Bill Cody Jr. Bill Cody Jr. Bill Cody Jr. (April 18, 1925 – August 11, 1989) was an American motion picture child actor. Born William Joseph Cody Jr. in Los Angeles, California, where his father Bill Cody was a cowboy star of B-movie westerns, the youngster was reportedly 7 years old when he accompanied his father on a personal appearance tour throughout the United States. Bill Cody Jr. was nine years old when he began appearing in films, the first four of which were with his father. Billed simply as "Billy Jr." for his first screen appearance, a featured role in Ray Kirkwood's
Cody V biplane with the War Office having the option to purchase any of the prize winning machines. The American showman and aviation pioneer Samuel Cody, who had developed a system of man-carrying kites from 1901, built his first aircraft, the British Army Aeroplane No 1 at the Army Balloon Factory at Farnborough in 1908, making its first flight, recognised as the first powered controlled flight in the United Kingdom on 16 October 1908. He intended to enter two aircraft into the Military Trials, which were planned to start on 1 August 1912, a monoplane powered by a 120-hp (89 kW) Austro-Daimler engine