page_title: Texas Jack Omohundro
section_title: Acting
hierarchical_section_title: Texas Jack Omohundro / Acting
caption_attribution_description: English: Ned Buntline, Bufalo Bill Cody, Giuseppina Morlacchi, Texas Jack Omohundro in "The Scouts of the Prairie" 1872.
context_page_description: John Baker Omohundro, also known as "Texas Jack", was an American frontier scout, actor, and cowboy. Born in rural Virginia, he served in the Confederacy during the American Civil War and, later, as a civilian scout for the US Army during the Indian Wars.
  Before his untimely death, Texas Jack became a legendary figure in the American Old West as a Western showman performing dramas on the stage throughout the country, and was immortalized in dime novels published around the world.
context_section_description: In December 1872, Omohundro and Cody debuted the first Wild West show, Scouts of the Prairie, in Chicago written and produced by Ned Buntline. Texas Jack's performance was well-received by critics and featured the first rope act performed on the American stage. The show starred Giuseppina Morlacchi, a dancer and actress from Milan, Italy, who was performing in the theater circuit with her Morlacchi Ballet Troupe when she was invited to join Scouts of the Prairie with the group.  Texas Jack and she fell in love and were married on August 31, 1873, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Rochester, New York.
  In 1873, Buntline left, and Wild Bill Hickok joined the group to headline in a new play called Scouts of the Plains. Hickok did not enjoy acting, often hiding behind scenery, and in one show, he shot the spotlight when it focused on him. He was released from the group after a few months.
  Desiring a lighter tour schedule, Texas Jack parted ways with Cody, and in 1877, he formed his own acting troupe in St. Louis, known as the Texas Jack Combination featuring Morlacchi, Arizona John Burke,  Modoc War scout Donald McKay, trick-shot Maud Oswald, and several Sweetwater and Warm Spring Indians. In May of that year, he debuted Texas Jack in the Black Hills, written by Harry Seymour, to rave reviews. 
  Other plays the combination performed included The Trappers Daughter, Life on the Border, and The French Spy.
caption: Ned Buntline, Buffalo Bill Cody, Giuseppina Morlacchi, Texas Jack Omohundro
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