‘The Harder They Fall’: Here’s Which Characters Are Historical Figures
Jeymes Samuel’s The Harder They Fall joins the Netflix lineup as a Western saga full of slick talk, gun play, and crime. The film features Regina King, Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, LaKeith Stanfield, Julio Cesar Cedillo, Delroy Lindo, and a host of other talented actors. If some of the characters’ names ring bells, it’s because they were real people.
Not all of them lived at the same time or even ran in the same circles as depicted in the film, but many were somewhat famous during their era. Though King’s character Trudy didn’t exist in real life, the people listed here did.
Nat Love
Jonathan Majors stars as Nat Love, a foil to Rufus Buck. In real life, Love was born in the 1850s as a slave and left Tennessee after the Civil War. He built up a reputation in the Wild West as a skilled horse-rider and cowboy, and notably published an autobiography. Nicknamed “Deadwood Dick,” Love became an excellent marksman, and won shooting competitions throughout the West.
According to Encyclopedia.com, he’d worked on ranches in Arizona, South Dakota, and more, and was considered a skilled roper. He regaled tales of battling with Indigenous Americans, and facing off against nature and adversaries. After putting his 20 years of cowboy life to the side, Love worked on a train as a porter.
Rufus Buck
Played by Idris Elba in the film, Rufus Buck ran a gang in Oklahoma made up of Black Americans and Indigenous Americans who used to operate solo. They teamed up and committed crimes in the Indian Territory of the Creek Nation, robbing, raping, and pillaging. They also killed U.S. Marshal John Garrett. After a gun battle with law enforcers in August 1895, they were captured, tried, and then hanged in July 1896.
Stagecoach Mary
Mary Fields — aka Stagecoach Mary — was a former slave who gained her freedom and then worked at a convent in Ohio. She did various chores around the place and according to Britannica, handled duties typically considered men’s work. After the mother superior transferred to St. Peter’s Mission in Montana, she sent for Mary in 1885.
There, Fields managed similar responsibilities in housekeeping, gardening, and maintenance. Though she did stellar work, it’s said she drank, got into bar fights, and was known to shoot a few rounds too. Fields tried her hand as a restaurateur, but allegedly failed at business due to giving food away for free. By 1895, Mary became a contractor for the U.S. Postal Service, the first Black woman to do so.
Her skills at running the perilous route earned her the nickname “Stagecoach Mary.” She worked for them for eight years before retiring, and still enjoyed a few drinks. Her birth year is estimated at 1832, and Fields died in 1914. Zazie Beetz plays her in The Harder They Fall.
Bass Reeves
As one of the most celebrated Black cowboys in history, Bass Reeves’ reputation preceded him. He was one of a few Black U.S. Marshals, and he was known for his trigger skills, fighting style, and high capture rates. Bass escaped slavery during the Civil War and fled to the Indian Territory. There, he befriended and learned from Seminole and Creek tribes. But after slavery was abolished, he headed to Arkansas and started a family.
According to History.com, 10 years later, he returned to Indian Territory and began his legendary career as a marshal. He reportedly arrested more than 3,000 people — without injuring himself — and had a reputation for his ethics and high moral character. He even arrested his own son for murder. Reeves spent three decades as a lawman, and he’s believed to be the true inspiration behind the “Lone Ranger.”
Cherokee Bill
Born Crawford Goldsby, “Cherokee Bill” became an outlaw at 18. Known for his gun-slinging and murderous ways, he sometimes rolled with other outlaws such as Billy the Kid.
Along with his comrades, he caused trouble in the Indian Territory. Oklahoma was one of his stomping grounds, and after getting arrested, Cherokee Bill was hanged in 1896. LaKeith Stanfield portrays him in the film.
Jim Beckwourth
After slavery, freedom led Jim Beckwourth to a new life exploring the mountains. He’s regarded as one of the few Black fur trappers/expeditioners in the 1800s. Crow Indians welcomed him into their fold, and according to History.com he lived among the tribe until for roughly seven years.
Beckwourth joined the army and after leaving, spent time in Denver as a military scout and occasional horse thief. He’s named as a participant in the Sand Creek Massacre. Sometime after that attack, he returned to the Crow.
Bill Pickett
Bill Pickett (played by Edi Gathegi) earned fame as one of the most talent rodeo cowboys in the Wild West. As one of the only Black men in the business, he earned respect among his peers and the crowds. Born in Texas in 1870, Pickett ran a business with his brothers, and he’s credited with pioneering the “bulldogging” technique.
According to Encyclopedia.com, he watched bulldogs control cattle and used a similar technique to bring cows/steer into submission. He took his abilities on the road as a performer, working in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and even Mexico City. Pickett also had a family, and miraculously recovered from one year of blindness. Many considered him to have supernatural-like attributes.
Wiley Escoe
Wiley Escoe worked as a U.S. Marshal who sometimes teamed up with Bass Reeves in the Indian Territory. But Escoe also worked alone or with other law posses. He too died in Oklahoma.
