Studio 360: Buffalo Bill's Wild West

He was the most famous American in the world - a showman and spin artist who parlayed a buffalo-hunting gig into an entertainment empire. William F. Cody's stage show presented a new creation myth for America, bringing cowboys, Indians, settlers, and sharpshooters to audiences who had only read about the West in dime novels. He offered Indians a life off the reservation - reenacting their own defeats. Deadwood producer David Milch explains why the myth of the West still resonates; a Sioux actor at a Paris theme park loves playing Sitting Bull; and a financial executive impersonates Buffalo Bill, with his wife as Annie Oakley. [Broadcast Date: July 16, 2011]