Gene Autry

Born: September 29, 1907, Tioga, Texas
Died: October 2, 1998 (age 91), Studio City, California

Gene Autry was an performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television.

He died of lymphoma at his home.

What do you know about Gene Autry?  Take this quick quiz.

True or False

1. After leaving high school in 1925, Autry became a telegraph operator.

2. He began performing on local radio in 1928 as "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy".

3. He met singer/songwriter Glenn Strange in Chicago.

4. Autry owned a record label Champ Records.

5. Autry bought the old Monogram Ranch in Placerita Canyon.

6. In 1947, Gene recorded "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".

7. Gene Autry is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale, California.

Gene Autry Answers

1. True. After leaving high school in 1925, Autry worked as a telegrapher for the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway.

2. True. An amateur talent with the guitar and voice led to his performing at local dances. After an encouraging chance encounter with Will Rogers, he began performing on local radio in 1928 as "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy".

3. False. Autry worked in Chicago, Illinois, on the WLS (AM) radio show National Barn Dance for four years with his own show where he met singer/songwriter Smiley Burnette

4. False. Autry also owned the Challenge Records label. The label's biggest hit was "Tequila" by The Champs in 1958, which started the rock and roll instrumental craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

5. True. In 1952, Autry bought the old Monogram Ranch in Placerita Canyon (Newhall-Santa Clarita, California) and renamed it Melody Ranch. Numerous "B" Westerns and TV serials were shot there during Autry's ownership, including the initial years of "Gunsmoke" with James Arness.

6. False. In 1947, Gene recorded "Here Comes Santa Claus". He recorded "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in 1949.

7. False.  He is buried at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery, Los Angeles, California.

Page 1 of 1