Deadwood Dick is a fictional character who appears in a series of stories, or

dime novels The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S. popular fiction issued in series of inexpensive paperbound editions. The term ''dime novel'' has been used as a catchall term for several different but related forms, r ...

, published between 1877 and 1897 by

Edward Lytton Wheeler Edward Lytton Wheeler (1854/5 – 1885) was a nineteenth century American writer of dime novels. One of his most famous characters is the Wild West rascal Deadwood Dick. His stories of the west mixed fictional characters with real-life personaliti ...

(1854/5–1885). 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 Deadwood (Lakota: ''Owáyasuta''; "To approve or confirm things") is a city that serves as county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had it ...

. Those who took the nickname included: * Frank Palmer, gambler, according to his obituary of May 30, 1906, was the original "Deadwood Dick" who, at the age of 17 (c. 1879) went west from

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, to Deadwood, South Dakota, where he made his fortune playing games of chance. He was dubbed "Deadwood Dick" by fellow gamblers. Palmer was the hero of Beadle's half-dime novels. *

Nat Love Nat Love (June 14, 1854 – February 11, 1921) was an American cowboy and writer active in the period following the Civil War. His reported exploits have made him one of the more famous heroes of the Old West. Early life Nat Love, (pronounced "N ...

(1854–1921), an African-American cowboy; * Dick Brown, an actor; * Richard Cole, a stage coach driver; * Richard Clarke (frontiersman), Richard Clarke, also an actor; the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce asked him in 1927 to portray Deadwood Dick in the city's annual Days of '76 Parade. Clarke's work was managed by publicity man Bert Bell. Among other assignments, Clarke was sent east to invite then-U.S. President of the United States, President Calvin Coolidge to Deadwood. Clarke appreciated the celebrity status so much that he continued playing Deadwood Dick until his death on May 5, 1930Louis L'Amour, L'Amour, Louis Dearborn, ''Law of the Desert Born'' p. 191, Bantam Books, Inc, 1983. . * Cornish people, Cornishman Richard Bullock, gunman and bullion guard on the Deadwood Stage (1847–1921). Others more briefly associated with the name were Richard Palmer, who died in Cripple Creek, Colorado, Cripple Creek, Colorado, in 1906, and Robert Dickey, who died in a Denver hospital jail in 1912. The Broadcast syndication, syndicated anthology television series ''Death Valley Days'' presented a 1966 episode entitled "The Resurrection of Deadwood Dick," with character actor Denver Pyle in the starring role.

References

External links

Full-text issues of Deadwood Dick Library at Northern Illinois University
American folklore Characters in American novels of the 19th century Characters in pulp fiction Literary characters introduced in 1877 Western (genre) heroes and heroines {{novel-char-stub