Seen here with her horse "Buttermilk", Dale Evans was a cowgirl, indeed!
Born Frances Octavia Smith in 1921, Dale Evans was the only actress who emerged as a star from "B" westerns. She sang on radio stations throughout the south and working in a Louisville station when she changed her name. She then became a big band singer and in 1942 she was signed by Twentieth Century Fox.
In 1943 she signed with Republic Pictures and made her first western "In Old Oklahoma" which starred John Wayne. Her first role with Roy Rogers was in "The Cowboy and the Senorita" and then made 20 films together between 1944-47. She married Roy Rogers in 1947 and then starred with him in his TV The Roy Rogers Show from 1951-57 with her famous horse "Buttermilk".
Dale also worked with him in the early 1960s when they had a one-hour variety show together.
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