Autry, Gene, 1907-1998
Variant namesBiographical notes:
Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, 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. Autry was the owner of a television station, several radio stations in Southern California, and the Los Angeles/California Angels Major League Baseball team from 1961 to 1997.
From 1934 to 1953, Autry appeared in 93 films, and between 1950 and 1956 hosted The Gene Autry Show television series. During the 1930s and 1940s, he personified the straight-shooting hero—honest, brave, and true—and profoundly touched the lives of millions of Americans. Autry was also one of the most important pioneering figures in the history of country music, considered the second major influential artist of the genre's development after Jimmie Rodgers. His singing cowboy films were the first vehicle to carry country music to a national audience. In addition to his signature song, "Back in the Saddle Again" and his hit "At Mail Call Today", Autry is still remembered for his Christmas holiday songs, most especially his biggest hit "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" as well as "Frosty the Snowman", "Here Comes Santa Claus", and "Up on the House Top".
During World War II, Autry enlisted in the Army Air Corps voluntarily on July 26, 1942 in a broadcast of his Wrigley sponsored CBS radio series, Melody Ranch. Melody Ranch ran from 1940 through 1956 and was interrupted only during Autry’s service in the Army Air Corps Holding a private pilot certificate, he was determined to become a military pilot and earned his Service Pilot rating in June 1944, serving as a C-109 transport pilot with the rank of flight officer. Assigned to a unit of the Air Transport Command, he flew as part of the dangerous airlift operation over the Himalayas between India and China, nicknamed the Hump.
Autry is a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and is the only person to be awarded stars in all five categories on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for film, television, music, radio, and live performance. The town of Gene Autry, Oklahoma, was named in his honor, as was the Gene Autry precinct in Mesa, Arizona.
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Information
Subjects:
- Air transport
- Cowboys
- Rodeo performers
- Rodeo performers
- World War II, 1939-1945
- Actors
- Contracts
- Motion picture industry
- Popular music
- Trick riding
- Western films
Occupations:
- Actors, American
- Aircraft pilots
- Airforce personnel
- Army officers
- Country Singer
- Military personnel
- Rodeo performers
- Songwriter
Places:
- CA, US
- TX, US
