Autry, who also built a multimillion-dollar fortune in broadcasting and was the original owner of the California Angels baseball team, died at his home in Studio City after a lengthy illness, said . Wed always been known as a sports station at KMPC, Autry said. 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. Gene Autry - Society for American Baseball Research If they do the job, that money will always come back to you. Your IP: 12 Autry is credited as co-writer on more than 300 songs, but many of those are "star credits." Singing stars often took . (later the title of a 1994 Scott biography), which reached number 22[citation needed] on the country chart. Gene Autry, Okla., population 175, is about 20 miles west of Ravia. or Best Offer. 10 George-Warren, 182. Alan is alive and kicking and is currently 70 years old. "You're good," Rogers is said to have told Autry. During the first television season, Buttram went by Pat or . display: none; Buttram co-starred with Autry in more than 40 films and in over 100 episodes of Autry's television show. In 1941, the president of Republic Pictures, Herbert Yates, met McKenzie through a mutual friend, and after a screen test he signed her to a contract to appear opposite the cowboy singer Gene Autry in Down Mexico Way (1941) as Maria Elena Alvarado. 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. . He also composed musical scores for such films as The Painted Stallion and Waterfront Lady. Autry was born Sept. 29, 1907, in Tioga, Texas, and grew up in the small Oklahoma town of Ravia. He later was the promoter for the first professional rodeo in the nation. man city relegated to third division; performance horse ranches in texas; celebrities who live in golden oak Mr. Autry's first film was "In Old Santa Fe." Her parents' disapproval of him was cited as one of the reasons. Missing teens likely among 7 people found dead in Oklahoma, authorities say Local color. 1950: Becomes the first major motion picture star to enter television with The Gene Autry Show, producing and starring in 91 half-hour episodes until 1955. [2] In 1971, he was inducted posthumously into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Despite a lack of formal education, Autry became a business tycoon when he retired from show business in the mid-1950s, holding a majority interest in Golden West Broadcasters radio and television stations, a national radio time sales firm and major hotels, as well as the Angels. 1907: Born Orvon Gene Autry in Tioga, Texas. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. I could sing and that was something the earlier girls couldn't do. People . Gene Autry. Gene Autry, original name Orvon Grover Autry, bynames the Singing Cowboy and Oklahoma's 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 Hollywood's premier singing cowboys and the best-selling country and western recording In just about that way I eased out of my life as a performer and began to devote my full energy to business. He also devised more than a dozen clever uses for a common wire clothes hanger and demonstrated several of them during a TV show guest appearance.[2]. I didnt intend to look for some loophole to keep me out, Autry said in his biography. In 1938, Autry starred in Melody Ranch with Jimmy Durante, Ann Miller and George Gabby Hayes. . September 30, 2007 / 12:24 PM / CBS. In 1991, a letter written in the '30s came to light that said the performer had no future in Hollywood. CAPTION: Gene Autry's cowboy songs in the '30s and '40s helped define the country-western style of music. He served in the Air Transport Command as a flight officer until the war ended in 1945. Gene Autry real name: Orvon Grover Autry, Nick Name(s): The Singing Cowboy Height: 5'9''(in feet & inches) 1.7526(m) 175.26(cm) , Birthdate(Birthday): September 29, 1907 , Age on October 2, 1998 (Death date): 91 Years 0 Months 3 Days Profession: Music (Singer), Also working as: Songwriter, Actor, Features: Dark brown Eye and Hear Black, Father: Delbert Autry, Mother: Elnora Ozment, Married: No . Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 - October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning style on radio, in films, and on television for more than three decades beginning in the early 1930s. I could hit good, but wasnt very fast. 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. Click to reveal Gene passed away on October 2, 1998 at the age of 91 in Los Angeles, CA. Mr. Autry was the only entertainer with five stars on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, one each for radio, records, movies, television and live theater. I decided I better start investing in some business.. I paid cash, $8, money I had saved as a hired hand on my uncle Calvins farm, baling and stacking hay. 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. [6] She returned to films in 1934 in Student Tour as Mary Lou. Near the end of the war, Autry bought radio station KPHO in Phoenix. Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Los . He was my best friend, and my dearest love. The show was one of the highest-rated programs on TNN. [10] Her second marriage to the screenwriter Tom Waldman lasted from 1948 to his death on July 23, 1985. But rural America was another story. Wrigley saw him in Dublin, George Goodale, a late Angels aide, once said. Rogers encouraged him to pursue his career. 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. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. She also appeared on Broadway, radio, and television, having appeared on screen at ten weeks old in 1918. As a boy, Autry occasionally earned spending money singing at local nightspots and with the extra cash, he invested in a mail-order guitar and taught himself to play. In his . It was mean work for a wiry boy, but ambition made me strong.. According to IMDb, his birthplace was near Tioga, Texas, on Sept. 29, 1907. The "Singing Cowboy" Gene Autry Was Born in Texas in 1907. 