McCoy was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but migrated to the west and settled on a ranch in Wyoming. He served in World War I, and over time, became an expert on the old west and Indian lore. The retired US Army (Lt) Colonel came to Hollywood to provide technical details and help on THE COVERED WAGON film which was released by Paramount in 1923. During that film, McCoy was the interface between the production crew and the Native American participants, as he was able to converse with the Indians via sign language. He attended St. Ignatius College in Chicago and after seeing a Wild West show there, left school and found work on a Wyoming ranch.
Young and good looking, McCoy was hired by MGM and became their silent film cowboy and outdoor star in about twenty films. When sound arrived, Colonel Tim starred for Universal Pictures in a pair of serials, THE INDIANS ARE COMING(1930) and HEROES OF THE FLAMES (1931).
He returned to films in 1940, in a series teaming him with Buck Jones and Raymond Hatton, but World War II and Jones's death in 1942 ended the project. McCoy returned to the Army for the war and served with the Army Air Corps in Europe, winning several decorations. He retired from the army and from films after the war, but emerged in the late 1940s for a few more films and some television work. He married Danish writer Inga Arvad and spent his later years as a retired gentleman rancher, occasionally touring with his own Wild West show. He died in 1978 at the age of 86.
Tim McCoy, reached the height of his western starring career in the 1930s at Columbia Pictures, and then spiraled downward as he found lesser quality work at other production outfits. Fans generally remember McCoy from his 1930s Columbia work, or in later flicks where he portrayed a steely-eyed, strong man of the west with names like Lightnin' Bill Carson, Trigger Tim Rand, or U.S. Marshal Tim McCall.