Biography.guide
Home › People › Singer › Bill Potter
Portrait of Bill Potter

Bill Potter

1923 – 1975

Musical artist

Singer Deputy sheriff
Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Bill Potter

Lived 1923 – 1975 (aged 52). Bill Potter was a singer and deputy sheriff.

Lewis William Potter (April 15, 1923 – September 5, 1975), By 1948, he was married to a woman from Dallas and had a son. Also known as "Cactus Bill" or "Cowboy Bill", Potter went on to appear on early television shows on KFI-TV in Los Angeles and on KPRC-TV in Houston. While living in Houston, he worked as a deputy sheriff in Harris County for approximately three years. He resumed working as a deputy sheriff in December 1955, a role he held through at least December 1956.

In August 1957, Potter was the winning contestant on an episode of Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, singing a western ballad. Billed as "Hollywood Singing Cowboy Bill Potter", he was featured at several events in Maine the following month. From February to May 1958, KPLC-TV in Lake Charles, Louisiana, broadcast the Bill Potter Show on an intermittent basis. At the time of his mother's death in June 1958, Potter was again living in Orange, Texas.

Potter died in September 1975 in Orange, aged 52, "following a lingering illness." He is interred in Houston National Cemetery.

Filmography Potter is known to have appeared in at least 10 movies, each released in 1948 or 1949:

Discography Potter is known to have released at least two records, both with Starday Records in 1953. Additionally, a promotional record from the Shamrock Record Company in Houston is credited to Cowboy Bill Potter and Dickie Jones and His Texas Longhorns, year unspecified.

Label No. A-side B-Side Format Ref. Starday 110 "I Lost My Gal" "Nobody Knows" Shellac / 10" / 78 rpm Starday 111 "Honk Your Horn" "Cry Not For Me" Vinyl / 7" / 45 rpm Shamrock – "High Sierra Moon" "I Got A Yearnin Shellac / 10" / 78 rpm

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Also known as
Lewis William Potter

People in Bill Potter's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Bill Potter's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Bill Potter?

musical artist

When was Bill Potter born?

Bill Potter was born on 23 April 1923 in Stratton, Maine.

When did Bill Potter die?

Bill Potter died on 5 September 1975 in Orange, Texas.

What was Bill Potter's occupation?

Bill Potter was a singer and deputy sheriff.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Bill Potter

· Wikidata: Q19517625

· DBpedia: Bill Potter (musician)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Bill Potter. https://biography.guide/bill-potter/

MLA: "Bill Potter." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/bill-potter/.

Chicago: "Bill Potter." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/bill-potter/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:30 UTC