"Yellowstone" star to be Stampede Parade grand marshal

CODY (WNE) –  A star of the hit TV show “Yellowstone” is set to be the grand marshal for the Fourth of July Cody Stampede parade.
Cole Hauser, who plays dependable cowboy Rip Wheeler in the show about a Montana ranch dynasty, was announced as the star attraction for the final parade by parade committee chair Mack Frost at Monday’s Cody Club luncheon.
Hauser was born in California to a family steeped in the film industry and has acted in a variety of films, including “Dazed and Confused” and “Too Fast Too Furious.”
Most recently he has played a main character on “Yellowstone,” one of the most-watched dramas on television after four seasons, with a fifth in production.
Frost said credit for Hauser being the grand marshal on Independence Day goes to Cody resident Jim Dager, who knows Hauser. The two met when the actor joined the board of directors of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, a group Dager has worked with and helped for years, even putting on long range shoots on his Heart Mountain property to benefit the foundation.
Frost said at a dinner with Hauser, Dager and other Cody residents, it was asked whether Hauser would be interested in being the grand marshal.
“Cole said, ‘Yeah I’d love to do it,’” Frost said. “He’s looking forward to it, really jazzed about it.”
Frost said it’s the first true celebrity to be grand marshal since 2017, when Robert Taylor, star of the “Longmire” TV show, served as grand marshal.
“It’ll be a pretty good parade, it’s going to generate a huge crowd having Cole here,” Frost said. “I’m anticipating a crowd similar to 1976.”
That’s the year Western movie legend John Wayne led the parade. 
 
 
This story was published on April 20, 2022.