 
Chester Rosson (May 1997) By far the most successful movie cowboy singer, Gene Autry starred in more than a hundred movies, wrote songs that have become perennial million sellers, and invested the proceeds in successful businesses that made him one of the wealthiest men in the movies. But his life began far more humbly. Orvon Gene Autry was born the son of a poor tenant farmer in rural Tioga, north of Dallas. His father moved his family many times before settling in Ravia, near Ardmore in Oklahoma. A typical farm boy of the World War I era, Autry worked in the fields with his father and learned to ride a horse. His grandfather, a Baptist minister, taught him to sing, and at age 12 he received the gift that provided the means to his future success, a guitar. After graduation, Gene traveled with a medicine show for a short time before settling into a job as a telegraph operator at a Frisco Railroad train station. Between duties Autry played his guitar and sang country tunes, which is how he came to be heard by one of the great entertainers of the day, Will Rogers, who had stopped by to send a message. He suggested that Autry should try out singing on the radio. Autry took Rogers' advice and auditioned for--and landed--a job at KVOO in Tulsa as "Oklahoma's Singing Cowboy." An admirer of Jimmie Rodgers, Autry added yodeling to his repertory and in 1929 made his own first recordings for RCA. Those songs won him a spot on WLS Chicago's National Barn Dance, which brought wider exposure. Then in 1931 came Autry's first million seller, "That Silver-haired Daddy of Mine," a duet with the song's co-author, his father-in-law, Jimmy Long. By 1934 Hollywood was interested, and Gene Autry took a singing bit part in In Old Santa Fe. That modest success led to a 1935 contract with Republic Pictures and Tumbling Tumbleweeds, in which he sang eight songs, including the title and his 1931 hit. That film launched him in a succession of profitable movies. In addition, in 1940 Autry also debuted his Melody Ranch radio show on CBS, which ran until 1956. Among Autry's hit songs of this era, many of which he wrote himself, are "The Last Roundup," "Mexicali Rose," "Back in the Saddle Again," "It Makes no Difference Now," and "Be Honest With Me." In 1942 Autry joined the Army Air Corps and piloted planes in the Far East and North Africa until the end of the war, when he resumed his recording and movie careers. His Christmas recordings of "Here Comes Santa Claus" (1947) and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1948) became his all-time best sellers. Meanwhile, starting in 1942, Autry began looking to his future as a businessman, buying radio stations and television stations when they became available. In the late forties he also formed his own movie production company, which made films and later produced television programs. All those holdings increased tremendously over the years. In 1962 Autry became co-owner of the newly formed Los Angeles Angels baseball team. At ninety and showered with various industry honors over the years, Autry continues to be a legend in his own time. ars, Autry continues to be a legend in his own time. |
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