It also has seven permanent galleries showing how the frontier was settled and how that history has been portrayed by artists, writers and filmmakers. His company included such actors as Broncho Billy Anderson, Ben Turpin, and Victor Potel. Roy Rogers replaced Autry as Republic Studios' top cowboy when Autry took time out to serve as a flier in the Army Air Corps during World War II. . Autry was the owner of a television station, several radio stations in . Died: October 2, 1998 (complications from cancer) Birthplace: Tioga . He purchased KMPC for $800,000 in 1952 and KTLA for $12 million in 1964. O'Connor Died From Complications With . But it always has been my favorite time of day and a pleasant time of my life. He first sang on radio in 1928, and then went on to films, and the lead role in television's "The Gene Autry Show" from 1950 to 1956. Eunice Fay McKenzie (February 19, 1918 April 16, 2019) was an American actress and singer. To moviegoers in the 1930s and 40s, Autry was a red-blooded American hero whose films featured a dashing horse, Champion, a flood of happy endings and simple Western songs. His Western classic, "Ridin' Down the Canyon (To Watch the Sun Go Down)", was later recorded by Willie Nelson, Riders in the Sky, and Johnnie Lee Wills. I got better as I Alan Autry was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on July 31, 1952, and grew up as a migrant farm worker in the fields of San Joaquin Valley in California. He built an astounding legacy and, at the time of his death, had a net worth of a staggering $500 million when adjusted for inflation. Friends who came out for the dedication in Los Angeles' Griffith Park reflected on the influence felt from their one-time matinee idol. Autry became enough of an accountant through the courses so that he later was able to check his own box-office receipts. Gene passed away on October 2, 1998 at the age of 91 in Los Angeles, CA. "Westerns were it. The show was one of the highest-rated programs on TNN. Cancer; Cemetery. Autry was an astute businessman, and he amassed a business empire that included hotels, oil wells, broadcasting stations, music-publishing companies, several ranches, and a flying school. An associate once said of Autrys education: It was high school, newspapers and experience. Autry often read two or three papers a day, all the way through the classified ads. They'd all ride one way and say this, then they'd all ride the other way and say that. As the 1960s began, Burnette continued to make personal appearances at drive-ins, fairs, hospitals, town squares, and rodeos. Shortly thereafter, he acquired a television station in Phoenix, KOOL. Wed been carrying the Dodgers for three years, but they went to another station and left us without a ballclub. It was mean work for a wiry boy, but ambition made me strong.. Gene Autry, who parlayed a $5 mail order guitar into a career as Hollywood's first singing cowboy, died Friday. In December 1988, the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, built largely with funds from Autry's foundations, opened in Los Angeles' Griffith Park. Gene Autry dating history Relationships. She starred in silent films as a child, and then sound films as an adult, but perhaps she is best known for her leading roles opposite Gene Autry in the early 1940s in five horse opera features. Times staff writer Mike Kupper contributed to this article. His death came less than three months after the death of his great rival, Roy Rogers. Burnette enjoyed cooking, and in the 1950s, he opened a restaurant chain called The Checkered Shirt, the first of the A-frame drive-ins. Gene Autry had an incredibly busy music and film career . Gene Autry got his first guitar, from the Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalogue, when he was 12, and he was performing locally by the time he was 15. The radio station was owned by Sears, Roebuck, which began featuring Mr. Autry's records, songbooks and guitar in its catalogues. Melody Trail (1935) $100 per week. Wrigley saw him in Dublin, George Goodale, a late Angels aide, once said. ", Autry's response: "A lot of that is true. [7] That year she made her first short Western film, Sundown Trail, with Wally Wales. I quickly established some principles that were to guide me, he wrote. Burnette devised and built some of his unusual musical instruments in his home workshop. No cowboy had ever done as well. My friends kidded me about going so far on such modest talent, Autry said. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Autrys movies all had the same basic plots--save the good guys from the bad guys, never kiss the leading lady or shoot first, sing a song and ride off into the sunset. And Oklahoma always remembered Autry, even naming a town for him recently. I would have much rather kept counting my money and firing blanks. On 31-7-1952 Alan Autry (nickname: Alan) was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States. Actor and singerknown as The Singing Cowboy for his appearances in ninety-three movies and ninety-one TV productions. He had been ill for some time, but the cause of death was not reported. Gene Autry, original name Orvon Grover Autry, bynames the Singing Cowboy and Oklahomas Yodeling Cowboy, (born September 29, 1907, near Tioga, Texas, U.S.died October 2, 1998, Los Angeles, California), American actor, singer, and entrepreneur who was one of Hollywoods premier singing cowboys and the best-selling country and western recording artist of the 1930s and early 40s. Near the end of the war, Autry bought radio station KPHO in Phoenix. He was 91. McKenzie went on to appear in four additional Autry films as his leading lady: Sierra Sue (1941) as Sue Larrabee, Cowboy Serenade (1942) as Stephanie Lock, Heart of the Rio Grande (1942) as Alice Bennett, and Home in Wyomin' (1942) as Clementine Benson. Born September 29, 1907, on a ranch in Tioga, Texas, Autry was working as a railroad telegrapher when Will Rogers heard him sing, and advised him to try show business. He is most remembered for The Gene Autry Show. He was my best friend, and my dearest love. Gabby Hayes was born in Stannards, New York in May 1885 and passed away in February 1969. Mr. Autry was also founder in Los Angeles 10 years ago of the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, built largely with funds from his foundations. At one point, Autry owned a string of hotels, including the Mark Hopkins in San