On September 29 in 1907, Orvon Grover Autry was born in north Texas, although he eventually would become better-known as the singing cowboy Gene Autry. Autry’s career spanned radio, television, movies, and records — including the 1934-1953 TV series The Gene Autry Show.
Autry had a number of hit songs, including his biggest hit, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” But it was “Back in the Saddle Again” that became his signature song. Below, he sings the song in the 1941 movie Back in the Saddle.
Those too young to remember Autry’s TV show may remember him as the founder and owner of the Angels baseball team from 1961-1997, which started out as the Los Angeles Angels and then became the California Angels, and now we call the team the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Back when his run on his TV show was ending, though, on October 4, 1953 he appeared on the TV show What’s My Line? where a blindfolded celebrity panel asked questions and tried to guess the name of the person in their presence. Using a heavily disguised voice, he manages to fool the panel . . . for awhile.
Gene Autry rode off into the sunset for the final time on October 2, 1998.
Photo of the Gene Autry Show via public domain. Leave your two cents in the comments.
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