Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye, November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebranded Rogers then became one of the most popular Western stars of his era. Known as the "King of the Cowboys",[1] he appeared in over 100 films and numerous radio and television episodes of The Roy Rogers Show. In many of his films and television episodes, he appeared with his wife, Dale Evans; his Golden Palomino, Trigger; and his German Shepherd, Bullet. His show was broadcast on radio for nine years and then on television from 1951 through 1957. His early roles were uncredited parts in films by fellow cowboy singing star Gene Autry and his productions usually featured a sidekick, often Pat Brady, Andy Devine, George "Gabby" Hayes, or Smiley Burnette.[2] In his later years, he lent his name to the franchise chain of Roy Rogers Restaurants.
Roy Rogers | |
---|---|
Rogers in The Carson City Kid, 1940 | |
Born | Leonard Franklin Slye November 5, 1911 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
Died | July 6, 1998 86) Apple Valley, California, U.S. | (aged
Resting place | Sunset Hills Memorial Park, Apple Valley, California 34.5569916°N 117.1429367°W |
Other names | Len Slye |
Occupation |
|
Years active | 1932–1991 1935–1984 (acting) |
Style | Western |
Spouse(s) | Lucile Ascolese (1933–1936; divorced) Grace Arline Wilkins (1936–1946; her death; 3 children, 1 adopted, 2 births) Dale Evans (1947–1998; his death; 9 children jointly) |
Life and career
Early life
Roy was born Leonard Slye, the son of Mattie (née Womack) and Andrew "Andy" Slye in Lucasville, Ohio.[3] The family lived in a tenement on 2nd Street, where Riverfront Stadium would later be constructed (Rogers later joked that he was born at second base).[3] Dissatisfied with his job and city life, Andy and his brother Will built a 12-by-50-foot (3.7 m × 15.2 m) houseboat from salvage lumber, and in July 1912 the Slye family traveled up the Ohio River towards Portsmouth.[3] Desiring a more stable existence in Portsmouth, they purchased land on which to build a house, but the Great Flood of 1913 allowed them to move the houseboat to their property and continue living in it on dry land.[3]
In 1919, the Slye family purchased a farm in Duck Run, near Lucasville, Ohio, about 12 miles (19 km) north of Portsmouth, and built a six-room house.[3] Andy soon realized that the farm alone would not provide sufficient income for his family, so he took a job at a Portsmouth shoe factory, living in Portsmouth during the week and returning home on weekends, bearing gifts following paydays. A notable gift was a horse on which young Len learned the basics of horsemanship.[3] Living on the farm with no radio, the family made their own entertainment. On Saturday nights, they often invited neighbors over for square dances, during which Len would sing, play mandolin, and call the square dances.[3] He also learned to yodel during this time, and with his mother they would use different yodels to communicate with each other across distances on the farm.[3]
Len attended high school in McDermott, Ohio,[3] but after he completed his second year there, his family returned to Cincinnati, where his father worked at another shoe factory.[3] Realizing that his family needed his financial help, Len quit school and joined his father at the factory.[3] He tried to attend night school, but after being ridiculed for falling asleep in class, he quit school and never returned.
By 1929, after his older sister Mary and her husband had moved to Lawndale, California, Len and his father quit their factory jobs, packed up their 1923 Dodge, and drove the family to California to visit Mary. They stayed for four months before returning to Ohio.[3] Soon after returning, Len had the opportunity to travel again to California with Mary's father-in-law, and the rest of the family followed in the spring of 1930. The Slye family rented a small house near Mary, and Len and his father found employment driving gravel trucks for a highway construction project.[3]
In spring 1931, after the construction company went bankrupt, Len traveled to Tulare, California, where he found work picking peaches for Del Monte.[3] During this time, he lived in a labor camp similar to those depicted in John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath.[3] The economic hardship of the Great Depression was just as severe in California as it was in Ohio.