Francisco, the Ocotillo Inn and Gene Autry Hotel in Palm Springs, the Sahara Inn in Chicago and the Hotel Continental in Hollywood. He was 91. Mr. Autry helped spark a national interest in country music and helped define the Western style of singing. I couldn't get any worse.". I coldn't get any worse. She made her final screen appearance in S.O.B. Also known as " Gene Autry "Born: 29-Sep-1907 Place of Birth: Tioga, TX Gender: M Father: Delbert Autry Mother: Elnora Ozmont. Most Facebook users can now claim settlement money. Gene Autry and Davis in Toronto, c. 1956 In 1950, Davis began to guest star in television Westerns, notably in The Cisco Kid, in which she appeared six times in two roles, including that of a niece whose uncle is trying to stop her pending marriage to a gangster. Fay McKenzie, who starred alongside Gene Autry in five Westerns and appeared in five films for director Blake Edwards, has died. 1991: The City of Anaheim names a street running into the stadium Gene Autry Way. His success was unusual in that his early pictures were not popular in major metropolitan areas. His songs were recorded by a wide range of singers, including Bing Crosby, Ferlin Husky, and Leon Russell. McKenzie later recalled, Oh my gosh, my first grown up role. Autry, who also founded the 10-year-old Autry . Rogers and his wife, Dale Evans, were among those honoring Autry at his 90th birthday party a year ago. Alan Autry is best known for his portrayal of police officer Bubba Skinner on the series "In the Heat of the Night." He was born . Just after filming wrapped for the fourth season of Petticoat Junction, Burnette became ill.[2] On February 16, 1967, a month before his 56th birthday, he died in Encino, California, from leukemia and was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California.[1]. The $54-million museum, a three-story contemporary adaptation of Spanish mission and early Western architecture, includes a courtyard with a large bronze statue of Autry and Champion, and the Wells Fargo Theater, which screens classic Western films. [6] She returned to films in 1934 in Student Tour as Mary Lou. He made 95 movies in all, and is still the only Western star on the list of top 10 box office moneymakers. In the mid 1960s, he portrayed railway engineer Charley Pratt on the CBS-TV programs Petticoat Junction (106 episodes) and Green Acres (seven episodes). One historian later noted that "the time was right for a man gentle with children, romantic enough to serenade a lady and courageous enough to defend what is right with his wit, his fists, or -- rarely -- his guns. Gene Autry. The Gene Autry Show aired on television from 1950 to 1956. Your IP: The note from producer Al He later became the first film star to go into television. His team may never have won a World Series in his lifetime, but he sure did leave this legacy behind. When Starrett retired, Burnette was still under contract, so Columbia teamed him with Jock Mahoney for a new series of Westerns. I had no illusions about my films, nor did I consider myself anything special as an actor or a singer. But World War II erupted and Autry decided to enlist in the Army Air Corps. In the past few years, his music has received renewed interest and been reissued in CD collections including: The Essential Gene Autry: 1933-1946 in 1992, Gene Autry Christmas in 1994, Gene Autry: Blues Singer in 1996 and Gene Autry: Sing Cowboy Sing late last year. Career: Country Musician Died: 2-Oct-1998 Place of Death: Studio City, CA Cause of Death: Cancer - Lymphoma Burial: Forest Lawn Hollywood Place of Burial: Los Angeles, CA Family Tree. Ahead of the second Live in Front of a Studio Audience special, here's what you need to know about when and how Carroll O'Connor passed away. His museum, which may stand as a greater legacy than the Angels, was an extension of a lifetime dream of preserving Western history. They became the Anaheim Angels in 1997. I was always a frustrated ballplayer, he said. actor needed darker makeup to "give him the appearance of The slides were to be projected in order and advanced each time a short tone played on the record during the songs. He went back to his advertising department in Chicago and told them he had just seen a singing cowboy draw 200,000 in Ireland. On the screen, Mr. Autry rode hard, strummed his guitar prettily and promoted gentle virtues. He sold KMPC in 1984 for a reported $18 million and KTLA in 1982 for $245 million. Billings, Jim "Comes Long Way From Dwarf Role," (January 20, 1957), This page was last edited on 20 March 2023, at 01:03. The museum houses more than 16,000 items, including Teddy Roosevelts Colt revolver, Buffalo Bill Codys saddle and Annie Oakleys gold-plated guns. (CNN) -- Just two days after his 91st birthday, singer and actor Gene Autry has died. Gene Autry, the beloved "singing cowboy," died of lymphoma 23 years ago on October 2, 1998. Charlie Pratt of TV 'Petticoat Junction' Played Roles in Nearly 200 Westerns", "DESIGN: Those Were The Times - No.24 1943 Movie Stars and Paper Routes", "Hollywood Walk of Fame - Smiley Burnette", Smiley Burnette in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Smiley Burnette in the Western Music Association, Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Smiley_Burnette&oldid=1145603096, Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Burnette's base of operations was Springfield, Missouri, where he produced and hosted a nationally syndicated 15-minute radio program, The Smiley Burnette Show, through RadiOzark Enterprises. [2] His career, beginning in 1934, spanned four decades, including a regular role on CBS-TV's Petticoat Junction in the 1960s. Here is all you want to know, and more! From 1937 through 1942, Autry was voted the top Western star in Hollywood. My father took me. His roles as honest American heros earned him a reputation as one of country musics most prominent figures. }, First published on October 2, 1998 / 3:22 PM. Gene Autry, who parlayed a $5 mail order guitar, charm and a smooth voice into a career as Hollywood's first singing cowboy, died Friday. I always used my own name. He was honored by his songwriting peers with a lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Hire the best people you can find, give them trust and loyalty and pay them top money. Alan is alive and kicking and is currently 70 years old. The West has been very kind to me over the years," Mr. Autry said at the time.