Gene Autry
Gene Autry was born September 29, 1907 near Tioga, Texas.
His birth name was Orvon Eugene Autry.
He moved with his family to Ravia, Oklahoma in the 1920s.
He worked on his father's ranch while he was in school.
After leaving high school in 1925, he worked as a telegrapher for the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway.
While working as a telegrapher, Gene would sing and accompany himself on his guitar to pass the hours.
One night he got encouragement to sing professionally from a customer, Will Rogers, who had heard Gene sing.
As soon as he could collect money to travel, he went to New York.
In 1928 Gene was singing on Tulsa’s radio station KVOO as "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy."
Gene Autry signed a recording deal with Columbia Records in 1929.
He worked in Chicago, Illinois on the WLS-AM radio show for four years, and on his own show, where he met singer and songwriter Smiley Burnette.
Gene's signature song was "Back in the Saddle Again".
Gene Autry made 640 recordings, including more than 300 songs written or co-written by him.
In 1934, Nat Levine discoverd Gene and Smiley Burnette, and they made their films for Mascot Pictures and Corp.
After starring In Old Santa Fe as part of a singing cowboy quartet, he was given the starring role by Nat Levine in 1935 in a 12-part movie. Shortly after, Mascot turned into the the newly-formed Republic Pictures Corp., and Gene 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 Smiley Burnette as his regular sidekick, and had many opportunities to sing.
Gene served in the US Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1945.
Gene Autry briefly returned to Republic after the war to finish out his contract.
Pat Buttram was picked by Gene Autry, after returning from his World War II service, to work with him. Pat Buttram would co-star with Gene Autry in more than 40 films, and in over 100 episodes of Gene's television show.
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 retired from show business in 1964, having made almost 100 films and over 600 records.
In the 1950's Gene was the owner of a baseball team. The team was called the Los Angeles Angels until 1961 and then was called the California Angels. He served as vice president of the American League from 1983 until his death.
Gene Autry died of lymphoma, 3 days after his 91st birthday at his home in Studio City, California and was buried in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
His death on October 2, 1998 came fewer than three months after the death of another cowboy of the silver screen, radio, and TV, Roy Rogers.