Len auditioned in 1931 for a radio show in Inglewood, California, and joined the short-lived singing group the Rocky Mountaineers, who were superseded in 1933 by the O-Bar-O Cowboys. The singers toured New Mexico and Arizona on a shoestring in the heat of summer. Even finding food was a real challenge. While they were performing in Roswell, New Mexico, a caller to a radio station, Grace Arline Wilkins, promised Rogers that she would bake him a pie if he sang "The Swiss Yodel". Romance blossomed, and the couple married in Roswell in 1936. Arline died in childbirth a decade later, and Rogers subsequently wed Dale Evans.[4]
For a brief time in 1933, Lubbock, Texas, was headquarters for the O-Bar-O Cowboys. The Cowboys made little money performing at dances and small theaters in such places as Brownfield and Littlefield. The O-Bar-O Cowboys disbanded in Lubbock. Rogers and his associates Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer went on to organize the Sons of the Pioneers in 1934.[4]
Music career
After 19-year-old Len's return to Lawndale, his sister Mary suggested that he audition for the Midnight Frolic radio program, which was broadcast over KMCS in Inglewood. A few nights later, wearing a Western shirt that Mary had made for him, he overcame his shyness and appeared on the program playing guitar, singing, and yodeling.[3] A few days later, he was asked to join a local country music group, the Rocky Mountaineers.[3] He accepted the group's offer and became a member in August 1931.[3][5]
By September 1931, Len hired the Canadian-born Bob Nolan, who answered the group's classified ad in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner that read, "Yodeler for old-time act, to travel. Tenor preferred." Nolan stayed with the group only a short time, but Len and he stayed in touch. Nolan was replaced by Tim Spencer.[6]
In the spring of 1932, Len, Spencer, and another singer, Slumber Nichols, left the Rocky Mountaineers to form a trio, which soon failed. Throughout that year, Len and Spencer moved through a series of short-lived groups, including the International Cowboys and the O-Bar-O Cowboys. When Spencer left the O-Bar-O Cowboys to take a break from music, Len joined Jack LeFevre and His Texas Outlaws, who were a popular act on a local Los Angeles radio station.[7]
In early 1933, Len, Nolan, and Spencer formed the Pioneers Trio, with Slye on guitar, Nolan on string bass, and Spencer as lead vocalist. They rehearsed for weeks refining their vocal harmonies. During this time, Len continued to work with his radio singing group, while Spencer and Nolan began writing songs for the trio.[6] In early 1934, the fiddle player Hugh Farr joined the group, adding a bass voice to their vocal arrangements. Later that year, the Pioneers Trio became the Sons of the Pioneers when a radio station announcer changed their name because he felt they were too young to be pioneers. The name was received well and fit the group, which was no longer a trio.[6]
By summer 1934, the popularity and fame of the Sons of the Pioneers extended beyond the Los Angeles area and quickly spread across the country through short syndicated radio segments that were later rebroadcast across the United States. The Sons of the Pioneers signed a recording contract with the newly founded Decca label and made their first commercial recording on August 8, 1934.[6] One of the first songs recorded during that first session was "Tumbling Tumbleweeds", written by Bob Nolan. Over the next two years, the Sons of the Pioneers recorded 32 songs for Decca, including the classic "Cool Water".[8]
Film career
From his first film appearance in 1935, Len worked steadily in Western films, including a large supporting role as a singing cowboy while still billed as Leonard Slye in a Gene Autry movie. In 1938, Autry demanded more money for his work, and there was a competition for a new singing cowboy. Many singers sought the job, including Willie Phelps of the Phelps brothers, who appeared in early Western movies. Len ended up winning the contest and was given the stage name Roy Rogers by Republic Pictures, suggesting the western-sounding name Roy and combining it with the surname of the popular western comic entertainer Will Rogers. He was assigned the leading role in Under Western Stars. He became a matinee idol, a competitor with Autry as the nation's favorite singing cowboy. In addition to his own movies, he played a supporting role in the John Wayne classic Dark Command (1940), which also featured one of his future sidekicks, George "Gabby" Hayes. He became a major box-office attraction. Unlike other stars, the vast majority of his leading roles allowed him to play a character with his own name, in the manner of Autry.[9]
In the Motion Picture Herald Top Ten Money-Making Western Stars poll, Rogers was listed for 16 consecutive years, from 1939 to 1954, holding first place from 1943 to 1954 until the poll ceased.[10] He appeared in the similar BoxOffice poll from 1938 to 1955, holding first place from 1943 to 1952. In the final three years of that poll, he was second only to Randolph Scott.[11] These two polls are only an indication of the popularity of series stars, but Rogers also appeared in the Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll of all films in 1945 and 1946.[12] Rogers was an idol for many children through his films and television shows. Most of his postwar films were in Trucolor during an era when almost all other B westerns were black and white. Some of his movies would segue into animal adventures, in which his horse, Trigger, would go off on his own for a while with the camera following him.
