I’ve written about the Gene Autry Museum before but here is more about the man.
Gene Autry (1907-98) was born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma. He learned to yodel and made appearances on a local radio station where Columbia Records heard him and brought him to perform on the National Barn Dance for radio station WLS in Chicago as “Oklahoma’s Yodeling Cowboy”.
Unlike many cowboy movie stars he was multi-talented. He was in 93 western movies as “The Singing Cowboy”. He capitalized on the fame, made 640 records and appeared for 16 years on a radio program called Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch. You probably don’t know that he wrote the song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. When World War II started he joined the Army Air Corp and flew on dangerous missions in Indo-China.
His television career started in 1950 and he produced and starred in ninety-one The Gene Autry Show programs. He leveraged that success into producing other programs including Death Valley Days.
Autry created the Cowboy Code, or Cowboy Commandments, which is still recited today.
From the Gene Autry Official Website:
“In 1952 he bought the old Monogram Ranch in Placerita Canyon (Newhall-Santa Clarita, California) and renamed it Melody Ranch. Numerous “B” Westerns and TV shows were shot there during Autry’s ownership, including the initial years of Gunsmoke with James Arness. Melody Ranch burned down in 1962, dashing Autry’s plans to turn it into a museum. According to a published story by Autry, the fire caused him to turn his attention to Griffith Park, where he would build his Museum of Western Heritage (now known as the Autry National Center). He retired from films in 1964.
“He carried his love for entertaining and sharp business sense into broadcasting, where, under the Golden West Broadcasters banner, he owned such award-winning stations as KMPC radio and KTLA Television in Los Angeles as well as other stations across the country. Autry’s great love for baseball prompted him to acquire the American League California Angels in 1961. Active in Major League Baseball, Autry held the title of Vice President of the American League until his death…… Autry is the only entertainer to have all five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one each for Radio, Recording, Motion Pictures, Television, and Live Theatre/performance.”
By the end of his career he had dozens of awards both for being a highly successful businessman and a really nice guy. His wife Jackie Autry is still alive.
You can get more information at the Official Gene Autry Website.
If you have problems seeing the video below click HERE.
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