On This Day in 1967, the Prolific Songwriter Who Was the Original Singing Cowboy’s On-Screen Right Hand Man

On this day (February 16) in 1967, Smiley Burnette died from leukemia in Encino, California, at the age of 56. He worked closely with Gene Autry, the original singing cowboy, before he appeared in his first film. Later, he regularly played Autry’s sidekick, Frog Millhouse. Burnette was also a prolific songwriter whose songs have been recorded by a long list of country greats.

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According to his website, Burnette began learning to play various instruments when he was very young. Before he died, he could play more than 100 instruments by ear. Among those instruments was the accordion, which helped him land a life-changing gig in 1933.

[RELATED: Born on This Day in 1905, the Oscar-Winning Singing Cowboy Who Helped Form the Country Music Association and Build the First Hall of Fame Museum]

Burnette had made a name for himself on WDZ, a small radio station in Tuscola, Illinois. In December 1933, Gene Autry was working on the Chicago-based WLS. At the time, he needed an accordion player and asked if anyone knew someone who could fill the spot in his band. Someone pointed him to Burnette.

Autry reached out and offered him nearly three times his weekly salary plus expenses to come to Chicago and sit in. Later that month, he became a permanent member of Autry’s show, the National Barn Dance.

Smiley Burnette Goes to Hollywood

A year after joining the National Barn Dance cast, Smiley Burnette got an invitation that was too good to pass up. He and Gene Autry were invited to California to appear in a pair of films. They only played bit parts, but seemingly made an impression. Not long after they left California, they both received ten-year contract offers from Mascot Pictures. So, they headed west once again to become movie stars.

Burnette appeared in dozens of films, including a Dick Tracy serial and several westerns alongside the likes of Roy Rogers. However, he is widely remembered for the character Frog Millhouse, Autry’s ever-present comic relief sidekick.

Burnette’s acting career didn’t end when the singing cowboy fad ended. He played Charley Pratt in Petticoat Junction and Green Acres.

Burnette Was a Prolific Songwriter

Smiley Burnette was posthumously inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971. He wrote hundreds of songs and played most of them on the silver screen. However, despite never having a big hit as a recording artist, some of his songs escaped the world of film and gained mainstream popularity.

For instance, Dean Martin, Red Foley, and Merle Travis recorded “Hominy Grits.” Burnette’s “It’s My Lazy Day” has been recorded by a long line of greats. Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson cut it for their 1983 duets album. Other artists who put their stamp on the song over the years include Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, the Carter Sisters & Mother Maybelle, and Don Edwards.

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