With money from Rogers' films and from his public appearances going to Republic Pictures, he brought a clause into a 1940 contract with the studio where he would have the right to his likeness, voice, and name for merchandising.[13] There were Roy Rogers action figures, cowboy adventure novels, and playsets, as well as a comic strip, a long-lived Dell Comics comic book series (Roy Rogers Comics) written by Gaylord Du Bois, and a variety of marketing successes.[14] Rogers was second only to Walt Disney in the number of items featuring his name.[15]
The Sons of the Pioneers continued their popularity and have not stopped performing from the time Rogers started the group, replacing members as they retired or died (all original members are dead). Although he was no longer an active member, they often appeared as his backup group in films, radio, and television, and he would occasionally appear with them in performances up until his death.
He met Dale Evans in 1944 when they were cast in a film together. They were well known as advocates for adoption and as founders and operators of children's charities. They adopted several children. Both were outspoken Christians after their marriage.[16] Beginning in 1949, they were part of the Hollywood Christian Group, founded by their friend, Louis Evans, Jr., the organizing pastor of Bel Air Church.[17] The group met in Henrietta Mears's home and later in the home of Evans and Colleen Townsend, after their marriage. Billy Graham and Jane Russell were also part of this group. In 1956, the Hollywood Christian Group became Bel Air Church. In Apple Valley, California, where they made their home, streets, highways, and civic buildings have been named after them in recognition of their efforts on behalf of homeless and handicapped children. Rogers was also an active Freemason and a Shriner and was noted for his support of their charities.
Rogers and Evans' famous theme song, "Happy Trails", was written by Evans; they sang it as a duet to sign off their television show. In fall 1962, they cohosted a comedy-Western-variety program, The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show, aired on ABC. It was cancelled after three months, losing in the ratings to The Jackie Gleason Show on CBS. He also made numerous cameo or guest appearances on other popular television shows, starring as himself or other cowboy-type characters, such as in an episode of Wonder Woman called "The Bushwackers".[18] Rogers owned a Hollywood production company, which produced his own series. It also filmed other undertakings, including the 1955–1956 CBS Western series Brave Eagle, starring Keith Larsen as a young, peaceful Cheyenne chief, Kim Winona as Morning Star, his romantic interest, and the Hopi Indian Anthony Numkena as Keena, Brave Eagle's foster son. In 1968, Rogers licensed his name to the Marriott Corporation, which converted its Hot Shoppes restaurants into Roy Rogers Restaurants, with which he otherwise had no involvement. Rogers owned a thoroughbred racehorse named Triggairo, that won 13 career races, including the 1975 El Encino Stakes at Santa Anita Park.[19] Rogers returned to Lubbock in 1970 to headline the Texas Tech University Intercollegiate Rodeo with Evans. In 1975, his last motion picture, Macintosh and T.J. was filmed at the 6666 Ranch in King County, 90 miles east of Lubbock and near the O- Bar-O Ranch in Kent County.[4]
Personal life
In 1932, a palomino colt foaled in California was named "Golden Cloud"; when Rogers acquired him, he renamed him Trigger. In 1932, Rogers met an admirer named Lucile Ascolese. They were married in 1933 by a justice of the peace in Los Angeles; the marriage failed, and the couple divorced in 1936.[20] Rogers then went on tour with the O-Bar-O Cowboys and in June 1933 met Grace Arline Wilkins at a Roswell, New Mexico radio station. They were married in Roswell on June 11, 1936, having corresponded since their first meeting.[21] In 1941, the couple adopted a daughter, Cheryl Darlene. Two years later, Grace gave birth to daughter Linda Lou. A son, Roy, Jr. ("Dusty"), was born in 1946; Grace died of complications from the birth a few days later, on November 3.
