Autry, Gene

Autry, Gene (1907–1998), American singer, actor, and businessman best known for popularizing the role of the singing cowboy in musical Westerns of the 1930s and 1940s. Successful in a variety of entertainment ventures, at the time of his death Autry was the only performer with five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—for film, radio, television, music recording, and live performance.

Orvon Gene Autry was born in Tioga, Texas. He started singing on a local radio station in Oklahoma in the late 1920s, supposedly after receiving encouragement from actor Will Rogers. Autry’s first hit song, “That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine” (1931), led to a spot on the nationally broadcast WLS National Barn Dance radio show.

In 1935 Autry starred in his first feature film, Tumbling Tumbleweeds, in which he played a heroic singing cowboy who embodied simple virtues. His stylized cowboy image and shy smile made him widely popular, and, along with other singing cowboys like Roy Rogers, he helped the musical Western and country-and-western music generate mainstream appeal. Autry starred in more than 90 films, including South of the Border (1939), Back in the Saddle Again (1941), Heart of the Rio Grande (1942), The Last Round-Up (1947), Texans Never Cry (1951), and Last of the Pony Riders (1953).

Autry also had a successful career on radio and television. Beginning in 1940, he hosted and performed on the weekly radio show Melody Ranch. He recorded songs throughout the 1930s and 1940s, including a version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1949) that went on to become one of the bestselling records of all time. In 1950 Autry entered television with The Gene Autry Show. His production company also created and produced other Western shows for radio and television.

In the mid-1950s Autry began to focus more on his business career, acquiring radio and TV stations along with real estate and, in 1961, the California Angels major league baseball team (now the Los Angeles Angels). In 1969 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His autobiography, Back in the Saddle Again, appeared in 1978.