Watch Tuesday, Oct. 20, 9 p.m. on KPBS TV + Encore
Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. on KPBS 2
“Annie Oakley,” the story of a five-foot, 100-pound sharpshooter who pulled herself out of poverty to become an iconic performer known the world over as a symbol of the Wild West, will have an encore broadcast on AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.
She was the toast of New York, London, Paris, and eventually the world. “Adopted” in 1884 by Native American Chief Sitting Bull, she charmed the Prince of Prussia and entertained the likes of Oscar Wilde and Queen Victoria.
Annie Oakley excelled in a man's world by doing what she loved and won fame and fortune as “the little lady from Ohio who never missed a shot.”
Phoebe Anne Moses, called Annie, first picked up a gun in 1875 at age 15 not to become a superstar, but to save her family from destitution. Annie taught herself to shoot and took to the woods of Greenville, Ohio, to hunt quail, which she would sell at the general store.
Article: In a Man's World: What was it like for Annie Oakley to be an international star in a world dominated by men?
Thanks to her prowess with a shotgun, Annie became the family’s primary breadwinner and paid off the mortgage on the family farm. Annie was soon noticed by Frank Butler, who was making a name for himself on the variety stage. On a trip through Ohio, Butler challenged that he could outshoot anyone around.
Biography: Frank Butler: Although he never expected to be shooting against a woman, Frank Butler accepted defeat from Annie Oakley graciously.
But the teenager from Greenville didn't just outshoot him, she also won his heart. They married and toured the world as Butler and Oakley, the stage name that Annie adopted.
Annie Oakley dazzled crowds around the world, first on the variety circuit, then with the circus, and eventually with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
Image Gallery: Wild West Posters: Browse a selection of posters promoting Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
Wild West Posters
In 1885, Annie Oakley began an association with Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show — despite some hesitation on Cody's part about hiring a woman. The five-foot-tall sharpshooter's star was on the rise — that season, she performed in front of 150,000 people in 40 cities. The following year, the show entertained almost 360,000 people at its summer location on Staten Island, New York, and soon Oakley's fame was known far and wide. She would be a top attraction with the Wild West for 17 years. View the posters
Annie amazed her audiences by splitting playing cards in two, hitting countless moving targets, even once shooting a cigarette out of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia's mouth at 30 paces. She could shoot with her left hand, her right hand, upside down, and sideways.
In 1885, Annie entertained crowds in 40 cities across America. By 1895, that number grew to more than 130 cities around the world.
She was a star at the Paris Exposition in 1889, and shone again in 1893 when Buffalo Bill set up shop just outside of Chicago's Columbian Exposition.
The self-taught sharpshooter had become a living symbol of the Wild West — a place that was fast disappearing.
The end of Annie’s career was plagued with scandal. Erroneous stories of Annie stealing to pay for cocaine hit the papers in 1903 when Annie was 43 years old. She spent six years entangled in legal battles trying to clear her name and would only perform for a few years more. She retired from public life in 1913.
Credits: A Riva Productions film for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. Produced by Riva Freifeld. Written by Ken Chowder. Edited by David Espar. Co-Producer Amy Brown. Directors of Photography: Joel Shapiro, Boyd Estus, Robert Elfstom, Michael Chin and John Chater. Music by Sheldon Mirowitz. Narrator: Laura Linney. AMERICAN EXPERIENCE is a production of WGBH Boston. Senior Producer: Susan Bellows. Executive Producer: Mark Samels.