Rogers met Dale Evans in 1944 when they were cast in a film together. They fell in love soon after Grace's death, and Rogers proposed to her during a rodeo at Chicago Stadium. They married on New Year's Eve in 1947 at the Flying L Ranch in Davis, Oklahoma, where they had filmed Home in Oklahoma a few months earlier. Together they had five children: Robin Elizabeth, who had Down syndrome and died of complications with mumps shortly before her second birthday; three adopted daughters, Mimi, Dodie, and Debbie; and one adopted son, Sandy. Evans wrote about the loss of their daughter Robin in her book Angel Unaware. Rogers and Evans remained married until his death.[21]
In 1955, Rogers and Evans purchased a 168-acre (68 ha) ranch near Chatsworth, California, complete with a hilltop ranch house,[22] expanding it to 300 acres (121 ha).[23][24] After their adopted daughter Debbie was killed in a church bus accident in 1964, they moved to the 67-acre (27 ha) Double R Bar Ranch in Apple Valley, California, living in the nearby town.[25][26]
Rogers was a Freemason and a member of Hollywood (California) Lodge No. 355, the Scottish Rite Valley of Los Angeles, and Al Malaikah Shrine Temple.[27] He was also a pilot and the owner of a Cessna Bobcat.[28]
Rogers supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.[29]
Honors and awards
On February 8, 1960, Rogers was honored with three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: for Motion Pictures at 1752 Vine Street, for Television at 1620 Vine Street, and for Radio at 1733 Vine Street.[33] In 1983 he was awarded the Golden Boot Award,[34] and in 1996 he received the Golden Boot Founder's Award.[34]
In 1967, Rogers, with Chocktaw blood on his mother's side, was named outstanding Indian citizen of the year by a group of Western tribes.[32]
In 1976, Rogers and Evans were inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and in 1995 he was inducted again as a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers.[35]
Rogers received recognition from the State of Arkansas, appointed by the governor of that state with an Arkansas Traveler certificate.[36]
Rogers was also twice elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, first as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers in 1980, and again as a soloist in 1988. As of July 2013, he was the only person elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame twice.[37] In 2001, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him and Dale Evans.[38]
Rogers' cultural influence is reflected in numerous songs, including "If I Had a Boat" by Lyle Lovett, "Roy Rogers" by Elton John on his 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and "Should've Been a Cowboy" by Toby Keith. Rogers himself makes an appearance in the music video for the song "Heroes and Friends" by Randy Travis. Rogers is referenced in numerous films, including Die Hard (1988) in which the Bruce Willis character John McClane used the pseudonym "Roy" and remarks, "I was always kinda partial to Roy Rogers actually." In the television series American Dad!, the character Roger uses "Roy Rogers" as a pseudonym in the episode "Roy Rogers McFreely". In the movie City Slickers, the Jack Palance character Curly, sings the song "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" while the Billy Crystal character Mitch is playing the harmonica.
