William “Wild Bill Cody” Schneible

He was born William Arnold Schneible, but people across the U.S. knew him better as “Wild Bill Cody.” He passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack at his home on Christmas Day 2012.

Born in Denver, February 8, 1949, he graduated from Cathedral High in 1967. Bill served honorably in the U.S. Coast Guard for nine years as a radioman and communications specialist.

Last night, we gathered at the Bully’s on the corner of Pyramid and McCarran in Sparks, to honor his legacy with the “1st Annual “Wild Bill Cody” Coors Cheer.  Bill was an avid fan of that particular brew as both were from Colorado.

While there, I took a few photographs of those in attendance. I also snapped a shot of a picture of him in his Madonna get-up, he used in a television commercial in the 80’s,  later posting it to Facebook.

That photo has gone viral as people from Ohio, Illinois, Colorado and Louisiana have reached out to say how much they enjoyed his antics and loved the man.

In Reno, he allowed himself to be buried alive for 56 hours in an oxygen-fed casket six feet underground, while broadcasting in front of Circus Circus to raise $20,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.  Later, he washed all 3,791 exterior windows at Circus-Circus for Camp Lotsafun.

Bill pogo’d 20 miles, pushed a peanut with his nose along Virginia Street, hit a golf ball from Carson City to the Reno Arch, sat in all 26,000 seats at the University of Nevada stadium, and collected 14 tons of food for the food bank by rocking in a rocking chair for 96 hours. Yeah — he was that kind of guy.

He’s resting at  Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver.