Hi friends. Thanks for stopping by Gene Autry's official myspace profile page.Early life Autry, the grandson of a Methodist preacher, was born near Tioga, Texas. His parents, Delbert Autry and Elnora Ozmont, moved to Ravia, Oklahoma in the 1920s. After leaving high school in 1925, Autry worked as a telegrapher for the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway.CareerRadio and recordings An amateur talent with the guitar and voice led to his performing at local dances. After an encouraging chance encounter with Will Rogers, he began performing on local radio in 1928 as "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy".He signed a recording deal with Columbia Records in 1931. He worked in Chicago, Illinois, on the WLS (AM) radio show National Barn Dance for four years with his own show where he met singer/songwriter Smiley Burnette. In his early recording career Autry covered various genres, including a labor song, "The Death of Mother Jones" in 1931. But his first hit was in 1932 with That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine, a duet with fellow railroad man, Jimmy Long. Autry also sang the classic Ray Whitley hit "Back in the Saddle Again", as well as many Christmas songs including "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", his own composition "Here Comes Santa Claus", "Frosty the Snowman" and probably his biggest hit ever, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".Autry also owned the Challenge Records label. The label's biggest hit was "Tequila" by The Champs in 1958, which started the rock and roll instrumental craze of the late 1950's and early 1960's.Films Discovered by film producer Nat Levine in 1934, he and Burnette made their film debut for Mascot Pictures Corp. in In Old Santa Fe as part of a singing cowboy quartet; he was then given the starring role by Levine in 1935 in the 12-part serial The Phantom Empire. Shortly thereafter, Mascot was absorbed by the formation of Republic Pictures Corp. and Autry went along to make a further 44 films up to 1940, all B westerns in which he played under his own name, rode his horse Champion, had Burnette as his regular sidekick and had many opportunities to sing in each film. He became the top Western star at the box-office by 1937, reaching his national peak of popularity from 1940 to 1942. His Gene Autry Flying "A" Ranch Rodeo show debuted in 1940.He was the first of the singing cowboys, succeeded as the top star by Roy Rogers when Autry served as a flier with the Air Transport command during World War II. From 1940 to 1956, Autry had a huge hit with a weekly radio show on CBS, Gene Autry's Melody Ranch, and his horse also had a radio-TV series The Adventures of Champion.Autry briefly returned to Republic after the war, to finish out his contract, which had been suspended for the duration of his military service and which he had tried to have declared void after his discharge. Thereafter, he formed his own production company to make westerns under his own control, which were distributed by Columbia Pictures, beginning in 1947. He also starred in and produced his own television show on CBS beginning in 1950. He retired from show business in 1964, having made almost a hundred films up to 1955 and over 600 records. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1969 and to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. Post-retirement, he invested widely in real estate, radio and television, including purchasing from dying Republic Pictures the rights for films he had made for the company.Cowboy Code Autry created the Cowboy Code or Cowboy Commandments in response to his young radio listeners aspiring to be just like Gene.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.Baseball executive In the 1950s, Autry had been a minority owner of the minor-league Hollywood Stars. In 1960, when Major League Baseball announced plans to add an expansion team in Los Angeles, Autry – who had once declined an opportunity to play in the minor leagues – expressed an interest in acquiring the radio broadcast rights to the team's games; baseball executives were so impressed by his approach that he was persuaded to become the owner of the franchise rather than simply its broadcast partner. The team, initially called the Los Angeles Angels upon its 1961 debut, moved to suburban Anaheim in 1966 and became known as the California Angels, then the Anaheim Angels from 1997 until 2005, when it became the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Autry served as vice president of the American League from 1983 until his death. In 1995 he sold a quarter share of the team to The Walt Disney Company, and a controlling interest the following year, with the remaining share to be transferred after his death. Earlier, in 1982, he sold Los Angeles television station KTLA for $245 million.Personal life In 1932 he married Ina May Spivey (who died in 1980), who was the niece of Jimmy Long. He married his second wife, Jackie Autry, in 1981. He had no children by either marriage.Hollywood Walk of Fame Gene Autry is the only celebrity to have five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one in each of the five categories maintained by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.The stars are :Name Category Address Gene Autry Motion pictures 6644 Hollywood Blvd. Radio 6520 Hollywood Blvd. Recording 6384 Hollywood Blvd. Television, Hollywood Blvd. Live theatre 7000 Hollywood Blvd.Legacy In 1972, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.Autry was a life member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Burbank Lodge No. 1497.His autobiography was published in 1976, co-written by Mickey Herskowitz; it was titled Back in the Saddle Again after his 1939 hit and signature tune. He is also featured year after year, on radio and "shopping mall theme music" at the holiday season, by his famous recording of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer". "Rudolph" became the first 1 hit of the 1950s.CMT in 2003 ranked him 38 in CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music.When the Anaheim Angels won their first World Series in 2002, much of the championship was dedicated to him.The interchange of Interstate 5 and California State Route 134, located near the Autry National Center in Los Angeles, is signed as the "Gene Autry Memorial Interchange."The Museum as the centerpiece of his legacy The Museum of the American West, in Los Angeles' Griffith Park, was founded in 1988 as the "Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum", featuring much of his collection of Western art and memorabilia. Its mission is to preserve everything related to the "mythic aspects" of the American "old west," from true historical lifestyles to the 70-year saga of the Hollywood "western movie" genre.Included for many years on Forbes magazine's list of the 400 richest Americans, he slipped to their "near miss" category in 1995 with an estimated net worth of $320 million.Gene Autry died of lymphoma at age 91 at his home in Studio City, California, and is interred in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2004, the Starz Entertainment Corporation joined forces with the Autry estate to restore all of his films, which have been shown on Starz's Encore Western Channel on cable television on a regular basis to date since.Popular songs recorded by Autry "A Face I See at Evening" "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine" "The Last Roundup" "Cowboy's Heaven" "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" "Mexicali Rose" "Take Me Back to My Boots and Saddle" "Gold Mine in the Sky" "South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)" "Back in the Saddle Again" (1939) "Be Honest With Me" "Here Comes Santa Claus" (1947) "Ghost Riders in the Sky" (1949) "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1949) "Peter Cottontail" (1950) "Frosty the Snow Man" (1950) "Up on the Housetop"See also Museum of the American West Hollywood Christmas Parade Gene Autry, Oklahoma List of best-selling music artists
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