Filmography
- Slightly Static (1935) as member of Sons of the Pioneers (uncredited)
- The Old Homestead (1935) as Len, member of Sons of the Pioneers (credited as Len Slye)
- Way Up Thar (1935) as band member (credited as Len Slye)
- Gallant Defender (1935) as guitar-playing Nester (uncredited)
- The Mysterious Avenger (1936) as musician Len (credited as Len Slye)
- Song of the Saddle (1936) as guitarist with Sons of the Pioneers (uncredited)
- Rhythm on the Range (1936) as Leonard with Sons of the Pioneers (uncredited)
- California Mail (1936) as square dance caller (uncredited)
- The Big Show (1936) as guitarist with Sons of the Pioneers (uncredited)
- The Old Corral (1936) as Buck O'Keefe (uncredited)
- The Old Wyoming Trail (1937) as guitar player, singer, cowhand Len (uncredited)
- Wild Horse Rodeo (1937) as singer (credited as Dick Weston)
- The Old Barn Dance (1938) as singer (credited as Dick Weston)
- Under Western Stars (1938) as himself
- Billy the Kid Returns (1938) as Roy Rogers and Billy the Kid
- A Feud There Was (1938) as Elmer Fudd, peacemaker (Egghead) (singing voice, uncredited)
- Come On, Rangers (1938) as himself
- Shine On, Harvest Moon (1938) as himself
- Rough Riders' Round-up (1939) as himself
- Southward Ho (1939) as Roy
- Frontier Pony Express (1939) as Roy Rogers, Pony Express rider
- In Old Caliente (1939) as himself
- Wall Street Cowboy (1939) as himself
- The Arizona Kid (1939) as himself
- Jeepers Creepers (1939) as Sheriff Roy Rogers
- Saga of Death Valley (1939) as himself
- Days of Jesse James (1939) as himself
- Dark Command (1940) as Fletch McCloud
- Young Buffalo Bill (1940) as Bill Cody
- The Carson City Kid (1940) as Carson City Kid
- The Ranger and the Lady (1940) as Texas Ranger Captain Roy Colt
- Colorado (1940) as Lieutenant Jerry Burke
- Young Bill Hickok (1940) as Bill Hickok
- The Border Legion (1940) as Dr. Stephen Kellogg, aka Steve Kells
- Robin Hood of the Pecos (1941) as Vance Corbin
- Arkansas Judge (1941) as Tom Martel
- In Old Cheyenne (1941) as Steve Blane
- Sheriff of Tombstone (1941) as Brett Starr
- Nevada City (1941) as Jeff Connors
- Bad Man of Deadwood (1941) as Brett Starr aka Bill Brady
- Jesse James at Bay (1941) as Jesse James and Clint Burns
- Red River Valley (1941) as himself
- Man from Cheyenne (1942) as himself
- South of Santa Fe (1942) as himself
- Sunset on the Desert (1942) as Roy Rogers and Bill Sloan
- Romance on the Range (1942) as himself
- Sons of the Pioneers (1942) as himself
- Sunset Serenade (1942) as himself
- Heart of the Golden West (1942) as himself
- Ridin' Down the Canyon (1942) as himself
- Idaho (1943) as himself
- King of the Cowboys (1943) as himself
- Song of Texas (1943) as himself
- Silver Spurs (1943) as himself
- The Man from Music Mountain (1943) as himself
- Hands Across the Border (1944) as himself
- Cowboy and the Senorita (1944) as himself
- The Yellow Rose of Texas (1944) as himself
- Song of Nevada (1944) as himself
- San Fernando Valley (1944) as himself
- Lights of Old Santa Fe (1944) as himself
- Brazil (1944) as himself
- Hollywood Canteen (1944) as himself
- Lake Placid Serenade (1944) as himself
- Utah (1945) as himself
- Bells of Rosarita (1945) as himself
- The Man from Oklahoma (1945) as himself
- Along the Navajo Trail (1945) as himself
- Sunset in El Dorado (1945) as himself
- Don't Fence Me In (1945) as himself
- Song of Arizona (1946) as himself
- Rainbow Over Texas (1946) as himself
- My Pal Trigger (1946) as himself
- Under Nevada Skies (1946) as himself
- Roll on Texas Moon (1946) as himself
- Home in Oklahoma (1946) as himself
- Out California Way (1946) as himself
- Heldorado (1946) as Nevada State Ranger Roy Rogers
- Apache Rose (1947) as himself
- Hit Parade of 1947 (1947) as himself
- Bells of San Angelo (1947) as himself
- Springtime in the Sierras (1947) as himself