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. Happy Birthday Gene Autry: Celebrating the Singing Cowboy Legend - Outsider Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Autry was the target of several lawsuits over the product. Cause of Death. Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 - October 2, 1998), nicknamed The Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, and rode. The Phantom Empire series began the next year, and Autry was on his way. [3] When she was ten weeks old, she appeared in an uncredited part in the film Station Content (1918) as Kitty's baby (played by Gloria Swanson). I was always a frustrated ballplayer, he said. The said museum honored the kind of cowboys Autry had played onscreen. The movie actor Gene Autry died at the age of 91. 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. "I felt that I owed something. [2][3] Her father had a stock company called the McKenzie Merry Makers, and was both an actor and director in stage productions and films. Fay McKenzie, who starred alongside Gene Autry in five Westerns and appeared in five films for director Blake Edwards, has died. One dream went unfulfilled, however: The Angels never won the American League pennant, for which he had long yearned. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1952. I could do more than smile and wave at the cowboy! He had other small parts until a secondary, but more prominent role in the 1935 serial The Adventures of Rex and Rinty. He gave a youngster named Roy Rogers his big break with a role in that film, and the two became fast friends despite their box-office rivalry. Gene Autry AKA Orvon Gene Autry Born: 29-Sep - 1907 Birthplace: Tioga, TX Died: 2-Oct - 1998 Location of death: Studio City, CA Cause of death: Cancer - Lymphoma Remains: Buried, Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, CA Gender: Male Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight Occupation: Country Musician Autrys film career began in 1934 when he first went to Hollywood to sing one song in a Ken Maynard Western, In Old Santa Fe.. Every time a player was acquired, he would thank Autry, say how glad he was to be playing for him and pledge to win the pennant for the Cowboy. Autry rarely missed home games, and had a reciprocal love affair with Anaheim. Autry was the owner of a television station and several . Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Autry, who grew up in Texas and Oklahoma, had aspired to be a singer since before he acquired a guitar at the age of 12. But World War II erupted and Autry decided to enlist in the Army Air Corps. Cancer; Cemetery. The museum houses more than 16,000 items, including Teddy Roosevelts Colt revolver, Buffalo Bill Codys saddle and Annie Oakleys gold-plated guns. dd/mm/yyyy. . [2] His career, beginning in 1934, spanned four decades, including a regular role on CBS-TV's Petticoat Junction in the 1960s. She was 101. Gene Autry dating history Relationships. It features Western memorabilia and art. Among other venues, he once appeared with Dewey Brown and the Oklahoma Playboys at a Friday-night dance at Jump's Roller Rink in Fairfax, Oklahoma. From the early 1930's on, he gained fame as a singing . In 1960 Autry became the owner of the Los Angeles Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) major league baseball team, and in 1988 he opened the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum (now the Autry Museum of the American West) in Los Angeles. 1940: Stars on the weekly Melody Ranch radio show on CBS Radio Network until 1956 and becomes the fourth biggest box office attraction behind Mickey Rooney, Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy. Remembering Gene Autry: The 'Singing Cowboy' and - SurvivorNet The 1996 baseball season ended as all seasons have ended for the Angels, with Autry and wife, Jackie, still awaiting the team's first World Series appearance. I had tremendous respect for Roy and considered him a great humanitarian and an outstanding American.". It houses a 1870s-era steam fire engine from Nevada, guns owned by Annie Oakley and Wyatt Earp, and costumes of TV's Lone Ranger and Tonto. By 1995 he had slipped into the near miss category with an estimated net worth of $320 million. It also has seven permanent galleries showing how the frontier was settled and how that history has been portrayed by artists, writers and filmmakers. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer has sold 10 million copies and is a Christmas perennial. We shot that in three days, and there was no script. Lester Alvin Burnett (March 18, 1911 - February 16, 1967), better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and other B-movie cowboys. [3], McKenzie appeared in numerous uncredited roles throughout the 1930s, with occasional credited roles in films such as The Boss Cowboy (1934) as Sally Nolan, and the anti-cannabis propaganda film Assassin of Youth (1937) as Linda Clayton. With the studios no longer interested in making B Westerns, Burnette turned to broadcasting and made guest appearances on many country music radio and TV shows, including Louisiana Hayride, the Grand Ole Opry, and Ranch Party. Pat Buttram - Wikipedia 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. I got better as I went along. He later became the first film star to go into television. Gene Autry Family Tree Check All Members List - FamilyTreeX Gene Autry Net Worth | Celebrity Net Worth He left Gene to make 56 films with the Durango Kid and came back for Autry's final six films. Hes also easy to sit down with and talk with and arrive at a decision with. After World War II, McKenzie retired from films to raise her two children. He was the perfect hero for the Depression.". His first wife, Ina Spivey, died in 1980. We have estimated Gene Autry's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets.