Also known as Edward Little.
Eddie was born at
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Pine Ridge, Shannon Co., South Dakota, USA, on August 15, 1926.
1 He was the son of
Edsel Wallace Little Sr and
Mildred Cuny. He was a student at
Holy Rosary Indian Mission, Pine Ridge, Shannon Co., South Dakota, USA, after 1930. School:.
1 Eddie reported for active duty at South Pacific circa 1940. After his discharge from the Navy he followed the rodeo as a bull rider and bareback rider..
1 Eddie's occupation: Actor at
Hollywood, Los Angeles Co., California, USA, after 1950. In the 1950's he worked on the motion picture Chief Crazy Horse" where he became interested in the motion picture industry. Actor Audie Murphy encouraged Eddie to go into acting. He attended UCLA drama school and learned his craft. His riding skills learned as a boy on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation won him the attention and admiration of the movie wranglers, stuntmen, and directors. He entered the motion picture inductry at a time when American Indians where considered to be to stoic to be good actors. American Indian parts in westerns were usually played by white actors, wearing wigs and paint and usually widely advertised as playing an American Indian in a daring departure from their usual roles. The roles for American Indians were stereotyped and it was very hard to change the screen writers' minds that American Indians were people with the same emotion as other people. Eddie was in 36 feature films and over 60 television shows. He also worked at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif, where he became freinds with its creator, Walt Disney. He toured Japan twice with his long-time freind Casey Tibbs 'Wild West Show'. He played in Walt Disney's "Tonta", Sergants Three, Hell Bent for Leather, The Lone Ranger, and the FBI Story, to cite a few. After he retired in the late 1970's he worked for the Oglala Sioux Tribe as Director of Tribal Parks and Recreation to build the tribal buffalo herd into a viable enterprise. He worked hard to encourage tourism on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Always a community conscious person, he put forth the first feelers for the rural water program which is now in production. He also kept up a lively interest in developing a tribal film commision and a deep love for his culture and heritage. [Obituary]
Actor filmography
(
1.Car, The (1977) .... Denson
2.Breakheart Pass (1976) .... White Hand
3.Journey Through Rosebud (1972) .... Stanley Pike
4.Man Called Horse, A (1970) .... Black Eagle..Chief #2
5.Run, Simon, Run (1970) (TV) .... Santana
... aka Savage Run (1970) (TV)
... aka Tradition of Simon Zuniga, The (1970) (TV)
6.Paint Your Wagon (1969) .... Indian
7.Way West, The (1967) .... Sioux Brave
8.Seven Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) .... George C. George
... aka 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)
... aka Secret World of Dr. Lao, The (1964)
9.Hell Bent for Leather (1960) .... William
10.Cimarron (1960) .... Ben Red Feather
Miscellaneous crew filmography
1.Soldier Blue (1970)
TV guest appearances
1."Bonanza" (1959) playing "Gaviotta" in episode: "Shanklin" (episode # 13.20) 1972
2."Virginian, The" (1962) in episode: "Heritage, The" (episode # 7.7) 1968
3."Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Charlie" in episode: "I Call Him Wonder" (episode # 8.28) 3/23/1963
4."Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Indian" in episode: "Chester's Indian" (episode # 7.32) 5/12/1962
5."Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Brave" in episode: "Stolen Horses" (episode # 6.29) 4/8/1961
6."Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Warrior" in episode: "Cheyennes" (episode # 4.39) 6/13/1959
7."Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Chief Little Hawk" in episode: "Sunday Supplement" (episode # 3.22) 2/8/1958
8."Dusty's Trail" (1973) in episode: "Tomahawk Territory".
1 He resided at
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, USA, after 1970.
1 Eddie died on September 5, 1997 at
Vetren's Administration Hospital, Hot Springs, Fall River Co., South Dakota, USA, at age 71.
1 His body was interred on September 9, 1997 at
Oglala, Shannon Co., South Dakota, USA, at Little Family Cemetery.
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