- On the Old Spanish Trail (1947) as himself
- The Gay Ranchero (1948) as himself
- Under California Stars (1948) as himself
- Melody Time (1948) as himself
- Eyes of Texas (1948) as himself
- Night Time in Nevada (1948) as himself
- Grand Canyon Trail (1948) as himself
- The Far Frontier (1948) as himself
- Susanna Pass (1949) as himself
- Down Dakota Way (1949) as himself
- The Golden Stallion (1949) as himself
- Bells of Coronado (1950) as himself
- Twilight in the Sierras (1950) as State Parole Officer Roy Rogers
- Trigger, Jr. (1950) as himself
- Sunset in the West (1950) as himself
- North of the Great Divide (1950) as himself
- Trail of Robin Hood (1950) as himself
- Spoilers of the Plains (1951) as himself
- Heart of the Rockies (1951) as himself
- In Old Amarillo (1951) as himself
- South of Caliente (1951) as himself
- Pals of the Golden West (1951) as Border Patrolman Roy Rogers
- Son of Paleface (1952) as Roy Barton
- Alias Jesse James (1959) as himself (uncredited)
- Mackintosh and T.J. (1975) as Mackintosh
- Wonder Woman (1977) as J.P. Hadley, season 1, episode 13
- The Muppet Show (1979) as himself
- The Fall Guy (1983 and 1984) as himself
Box office ranking
For a number of years exhibitors voted Rogers among the most popular stars in the country:
- 1942 – 2nd most popular Western star (following Gene Autry)[39]
- 1943 – most popular Western star
- 1944 – 24th most popular star in the U.S.; most popular Western star[40]
- 1945 – most popular Western star;[41] 10th most popular star[42]
- 1946 – 10th most popular star in the US; most popular Western star
- 1947 – 12th most popular star in the US; most popular Western star
- 1948 – 17th most popular star in the US; most popular Western star[43]
- 1949 – 18th most popular star in the US; most popular Western star
- 1950 – 19th (US);[44] most popular Western star
- 1951 – most popular Western star
- 1952 – most popular Western star (for the 10th year in a row)[45]
Discography
Charted albums
Year | Title | Chart peak | Label | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US Country | US | |||
1970 | The Country Side of Roy Rogers | 40 | — | Capitol |
1971 | A Man from Duck Run | 34 | — | |
1975 | Happy Trails to You | 35 | — | 20th Century |
1991 | Tribute | 17 | 113 | RCA |
Charted singles
Year | Title | Chart peak | Album | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US Country | CAN Country | |||
1946 | "A Little White Cross on the Hill" | 7 | — | Singles only |
1947 | "My Chickashay Gal" | 4 | — | |
1948 | "Blue Shadows on the Trail" (Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers) |
6 | — | |
"(There'll Never Be Another) Pecos Bill" (Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers) |
13 | — | ||
1950 | "Stampede" | 8 | — | |
1970 | "Money Can't Buy Love" | 35 | — | The Country Side of Roy Rogers |
1971 | "Lovenworth" | 12 | 33 | A Man from Duck Run |
"Happy Anniversary" | 47 | — | ||
1972 | "These Are the Good Old Days" | 73 | — | Single only |
1974 | "Hoppy, Gene and Me"A | 15 | 12 | Happy Trails to You |
1980 | "Ride Concrete Cowboy, Ride" (Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers) |
80 | — | Smokey & the Bandit II (soundtrack) |
1991 | "Hold on Partner" (w/ Clint Black) | 42 | 48 | Tribute |
- A"Hoppy, Gene and Me" also peaked at number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100[46] and number 38 on the RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks chart in Canada.
Music videos
Year | Title | Director |
---|---|---|
1991 | "Hold on Partner" (with Clint Black) | Jack Cole |
Popular songs recorded by Rogers
- "Don't Fence Me In"
- "Hold That Critter Down"
- "Little White Cross on the Hill"
- "One More Ride"
- "Ride Ranger Ride"
- "That Pioneer Mother of Mine"
- "Tumbling Tumbleweeds"
- "Way Out There" (singing and yodeling)
- "Why, Oh Why, Did I Ever Leave Wyoming?"
