SO LONG, COWBOY : BELOVED WESTERN LEGEND BUILT BUSINESS EMPIRE.Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby and Holly J. Andres Daily News Staff Writers Gene Autry, the famed singing cowboy of Saturday matinee movies, radio and television who built a business empire that included the Anaheim Angels, died Friday of cancer at his home in Studio City. He was 91. His wife, Jacqueline, was at his side, an associate said. ``A great man and humanitarian has just ridden off into the sunset,'' said entertainer and comedian Bob Hope. ``Gene Autry was a giant among the men of the 20th century - a man of many talents, a man of many interests, a generous man whose heart and wallet touched millions.'' Autry, a Renaissance man Renaissance man n. A man who has broad intellectual interests and is accomplished in areas of both the arts and the sciences. Noun 1. who traversed the worlds of radio, TV and the silver screen, made 635 recordings, 94 films, earned five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame The following is a list of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, including the category and location of each star. There is also a ; both should be consistent with the list on the Hollywood Walk of Fame website maintained by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. , owned Melody Ranch in Newhall, and served as a role model to generations of fans. Autry celebrated his 91st birthday Tuesday. He had battled lymphoma for several years, said Joanne Hale, the president, chief executive officer, founder and director of the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large public park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains. It is situated in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers 4,210 acres (17 km²) of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America. . Hale said Autry had been bedridden bed·rid·den or bed·rid adj. Confined to bed because of illness or infirmity. for ``quite a few weeks'' but was scheduled to attend the museum's annual gala Oct. 16. Instead, the event will be a tribute to the western star's life and accomplishments. Born Orvon Autry on Sept. 29, 1907, on a farm near Tioga, Texas Tioga is a town in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 754 at the 2000 census. It is the birthplace of Gene Autry; one of the main streets through the town is named in his memory. , he was the first of four children born to Delbert and Elnora Autry. His father's livelihood, livestock trading, influenced his lifelong love of western Americana. His mother encouraged his musical talents. His grandfather, a Baptist minister, had Autry singing in his church choir at age 5. The tiny town was split by train tracks, and Autry grew up fascinated by the railroad. At an early age, he began working as all-around station handyman, train dispatcher Software that determines what pending tasks should be done next and assigns the available resources to accomplish it. It may execute other programs or generate a list for human operators to follow. See scheduler. and apprentice telegraph operator. He used some of his earnings to buy his first guitar at age 11 for $11 in cash. He was in the depot strumming the instrument one evening several years later when a man walked in to send a telegram. ``You're pretty good, son, although you do have a lot to learn. I would suggest you take your guitar and head for the nearest big radio station,'' Autry recalled the man as saying. He finished transcribing the telegram, and was startled star·tle v. star·tled, star·tling, star·tles v.tr. 1. To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start. 2. To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly. See Synonyms at frighten. to learn the sender's identity - famed humorist hu·mor·ist n. 1. A person with a good sense of humor. 2. A performer or writer of humorous material. humorist Noun a person who speaks or writes in a humorous way and entertainer Will Rogers. Autry took Rogers' advice, but the Big Apple radio stations weren't interested in the tenor from Texas. Keeping his day job, Autry landed his first radio gig at a station in Tulsa and was billed as ``Oklahoma's Yodeling yo·del v. yo·deled or yo·delled, yo·del·ing or yo·del·ling, yo·dels v.intr. To sing so that the voice fluctuates rapidly between the normal chest voice and a falsetto. v.tr. Cowboy.'' Autry eventually moved to Chicago, where he earned a four-week tryout at radio station WLS WLS Weblogic Server (BEA Systems) WLS Weight Loss Surgery WLS Weighted Least Squares WLS Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (Mequon, Wisconsin) WLS Windows Live Search WLS Wisconsin Longitudinal Study , which had the most powerful signal in the Midwest. Four weeks stretched into four years. The legend of the singing cowboy was born. A singing sensation Autry's first record, ``That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine,'' sold more than 1 million copies. He went on to make 