CowboyDirectory.Com:
Gene Autry --- 1970 to 1998
Stan Paregien, Editor
In 1977 the sales of "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" topped ten million copies. Not too bad for the yodeling cowboy from Oklahoma.
1978
In 1978 Gene Autry (with Mickey Herskowitz) wrote his autobiography, Back in the Saddle Again.
1980 Ina Mae Autry, Gene's wife and closest friend for 48 years, died on May 19, 1980. They never had any children.
It was this same year that Gene Autry was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.
1981
Gene married his second wife, Jacqueline Ellam, at the First United Methodist Church in Burbank, CA., on July 19, 1981. He was nearly 74 and she was, well, considerably younger. They had known each other for some 15 years, as he banked at the Security Pacific Bank in Palm Springs where she was a vice president. And their marriage lasted until his death.
1982 In 1982, he sold Los Angeles television station KTLA for $245 million. He ranked for many years on the Forbes magazine list of the 400 richest Americans, before he fell in 1995 to the magazine's "near miss" category with an estimated net worth of $320 million.
When asked about how it feels to be a multi-millionaire, Gene would smile and reply that he really didn't feel rich, just independently poor.
In December of 1986, at the age of 79, Gene began hosting his "Melody Ranch Theater" show for the Nashville Network. He and his long-time sidekick, Pat Buttram, would introduce one of Gene's films and tell a few behind-the-scenes stories about it.
1987 Carl Cotner, Gene Autry's musical director since 1935, died in 1987. He had worked for Gene for 52-years and never had a contract, only a handshake.
On April 6, 1987 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce presented Gene Autry with his fifth (5th) star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This one was for his personal appearances at rodeos and on stage. He became the first and, as yet, the only star to have five stars on the Walk of Fame. The others were for his work in (1) movies; (2) radio; (3) television; and (4) music recordings.
1988 A long cherished dream came true with the opening in 1988 of the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, since acclaimed as one of the finest museums of the West. Many aspects of Western history and life are explored, covering a time span from prehistoric native cultures to the present day. The result is a world-class institution drawing millions of visitors from around the world. Today it is called the Autry Museum & Western Heritage Center.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, the board of the museum dropped Gene Autry's name from the title in 2003. It is now the Museum of the American West.
1991 In 1991, someone found a negative note about Gene Autry that had been buried deep in the Republic Pictures files. It was a letter written by powerful Hollywood producer Al Levoy back in the 1930's. Levoy blasted Gene Autry. Among other things, Levoy said absolutely that Gene had no future in Hollywood. He lamented Autry's poor acting, despite a basic crash course given to him by the studio. And he didn't even like the way Gene looked, saying that he should be given a darker shade of makeup to "give him the appearance of virility."
When Gene Autry finally heard the story of Levoy's letter, he simply replied: "A lot of that is true. I got better as I went along. I couldn't get any worse."
Ironically, that same year of 1991 was when Gene Autry was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy" had made some 93 movies and 635 recordings during his career. And he had made millions of fans around the world.
Say, what was that negative producer's name, again? Hmmmmm.
1998
Gene Autry celebrated his 91st birthday on Sept. 29, 1998. And a few days later, on October 2, 1998, he died after a fight with cancer. His remains are at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills; Sheltering Hills section, Grave 1048 ) in Los Angeles, CA.
Millions of fans throughout the world lost a hero. And many of those same fans, who never even met him, also felt they had lost a friend. In fact, for many of us an important and vital link to our childhood and youth was suddenly gone. And it hurt down deep inside.
Gene, ol' saddle pal, we all wish you were back in the saddle again.
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