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Autry Museum of Western Heritage
The Autry National Center of the
American west has evolved into an intercultural center celebrating
the history and diversity of the west by three interconnected
facilities that include the Museum of the American West, the
Institute for the Study of the American West and the Southwest
Museum of the American Indian. The Museum of the American West used
to be called the Museum of Western Heritage that was started by Gene
and Jackie Autry, as well as Monte and Joanne Hale. Gene realized
his dream of creating a museum that highlighted the heritage of the
west, explaining how it influenced Americans and the world in 1988.
Gene was a legendary singer and movie star that had been in the
entertainment business for over 6 decades and was still an executive
broadcaster and major league baseball owner. The Southwest Museum of
the American Indian, which is the oldest museum in the city, was
started by Charles Fletcher Lummis. He was the first editor for the
LA Times, as well as a photographer, prolific historian and amateur
anthropologist, who helped the city become a multicultural city.
Gene Autry, himself, was born in Tioga, Texas in 1907, as Orvon Gene
Autry, buying his first guitar at 12 for $8. In the late 1920s, he
would be working as a telegrapher for the railroad in Oklahoma, and
as he sat in the office one night, Will Rogers came in while he was
singing and strumming on his guitar. Will told Gene he should try
radio and the rest has become western history. Gene would go on and
become known as "America's Favorite Singing Cowboy, and the only
entertainer to have five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one
for radio, one for records, live theatrical performance that
included rodeo, one for film and one for television. He became the
epitome of entertainment in this country, beginning his radio career
in 1928, and making his first recording one year later. In 1931, his
first hit was "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine, actually becoming
the first record that became gold, selling one million copies. Gene
made his debut in television as a dude ranch cowboy singer in the
Ken Maynard film, Old Santa Fe, in 1934. He would then become a star
in the science fiction western serial called the Fantom Empire in
1935, and by 1937 had become the nation's favorite cowboy, and in
1940, became the fourth biggest box office draw, behind Clark Gable,
Mickey Rooney and Spencer Tracy; truly some of the best actors of
all time. Gene would always be either the first or second favorite
of the cowboy stars of the period until he retired in 1953. Gene
Autry would appear in 93 feature films and make 635 recordings, of
which almost half were written or co-written by him. Many of his
best known movies would be made based on songs, which included;
South of the Border in 1939, Mexicali Rose in 1939, Back in the
Saddle in 1941, the Last Round-Up in 1947 and Strawberry Roan in
1948. Amazingly he sold over 60 million records and of these over a
dozen went gold. In 1941, Be Honest with Me was nominated for an
Academy Award, and his Christmas songs were always a favorite, with
his Here Comes Santa Claus in 1947 went platinum, as did Peter
Cottontail in 1950. Gene's best and most favorite of all time is
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer from 1949, that is still the second
best selling record of all time, selling over 30 million copies.
Gene seemed to know when the B westerns were going to slow down, and
he began producing and acting in his own series called the Gene
Autry Show, that ran from 1950 to 1955, and produced other popular
show of the period like the Annie Oakley series, as well as the
Range Rider, Buffalo Bill Jr and the Adventures of Champion. During
the late 1980s, Gene and his longtime sidekick Pat Buttram hosted 93
episodes of the 90 minute Melody Ranch Theater shown on Nashville
Network, taking place at his ranch. Gene loved baseball so much that
he bought his own club in 1961, the California Angels, and was the
Vice President of the American League until he died. He was also a
33rd degree Mason, Honorary Inspector General, and was inducted into
many organizations that loved being associated with the great
legend, Gene Autry.
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