LOS ANGELES -- His acting credits date to the silent movie era and include dozens of films, but Iron Eyes Cody created his most enduring role with a single tear in a television commercial.
Cody, who was in his 80s or 90s, died of natural causes Monday at his home in Los Angeles, police spokesman Ed Funes said.Cody was best known as the "Crying Indian" in the Keep America Beautiful ads that showed him mourning -- and shedding a single tear -- at the sight of a pristine landscape fouled by litter.
"It was more than advertising," said Roger Powers, who was president of the group in 1970, when a California advertising agency discovered Cody. "What we found -- it was a stroke of luck -- was a man who lived it and believed in it."
Cody filmed three more public service announcements and spent the next 25 years making public appearances and visits to schools on behalf of the movement, Powers said.
Cody was born in Oklahoma, but the exact date of birth wasn't known. Reference books give various dates, from 1904 to 1915. Based on his credits, his most likely date of birth was 1907.
Cody followed his Cherokee Indian father, Thomas Long Plume, as a performer in circuses and Wild West shows and made his first film appearance as an extra in the 1919 silent "Back to God's Country."
Cody went on to appear in more than 80 films in American Indian roles; often his character was listed as simply "Indian," "Indian Chief" or "Indian Joe."
His credits included "Sitting Bull" in 1954, "The Great Sioux Massacre" in 1965, "Nevada Smith" in 1966, "A Man Called Horse" in 1970.
Cody's wife died in 1978. He is survived by a son; three grandchildren; and a niece.