635 recordings, including more than 200 songs written or co-written by him. His records sold more than 100 million copies, and he earned more than a dozen gold and platinum records, including the first record ever certified gold. He had five million-selling songs, including ``Here Comes Santa Claus Santa Claus: see Nicholas, Saint. Santa Claus jolly, gift-giving figure who visits children on Christmas Eve. [Christian Tradition: NCE, 1937] See : Christmas Santa Claus ,'' ``Peter Cottontail cottontail a wild rabbit, Sylvilagus spp. ,'' ``Frosty the Snowman'' and ``Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a popular Christmas story about Santa Claus' ninth and lead reindeer who possesses an unusually red colored nose that gives off its own light that is powerful enough to illuminate the team's path through inclement weather. ,'' the second-biggest single of all time and Autry's biggest hit. His ``Melody Ranch'' weekly radio show aired for 16 years. His singing reputation secure, Autry set out to conquer the silver screen. In time, he would rank among the top 10 box-office draws, the first western actor to be included in the company of stars such as Mickey Rooney, Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy. He appeared in 94 films, always playing himself. When the Legion of Decency cracked down on the motion-picture industry in 1934, Hollywood's answer was a series of musical westerns, made to order for Autry's clean image. His first starring film was ``Tumbling Tumbleweeds,'' which came out in 1935. Autry's westerns de-emphasized violence; used comedic touches with a sidekick, usually played by Smiley Burnette; emphasized his singing; featured independent-minded female characters; and tackled social issues relevant to the time. Gentleman cowboy On screen, he never drew his gun first, never hit a smaller man. Only once in all his films did he share a kiss, with actress Ann Rutherford. Autry's appearances at New York's Madison Square Garden Current arenas in the National Hockey League Western Conference Eastern Conference were always sellouts, as were his rodeos. At the height of his popularity, it was suggested that his constant cross-county traveling was wearing him out. ``If show business was easy, everybody would be in it,'' Autry replied. He earned an unsurpassed five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and became the first movie star to have a town named after him - Berwyn, Okla., became Gene Autry, Okla., in 1941. During World War II, he enlisted in the Air Force as a pilot and flew transport supply planes over China, Burma and Indonesia. After the war, he resumed his successful recording career as well as his half-hour radio show. He started Gene Autry Productions for films that were distributed by Columbia Pictures, and had his own record label, Republic. Making millions Autry soon began to amass ownership interests in a wide range of entities, prompting Forbes magazine to list him among the nation's 400 wealthiest men in 1989. Among his holdings were a 20,000-acre ranch in Colorado, hotels on the Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile and a half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's east border with Hollywood at Marmont Lane to its west border with Beverly Hills at Phyllis street. and in Palm Springs, and television and radio stations in Los Angeles <noinclude> List of radio stations in the Los Angeles/Orange County market (Arbitron #2): </noinclude><includeonly></includeonly> |KABC |AM 790 | |Los Angeles |ABC Radio |talk |KALI |AM 900 | |West Covina | | |KAZN |AM 1300 | , San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , Phoenix, Tucson, Seattle and Portland. He also had an interest in three publishing houses, a flying school, two newspapers, oil wells and a manufacturing firm licensed to produce Gene Autry merchandise. In 1952, Autry bought Rancho Placeritos, in Placerita Canyon near Newhall, and renamed it Melody Ranch. The ranch, which also had been known as Monogram monogram [Gr.,=single letter], symbol of a name or names, consisting typically of a letter or several letters worked together. A famous monogram is that of Christ, consisting of X (chi) and P (rho), the first two letters of Christ in Greek. Ranch, was the location where other western movie stars, including Tom Mix, William S. Hart, John Hart, John, 1711?–1779, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Hopewell Township, N.J. A prosperous farm and mill owner, he was a member of the provincial assembly (1761–71), of several provincial Wayne and Roy Rogers
