Gene Autry Biography and Wiki
Gene Autry born Orvon Grover Autry was an American performer. He was born September 29, 1907 in Tioga, Texas to Delbert Autry and Elnora Ozment. He was raised in Texas and Oklahoma.
Gene Autry Family
Autry’s parents, Delbert Autry and Elnora Ozment, emigrated in the 1920s to Ravia in Johnston County in southern Oklahoma. He worked on his father’s ranch while at school. After leaving high school in 1925, Autry worked as a telegrapher for the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway. His talent at singing and playing guitar led to performing at local dances.
Gene Autry Wife and Children
In 1932, Autry married Ina May Spivey, the niece of Jimmy Long. After she died in 1980, he married Jacqueline Ellam, who had been his banker, in 1981. He had no children by either marriage.
Gene Autry Son
Gene Autry neither had a son nor a daughter.
Gene Autry Measurements and Facts
Here are some interesting facts and body measurements you should know about Autry
• Full Name: Orvon Grover “Gene” Autry
• Also Known As Gene Autry, The Singing Cowboy, Gene Michaels
• Died: 2 October 1998 (aged 91); Studio City, California, United States
• Date of Birth: September 29, 1907
• Place of Birth: Tioga, Texas, U.S.
• Birthday: September 29
• Nationality: American
• Education: Not listed
• Father’s Name: Delbert Autry
• Mother’s Name: Elnora Ozment
• Siblings: Not listed
• Spouse: Jackie Autry (m. 1981–1998), Ina Mae Spivey (m. 1932–1980)
• Children: None
• Height: 1.75 m
• Weight: Moderate
• Genres: country western
• Occupation(s): Singersongwriteractormusicianrodeo performer
• Instruments: Guitar vocals
• Years active: 1925–1964
• Labels: ColumbiaOkehPerfectConqueror, Victor
• Website: geneautry.com
• Net Worth: $500 million
Gene Autry Career
Autry was discovered by comedian Will Rogers. In 1929, he was advertised as “Oklahoma’s Yodeling Cowboy” at KVOO in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He grew a mass following, a recording deal with Columbia Records in 1929, and soon after, performed on the stage of “National Barn Dance” for the Chicago radio station WLS.
Autry debuted on-screen in 1934 and up to 1953, he popularized the musical Western and starred in more than 93 feature films. In 1940 theater exhibitors of America chose Autry the fourth most significant box office attraction, behind Mickey Rooney, Clark Gable, and Spencer Tracy.
The public listened to Autry on Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch radio show from 1940 to 1956. The show was heard weekly over the CBS Radio Network, featuring his trademark theme song ‘Back In The Saddle Again.’
In addition, Autry’s notoriety was visible during his personal appearance tours. Autry was the first performer to sell out Madison Square Garden, most of his concerts and rodeo appearances throughout the United States and Europe were legendary and served as a model for other performers. He also uniquely did two shows a day, seven days a week, for 65 to 85 days at a stretch.
Gene joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 and grew to become Sgt. Gene Autry. Throughout the war, he transported fuel, ammunition, and arms in the China-India-Burma terrain of war and hovered over the Himalayas, the hazardous air route known as “The Hump.”
When the war concluded Autry was transferred to Special Services, where he traveled with a USO troupe in the South Pacific before returning to his career as an actor in 1946.
In 1950, Gene became the first major movie star to use television as a medium. Autry was always a man of vision, he excelled and the following five years through his Flying A Pictures he produced and featured in 91 half-hour episodes of The Gene Autry Show for CBS Television.
The success of The Gene Autry Show, lead him to produce some popular TV series as Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill Jr., The Range Rider, The Adventures Of Champion, and the first 39 episodes of Death Valley Days.
Autry carried his passion for entertaining and sharp business sense into broadcasting, where, under the Golden West Broadcasters banner, he owned award-winning stations like KMPC radio and KTLA Television in Los Angeles and other stations across the country.
In 1961, Autry’s great admiration for baseball provoked him to acquire the American League California Angels. Active in Major League Baseball, Autry held the position of Vice President of the American League until he succumbed from lymphoma.
Gene died at his home in Studio City, California on October 2, 1998. He was 91 years old at the time of his death.
Gene Autry Awards
Autry is the only artist to have all five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one each for Radio, Television, Recording, Motion Pictures, and Live Theatre/performance. He was additionally a 33rd Degree Mason and Honorary Inspector General and was awarded the prestigious award of the Grand Cross of the Court of Honor.
Among the many hundreds of honors and awards Autry has won were induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame; the American Academy of Achievement Award, the Los Angeles Area Governor’s Emmy from The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; and the Board of Directors Lifetime Achievement Award given by the International Achievement in Arts Foundation.
Gene was also inducted into The National Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and he got The Songwriters Guild Life Achievement Award. Autry was also honored by his songwriting peers with a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP.
Gene Autry Songs
• Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Back in the Saddle Again
• Peter Cottontail
• That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine
• Riders in the Sky
• Frosty The Snowman
• Tumbling Tumbleweeds
• Jingle, Jangle, Jingle
• Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
• You’re the Only Star in My Blue Heaven
• At Mail Call Today
• The Last Round-Up
• Be Honest With Me
• If It Doesn’t Snow on Christmas
• When It’s Springtime in the Rockies
• A Yodeling Hobo
• Dear Hearts and Gentle People
• Blue Canadian Rockies
• Nine Little Reindeer
• I Hang My Head and Cry
• Sing Me a Song of the Saddle
• Tweedle O’Twill
• Deep In The Heart Of Texas
• Dear Old Western Skies
• Way Out West In Texas
• Gonna Build A Big Fence Around Texas
• Ridin’ Down the Canyon
• Do Right Daddy Blues
• Dixie Cannonball
• I’m Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes
• Dallas County Jail Blues
• God’s Little Candles
• Here Comes Santa Claus
Gene Autry Net Worth
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.
Gene Autry Museum
In November 1988, Autry’s long-cherished vision came to pass with the opening of the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, since praised as one of the most elegant museums on the West. Autry meant to give something back to the community that had been so generous to him.
The museum blended with the Southwest Museum in January 2004. As part of this alliance, an umbrella company was created. The new Autry National Center comprised of three entities: the Museum of the American West, the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, and the Institute for the Study of the American West.
The museum became one entity in 2015, the Autry Museum of the American West. Today thousands of visitors, children and adults alike, learn the interesting history of America’s West through world-class gatherings of art and artifacts.
Frequently Asked Questions About Gene Autry
Who was Gene Autry?
Autry was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, and rodeo performer who gained popularity mainly by singing in a crooning style on radio, in films, and on television for more than three decades beginning in the early 1930s.
How old was Gene Autry when he died?
Autry died on 2 October 1998 aged 91, he died at Studio City, California, United States
How tall was Gene Autry?
He stood at a height of 1.75 m high.
Was Gene Autry married?
He was married twice; first to Ina Mae Spivey from 1932 to 1980, and to Jackie Autry from 1981 to 1998.
How much was Gene Autry worth?
He had an approximated net worth of $500 million at the time of his death.
Is Gene Autry dead or alive?
Autry is dead, he died on 2nd October 1998, in Studio City, California, United States.