Wild Bill Hickok Bust

Wild Bill Hickok Bust. . On June 21, 1951, over 5,000 spectators celebrated Deadwood's 75th anniversary and honored the life of western legend James Butler, "Wild Bill” Hickok. The day's activities included a pancake feed, a parade through Deadwood, band concerts, the reenactment of Hickok's infamous murder and a Wild Bill costume contest. Hollywood celebrities Guy Madison, Gail Russell and Andy Devine were invited and participated throughout the day's activities. Madison and Devine starred in the 1951 to 1958 television series, Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok. The crowning moment of the day was the unveiling of the Wild Bill Hickok bust carved by Crazy Horse monument sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski. , Deadwood businessman George Hunter commissioned Ziolkowski to carve the Hickok bust using Black Hills granite from the Crazy Horse monument, north of Custer, South Dakota. It took six months and 648 bits to carve the two ton granite block into the likeness of Hickok. The sculpture was based on a photographic portrait of Hickok, circa 1873 - 1874 wearing a fur cap. Though slated for Mount Moriah Cemetery, the scupture was placed at this location, reportedly being the site of Hickok and Charley Utter's camp in 1876. , Captions: , Korczak Ziolkowski's Wild Bill bust, circa 1955. This statue is one of Deadwood's first pieces of public art. Other works by Ziolkowski include the Fighting Stallions in Pierre, South Dakota and the Sitting Bull Monument near Mobridge, South Dakota. In the 1990s, the Hickok bust and base underwent a restoration using Historic Preservation funds. , Korczak Ziolkowski posing beside the Wild Bill bust. , Ziolkowski and George and Mame Hunter, June 1951. , June 21, 1951 Wild Bill Day celebration. Guy Madison, Gail Russell and Andy Devine at center bottom.