Matinee Classics - Gene Autry Biography & Filmography

Gene Autry - The Singing Cowboy - Back in the Saddle Again

Gene Autry ACTOR

PHOTOS

GENE AUTRY BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Gene Autry, probably most famous as the first singing cowboy star, is a show business legend, succeeding in radio, movies, and television as a performer.

Born in Texas on September 29, 1907, Orvon Eugene Autry was raised there and in Oklahoma, where his family moved in the 1920’s. He worked on his father’s ranch while he grew up, and later worked as a telegraph operator for the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway after he finished school.

Working the graveyard shift at the telegraph was lonely and sometimes too quiet, and Gene would pass the time playing his guitar and singing, which he loved to do. He also used his talents performing at local dances. It is reported that Will Rogers, famous wit and humorist, overheard him singing and playing and encouraged him to try singing professionally.

He went to New York, where he auditioned for the Victor Talking Machine Company (soon to become RCA Victor), an American company making phonographs and recordings, but was turned down because they had just signed two performers with a very similar style to Autry’s, but he was encouraged to try singing on the radio to gain experience. In 1928 he could be heard as “Oklahoma’s Yodeling Cowboy” on radio station KVOO in Tulsa. He must have returned to RCA Victor because their records indicate that Gene Autry and Jimmie Long made two recordings, “My Dreaming of You” and “My Alabama” in 1929, and that same year he was signed to a recording contract with Columbia Records.

During his early recording career Gene Autry recorded songs in various genres, including many “hillbilly” style songs in 1930 and 1931. It was while he worked on “National Barn Dance” on WLS-AM radio that he met singer/songwriter Smiley Burnette who in later years would be Gene’s sidekick in movies and on television.

“That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine” was Gene’s first big hit in 1932. He is also famous for his singing of “Back in the Saddle Again” (later to be his theme song). Several generations of children know Gene Autry’s voice singing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, “Frosty the Snowman”, and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. He is also famous for “Here Comes Santa Claus” which he co-wrote with Oakley Haldeman in 1946, and recorded in 1947. He would go on to co-own Challenge Records for a short time in the 1950’s. Over his recording career, he made 640 recordings, more than 300 of which were written or co-written by him, earning him more than a dozen gold and platinum records.

Gene was discovered by producer Nat Levine in 1934, and that same year he and Smiley Burnette were cast as part of a singing quartet in “In Old Santa Fe”, produced by Mascot Pictures Corporation. In 1935 he was given the starring role in “The Phantom Empire”, a twelve chapter serial.

Between 1935 and 1940 Autry would make forty-four films for Republic Pictures Corporation (which had taken over Mascot). These were B-Western films, and starred Gene Autry along with Smiley Burnette and Gene’s horse, Champion. These included “Ride Ranger Ride” in 1936, “Round Up Time in Texas” in 1937, and “Rhythm of the Saddle” in 1939. Gene Autry was soon known everywhere as “The Singing Cowboy”.

Following his stint as a Flight Officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, Gene Autry returned to his acting career with Republic, and continued to make movies with them such as “Sioux City Sue” in 1946 and “Twilight on the Rio Grande ” 1947.

After 1951 he formed his own production company to make Westerns under his own control, which continued the 1947 distribution agreement with Columbia Pictures. Gene Autry Productions produced many movies, like “Texans Never Cry” in 1951, “Night Stage to Galveston” in 1952, and “Last of the Pony Riders” in 1953.

He was listed in the Motion Picture Herald Top Ten Money Making Western Stars poll every year from 1936 to 1954, except for the three years he was away from the business serving in World War II, and was ranked first from 1937 to 1942, and then second from 1947 to 1954.

While making movies certainly took up much of his time, Gene Autry continued throughout his career to be heard on the radio also. From 1940 to 1956 “Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch” radio show was enjoyed by millions on the CBS Radio Network. The show, of course, featured Gene’s theme song, “Back in the Saddle Again”. Many adults today were influenced by Gene Autry’s “Cowboy Code”, encouraging them to live “ethical, moral, and patriotic lifestyles”.

Gene Autry’s Cowboy Code

The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.

He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.

He must always tell the truth.

He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.

He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.

He must help people in distress.

He must be a good worker.

He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.

He must respect women, parents, and his nation's laws.

The Cowboy is a patriot.

Gene formed Flying “A” Productions in April of 1950, and proceeded to produce and star in “The Gene Autry Show” on CBS Television which premiered on July 23, 1950. The show starred Gene Autry and his sidekick, Pat Buttram, and of course Gene’s horse, Champion. They produced 91 half hour episodes featuring action, comedy, and Gene’s singing from July 1950 to December 1955. Gene also appeared several times on ABC’s “Jubilee USA” in the late 1950’s.

While he was starring in his own television program, Flying “A” also produced “The Range Rider” starring Jock Mahoney from 1950 to 1953; “Annie Oakley” starring Gail Davis from 1954 to 1957; “Buffalo Bill Jr.” starring Dickie Jones from 1955 to 1956; and “The Adventures of Champion” starring Barry Curtis from 1955 to 1956.

Gene Autry returned to television in 1964 with “The Melody Ranch Show”, a one hour program featuring top country talent like Rex Allen and Hank Penny. Gene appeared on the program occasionally. “Melody Ranch Theater”, on The Nashville Network in 1987, featured Gene’s movies, and Gene and Pat Buttram would introduce the films and reminisce about movie-making.

Although Gene Autry retired from show business in 1964, he continued with many other pursuits, including being owner of the American League baseball team, the Angels, and vice president of the American League from 1983 until his death. He was also owner of several radio stations in the Golden West radio network, and television station KTLA in Los Angeles.

He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Western Performers Hall of Fame, the Radio Hall of Fame, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and received the Songwriters Guild Life Achievement Award and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers).

Gene Autry is also the only star to have five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one in each category: motion pictures, radio, recording, television, and live theater.

Aside from his many performances on radio, television, and in movies which can still be enjoyed, he also left the legacy of The Museum of the American West (originally named the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum) which was founded in 1988. His goal, and the museum’s mission, is to preserve the history of America’s “old West”.

On October 02, 1998 Gene Autry died at his home in California at the age of 91.

Filmography

1934 In Old Santa Fe

1934 Mystery Mountain

1935 Melody Trail

1935 The Phantom Empire

1935 Sagebrush Troubadour

1935 The Singing Vagabond

1935 Tumbling Tumbleweeds

1936 The Big Show

1936 Comin' Round the Mountain

1936 Guns and Guitars