.

Stunning photographs document "Buffalo Bill" Cody's early years as he led a troupe of traveling actors performing in frontier melodramas across the country.

Sandra K. Sagala is the author of articles, "Buffalo Bill Cody v. Doc Carver: The Battle Over the Wild West" and "Mark Twain and Buffalo Bill Cody: Mirrored Through a Glass Darkly" and coauthor with JoAnne M. Bagwell of Alias Smith and Jones: The Story of Two Pretty Good Bad Men. She lives in Erie, Pennsylvania.