Born on this Day in 1907.
I grew up believing that Gene Autry was the only one who could sing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” It was a family Christmas album that I wore out playing over and over again.
Gene Autry gained his fame as a singing cowboy in radio, film and television. he owned a television station and several radio stations in Southern California and was the owner of the Los Angeles/California Angels.
Autry is a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and is the only person to be awarded stars in all five categories on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for film, television, music, radio, and live performance. The town of Gene Autry, Oklahoma was named in his honor.
For many years Autry was included on the Forbes magazine list of the 400 richest Americans.
Autry died from lymphoma on October 2, 1998. He was 91.