Deadwood Dick


Deadwood Dick is a fictional character who appears in a series of stories, or dime novels, published between 1877 and 1897 by Edward Lytton Wheeler. The name became so widely known in its time that it was used to advantage by several men who actually resided in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Those who took the nickname included:
Others more briefly associated with the name were Richard Palmer, who died in Cripple Creek, Colorado, in 1906, and Robert Dickey, who died in a Denver hospital jail in 1912.
The syndicated anthology television series Death Valley Days presented a 1966 episode entitled "The Resurrection of Deadwood Dick," hosted by Robert Taylor with the popular character actor Denver Pyle in the starring role. In the story line, Deadwood Dick is created by the town leaders because so many tourists come to Deadwood and ask to meet the legendary frontiersman. Soon Buffalo Bill invites Deadwood Dick to join the Wild West Show. Deadwood Dick, invigorated by a burst of courage, saves the town banker in a hold-up and promises to return to Deadwood, where he spends his later years until his death in 1929.