Gene Autry was the only cowboy star to ever make the list of top ten box office draws.
Yes, many stars made westerns, but some stars made ONLY westerns, and usually B pictures at that. So making big box office returns was unusual. Not in Autry’s case.
Orvon Grover Autry was the first “singing cowboy” — well, at least the first successful one. He paved the way.
Born in Texas his family moved to Oklahoma when he was an infant. In the late Twenties, he landed a spot as a vocalist on a radio station.
World spread about this local favorite and by 1934 Autry was making movies billed as “The World’s Greatest Cowboy Singer.” His first big screen outing in that capacity was with another vocalizing cowpoke, Ken Maynard, in 1934’s Old Sante Fe.
Interestingly, Autry and that other prominent singing cowpoke, Roy Rogers (see below), were close contemporaries — Gene born in 1907 and Roy four years later. Also, Rogers’ movie career began a year after Autry’s. And like Gene, Roy made his debut as a singer — a member of the Sons of the Pioneers vocal group. And, finally, both Autry and Roger died in the same year, 1998; Gene was 91, Roy was 86.
Autry’s early movie making bounced from no-name Mascot Pictures to Republic Pictures, and then as the singing cowboy phenomenon peaked in popularity, to major studio Columbia. Autry’s acting skills were hardly Shakespearean but he projected a righteous but genial, screen personality that made him a likable good guy.
After wartime service in the Forties, Autry emerged bigger than ever. (His movie career covers some 100 credits.) But as the singing cowboy phenomenon flagged in movies by the Fifties, he focussed his attention more on television.
The Gene Autry Show debuted in 1947, continued through 1954, and was produced by Austry’s own production outfit, Flying A Productions. Accompanying Gene was amiable sidekick Pat Buttram. The series had tremendous appeal for children. A syndicated tv version of Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch followed a decade or so later.
Gene hung up his movie and tv spurs in the Sixties, and proceeded to became known as one of the richest businessmen ever to come out of show business.
Ok, on to our Gene Autry Quiz. Questions today and answers tomorrow. Here we go:
1) Question: What would a movie cowboy star be without his favorite horse? Which of the following was Autry’s? a) Tony; b) Topper; c) Scout; or d) Champion.
2) Question: After his retirement from movies and tv, Autry became an extraordinarily wealthy businessman with extensive holdings in real estate, broadcasting and in professional baseball. Which team did he own? a) The Dodgers, b) The Devil Rays; c) The Angels; or d) The Diamondbacks.
3) Question: Which of the following characters actors did NOT appear in various Autry movies? a) Frankie Darro; b) Francis X. Bushman; c) Alan Hale Jr.; or d) Sterling Holloway.
4) Question: Can you identify this Autry picture which was actually nominated for an Oscar? What was the title of the picture, and what was it nominated for? (Given that Autry appeared in dozens of pictures, this may be a hard one. Hints: the picture came out in the early 1940’s and its title refers to a phenomenon extolled in a famous Judy Garland song.)
5) Question: Autry and Roy Rogers were immensely popular cowboy stars, but they didn’t particularly like or trust one another. a) True; b) False.
OK Pardners don’t all stampede to answer today…
Before that though, Gene’s Melody Ranch movie location still continues today, and I’ve worked there several times on shows.
Autry sold the last 10 acres of his formerly 110 acre movie ranch to the Veluzat brothers precisely after the death of his Champion III, the third of his movie horses in 1990 for $975,000.
When commenting on the sale to the Los Angeles Times-
“He said at that time that he had been about to open the ranch to the public in 1962 when a spectacular fire swept through the canyon and destroyed $1 million worth of movie sets, including 54 buildings and movie streets, along with countless items from Autry’s collection of Western artifacts.
Original stagecoaches, antique guns, Indian relics, Autry’s film wardrobe and 17,500 recordings were destroyed in the blaze.
What memorabilia was saved has been moved to the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum in Griffith Park.”
What he didn’t mention to the newspaper, was that it was always Ina’s his first wife’s dream of a museum, not his.
Roy Rogers licked his drinking problem, but Gene didn’t. Whereas Roy was very outgoing and charitable, Gene always put business first, and those that knew him said he was very shrewd and very tight with a dollar.
Roy’s famous family friendly fan museum out in the California desert was sadly seized by the IRS after his death for unpaid estate taxes.
Roy’s son salvaged what wasn’t sold off for taxes, and tried to make the museum work in Branson, Missouri, but it finally closed after only two years. Un-HAPPY TRAILS indeed.
The Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum founded in 1988, ironically became a great tax shelter for Gene, and was greatly expanded after his death by his former banker and second wife Jackie, and is now known as the Autry Museum of the American West.
OK, now the quiz…
1) D – As already mentioned
2) C
3) B
4) RIDIN’ ON A RAINBOW – Nominated for best song Be Honest With Me that Gene wrote with Fred Rose.
OK, so the next question, possibly the trick question…
5) I’d say B – False, and just say they were “friendly” rivals.
But even though they both worked for the same studio, even though they both were FREEMASONS, I kinda think they didn’t socialize together off-screen or on the publicity circuit much. They went their own ways.
It’s all subjective which one you favor over the other, who is your true western hero. Most fans like both.
It’s apples and oranges, Gene was very well organized, wrote a lot of songs had more hits than Roy, in short he was much more ambitious.
As Singing Cowboys they were both good, and who’s to say if they REALLY liked or trusted one another.
Most of their fans have also passed on, it’s just the baby boomers who grew up with from TV as opposed to the old Saturday matinees that remember them now, and they’re not getting any younger!