Leonard Franklin Slye (November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), who became famous as Roy Rogers, was a singer and cowboy actor. , had made films. A brush fire at Melody Ranch in 1962 destroyed historical film sites, including 54 structures, the western street set and antique autos and stagecoaches that Autry had collected. After his horse, Champion, died at the age of 41 in 1990, the last 10 acres of the ranch were put up for sale. Play ball Autry's entry into the ranks of baseball owners was set in motion by the man who would become his cross-town rival, Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley Walter Francis O'Malley (October 9, 1903 – August 9, 1979) was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1979. . O'Malley aired Dodger games over the former KMPC-AM (710), one of the radio stations Autry owned. But when O'Malley bought a summer home in Arrowhead, he switched stations, complaining that he could not get good reception on KMPC during the team's road games. About that time, Hall of Fame outfielder Hank Greenberg and Bill Veeck Jr., whose father owned the Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are a professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the White Sox have played in U.S. , came to Los Angeles to scout a broadcast outlet for the expansion team they were considering buying. When the two changed their minds about acquiring the California Angels franchise, Autry called American League President Joe Cronin. Autry telephoned Cronin on a Friday. By Monday, he and his partner, ex-Stanford football star Bob Reynolds, were in business after posting a $1.5 million letter of credit. Autry once said that that first victory would go down as his sweetest baseball memory, ``until we win a pennant.'' Autry recently sold some of his shares in the team, now the Anaheim Angels, to Disney. `Jackie Autry' In 1981, Autry married banker Jacqueline Ellam after the death of his first wife. Autry met Ellam while doing business with a bank in Cathedral City where she was an officer. His best men at the wedding were his lifelong sidekicks - Hollywood's honorary mayor, Johnny Grant, and actor Pat Buttram of ``Green Acres'' fame. Jackie Autry took an active role in her husband's business dealings, particularly in the operation of the Angels. But the couple's pride and joy was the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage, which opened in October 1988 on 13 acres in Griffith Park. ``My husband felt this city had been so kind to him that he wanted to say thanks in some small way,'' Jackie Autry told the Daily News several years ago. The museum chronicles the history of the cowboy, from the 16th century to the present. ``Gene had always believed the cowboy and the West were the backbone of American history,'' she said. In addition to his widow, Autry is survived by a sister, Veda Coppola of Sherman Oaks, as well as several nieces and nephews. Daily News Staff Writers Teresa Jimenez and Melissa Schmitt contributed to this story. SERVICES SET Funeral services at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Hollywood Hills will be private. However, a public memorial is planned in four to six weeks at the museum, a spokeswoman there said. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the museum, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park. AUTRY'S CAREER Some highlights of Gene Autry's career. Recordings: ``That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine,'' 1932 (also co-author) ``Back in the Saddle Again "Back In The Saddle Again" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of the television series Gilmore Girls. It originally aired on April 23, 2002. Plot It is Friday night and time for dinner. ,'' 1940 (also co-author) ``Tweedle-O-Twill,'' 1942 (also co-author) ``Tumbling Tumbleweeds,'' 1935 ``Here Comes Santa Claus,'' 1947 (also co-author) ``Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,'' 1949 Films: ``In Old Santa Fe,'' 1934 ``The Phantom Empire,'' (serial), 1935 ``Tumblin' Tumbleweeds,'' 1935 ``The Singing Cowboy,'' 1937 ``Boots and Saddles (Cavalry Tactics) the trumpet call which is the first signal for mounted drill. See also: Boot ,'' 1937 ``Under Western Stars,'' 1938 ``Carolina Moon,'' 1940 ``Back in the Saddle,'' 1941 ``Sunset in Wyoming,'' 1942 ``Range War,'' 1946 ``Sioux City Sue,'' 1947 ``Guns and Saddles,'' 1949 Radio, television: ``WLS Barn Dance,'' radio, 1930-34 ``The Gene Autry Show,'' TV, 1950-56 Business: California Angels baseball team. Sold part interest to Walt Disney Co. in 1995 Los Angeles TV station KTLA KTLA KCBS TV in Los Angeles (sold in 1982 for $245 million); other radio and television stations Flying A Productions SOURCE: Associated Press CAPTION(S): 4 Photos, 2 Boxes PHOTO (1--Color) Then-California Angels owner Gene Autry shows off his ballpark, ``The Big A'' in Anaheim, in 1993. Michael Kitada/The Orange County Register (2) no caption (Gene Autry) (3) Autry displays a movie poster from his singing cowboy days during his efforts in 1986 to open a western-themed museum in Griffith Park. File photo (4) All-Star slugger Reggie Jackson embraces Autry at ceremonies Jan. 26, 1982, announcing that Jackson had signed with the Angels. Lenox McLendon/Associated Press BOX: (1) SERVICES SET (see text) (2) AUTRY`S CAREER (see text) |
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