On this day (September 29) in 1907, Orvon Grover Autry was born in Tioga, Texas. Over the course of his 91 years on this earth, he became one of the biggest stars of stage, screen, and radio. He was the first to sell out Madison Square Garden and owned multiple TV and radio stations. A lifelong baseball fan, he also owned a California-based MLB team and became president of the American League. However, many remember Gene Autry as the Singing Cowboy.
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Autry began his long singing career as a child, singing in the choir of his grandfather’s Baptist church. Before long, he was playing a guitar and singing at local events. Then, the Autry family relocated to Oklahoma, and he found a job with the railroad. However, that wouldn’t last long. After being inspired by a coworker who also had aspirations of making records, the then 19-year-old Autry packed up his guitar and traveled to New York in search of a record deal.
Coming up empty-handed, he returned to Oklahoma to hone his skills as a performer. According to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Autry started a two-year stint of performances on the Tulsa-based radio station KVOO. There, he sang Jimmie Rodgers songs and earned the moniker Oklahoma’s Yodeling Cowboy. In 1929, just days before the stock market crashed and ushered in the Great Depression, he returned to New York, where he recorded songs for five different companies, all of which issued those songs to chain stores across the country.
American Record Corporation A&R man Art Satherley suggested that Autry focus on Western songs and adopt his cowboy image in the early 1930s. Stardom was on the horizon.
Gene Autry: The Singing Cowboy
Gene Autry is best remembered as the Singing Cowboy from early musical western films. He appeared in his first film, In Old Santa Fe, in 1934. The next year, he began starring in films. The Phantom Empire was the first film in which Autry played himself. Tumbling Tumbleweeds, The Sagebrush Troubadour, The Singing Vagabond, and many more followed. His big-screen career ended with the 1950s. His final film, Alias Jesse James, came out in 1959. However, he wasn’t finished with the entertainment industry.
Autry’s penultimate movie, Last of the Pony Riders, hit theaters in 1953. Between 1950 and 1853, he starred in nearly 100 episodes of The Gene Autry Show.
By the end of his film career, he was one of the biggest box office draws in Hollywood. He was the biggest Western film star of his era.
Recording and Touring
Gene Autry wasn’t just a major movie star. His recordings and stage shows were also incredibly popular. For instance, he had a long string of country hits in the 1940s. “I’m Beginning to Care,” “Goodbye Little Darlin’ Goodbye,” “Were You Sincere,” “You Are My Sunshine,” “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” and many more topped the country chart. He sold more than 1 million units in his lifetime.
However, some of his most successful and enduring recordings weren’t country songs. Instead, they’re Christmas classics. He recorded Platinum-selling renditions of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Here Come Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane).”
His traveling concert and rodeo tours were the stuff of legend. He drew crowds across the United States and Europe. According to his biography, Autry made history during his 1956 tour when he became the first performer to sell out Madison Square Garden.
Gene Autry: Brilliant Businessman
Gene Autry was more than a beloved performer. He was also a brilliant businessman. When he learned that the MLB planned to put a team in Los Angeles in 1960, he attempted to buy the broadcasting rights for the team’s games. At the time, he owned multiple radio stations in California, and the arrangement would benefit both parties. Then, the League came back with a counteroffer. They suggested he become the team’s owner. He agreed and became the owner of the Los Angeles Angels. Autry also served as the president of the American League from 1983 until he died in 1998.
Gene Autry owned multiple TV and radio stations in California and across the United States. Notably, he owned the TV station KTLA, which he sold for more than $200 million. He also owned KSFO, KOGO, KMPC, and all of the other stations in the Golden West Radio Network.
Gene Autry died on October 2, 1988, at his home in Studio City, California, after a battle with lymphoma. He passed just days after he turned 91.
Featured Image by Archive Photos/Getty Images
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