Gene Autry

As a young guy growing up in Flint, I was often drawn to the majestic theaters that dotted the city limits. There were many places that one could attend first run movies. The Palace, The Capitol, The Regent and The Strand were just a few names of those great theaters.

Many of them were built in the pre-depression era and had vaudeville performed on their wooden stages. Some were even part of a group that brought in entertainment from the best of circuits on both coasts.

One of my favorite hangouts was The Strand, which is part of a bank now. It sometimes breaks my heart to see things change from when I was younger, but time marches on.

Some of my favorite movies at The Strand included Roy Rogers, The Bowery Boys, Jungle Jim, The Three Stooges and Abbott & Costello. I would also have to include Gene Autry as a favorite because of the way that he and Champion would seek out the bad guys and try and teach the youth not to take shortcuts when it came to the game of life.

Gene made hundreds of movies with sidekicks like Pat Buttram. His personal appearances with his horse Champion drew sellout crowds wherever he went. I never had the opportunity to meet him when I was on the road, but, like a lot of other kids, I looked up to him and the standards that he gave us on the big silver screen.

These are some facts that I have about Gene…

Orvon Gene Autry was his birth name and was considered by many to be the greatest western star of all time. He earned the designation of "America's Favorite Cowboy." He was "discovered" by Will Rogers while working as a telegrapher. One of his stars on the Walk Of Fame is for Live Performance (including rodeo), not live theater. Also, "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine" sold over 500,000 copies in its first release.

He is the first artist in history to have a gold record. He is also the first artist to ever sell 1,000,000 copies of a record--“That Silver-Haired Daddy Of Mine.” He was also the first artist ever to sell out Madison Square Garden. His song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is the second-highest-selling Christmas song of all time. It has sold over 30 million copies. In 1940, he was the fourth-highest-grossing box office attraction, according to Theater Exhibitors of America.

The only stars above him were Mickey Rooney, Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy. By 1948, Dell Publishing was printing over 1,000,000 Gene Autry Comic Books per year. Gene Autry was #49 on CMT's 50 Greatest Men of Country Music, and he also had two songs on CMT's 100 Greatest Songs Of Country. Everything Gene touched seemed to turn to gold.

After he retired from acting, he had many successful business ventures, including radio and television stations.

Autry was the first owner of the Los Angeles Angels American League baseball club, subsequently renamed the California Angels when the team was relocated to Anaheim in 1966. (The team has been renamed twice: the Anaheim Angels, and now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.) A radio station owner, Autry was interested in acquiring the broadcasting rights to the Angels games when he found out the team, part of the American League's first expansion, was for sale, and he bought it.

Autry owned the team in its entirety from its first year of play, 1961, until 1997, when he sold part of the franchise to Disney, who renamed the team the Anaheim Angels. Autry's widow sold the rest of the team to Disney after his death the next year at the age of 91.

He was Vice President of the American League until his death. Sadly, he never got to see his beloved Angels win the World Series. The team even retired Gene's number “26.” He has a town named after him … Gene Autry, Oklahoma. They host a festival/celebration every year.

According to a Hollywood legend, he was discovered singing in a telegraph office in Oklahoma by Will Rogers. He told Gene that he had a pretty good voice and suggested that Gene go to Hollywood, where he could make some money singing in the movies.

Here are some well know facts about Gene…

He has five stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame; for Recording, Movies, TV, Radio, and live theater.

He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1969.

He became a multi-millionaire through his investments and real estate holdings.

He was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1972.

He also was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1980.

He was the most popular of the "singing cowboys." In his heyday, he was so popular that he starred in six to eight new feature films in a single year.

More than 50 years after the last Gene Autry western, he is better known to later generations as a singer. His remastered vintage recordings of "Here Comes Santa Claus" and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" remain very popular holiday standards into the 21st century.

The California/Anaheim Angels franchise retired #26 in his honor.

Gene died in 1998 from lymphoma.

He is interred at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, California, USA, in the Sheltering Hills section, Grave #1048.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers
2004 CAC Honoree