- "Hold On Partner" (duet with Clint Black)
- "Happy Trails"
- "The Bible Tells Me So"
See also
- Dale Evans
- Trigger (horse)
- Buttermilk (horse)
- Smiley Burnette
- Pat Brady
- Andy Devine
- George "Gabby" Hayes
- Roy Rogers Restaurants
- Roy Rogers cocktail
- Earl W. Bascom, cowboy artist who worked with Rogers
References
- Notes
- "News from California, the nation and world". Los Angeles Times.
- "Smiley Burnette, Movie re Off and Autry and Rogers, Dies at 55. Charlie Pratt of TV 'Petticoat Junction' Played Robles in Nearly 200 Westererns". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 18, 1967.
- Zwisohn, Laurence. "Happy Trails: The Life of Roy Rogers". RoyRogers.com. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- Chuck Lanehart (March 9, 2019). "Caprock Chronicles: The King of the Cowboys: Roy Rogers' Hungry Life on the Llano Estacado". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- Green, p. 74.
- "Sons of the Pioneers". Country Music Television. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- Green, p. 75.
- "Sons of the Pioneers". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- "Roy Rogers".
- Hardy, Phil (1984). The Encyclopedia of Western Movies. Minneapolis: Woodbury Press. ISBN 978-0-8300-0405-8.
- "Motion Picture Herald and Boxoffice Polls". B-westerns.com. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- "Top Ten Money Making Stars". Quigleypublishing.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-21. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
- Phillips, p. 38.
- Schelly, William (2013). American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1950s. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 9781605490540.
- Enss and Kazanjian, p. 132.
- Miller Davis, Elise (1955). The Answer Is God. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 104–112. LCCN 55009539.
- "Fuller Seminary: The Original Five". www.seekgod.ca. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
- "Wonder Woman: Pilot: The New Original Wonder Woman". Thewb.com. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- "Triggairo Horse Pedigree". Pedigree Online Thoroughbred Database. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- O'Neal, Bill; Goodwin, Fred (2001). The Sons of the Pioneers. Ft. Worth, Texas: Eakin Press. p. 10.
- Phillips, pp. 13–15.
- "Roy Rogers' 'Happy Trails' led to San Fernando Valley's Chatsworth". 5 November 2011.
- WILLMAN, MARTHA L. (7 July 1998). "Rogers' House a Chatsworth Landmark" – via LA Times.
- "A drifting cowboy: Double R Bar Ranch -- Roy Rogers' Chatsworth Home". A-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com. 5 February 2012.
- "Roy Rogers' Ranch Sold at Auction". 17 July 2012.
- Beale, Lauren (April 15, 2019). "Time to round up a buyer for Roy Rogers' old ranch in Victorville". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
- "Famous Masons". MWGLNY. January 2014. Archived from the original on 2013-11-10.
- "A Plane Crazy America". AOPA Pilot: 79. May 2014.
- Critchlow, Donald T. (2013-10-21). When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics. ISBN 9781107650282.
- Brooks, Patricia; Brooks, Jonathan (2006). "Chapter 8: East L.A. and the Desert". Laid to Rest in California: A Guide to the Cemeteries and Grave Sites of the Rich and Famous. Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press. pp. 235–7. ISBN 978-0762741014. OCLC 70284362.
- Jasinski, Laurie E. (February 22, 2012). Handbook of Texas Music. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 9780876112977 – via Google Books.
- Severo, Richard. "Roy Rogers, Singing Cowboy, Dies at 86". The New York Times (7 July 1998). Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- "Hollywood Star Walk: Roy Rogers". Los Angeles Times. July 7, 1998. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- "Legacy". Golden Boot Awards. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- "Great Western Performers". National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- Rhodes, Sunny (July 1, 2016). "Historical Gems: History of the Arkansas Traveler". AY Magazine.
- "Roy Rogers". Country Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- "Palm Springs Walk of Stars" (PDF). Palm Springs Walk of Stars. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
- "The Screen's First Money-Spinneks for 1942". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 27 February 1943. p. 6, The Argus Week-end Magazine. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- "Bing Crosby America's Screen Favourite". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 24 March 1945. p. 8, The Argus Week-end Magazine. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- "Film Cable From Hollywood". Sunday Times. Perth: National Library of Australia. 2 December 1945. p. 5, Sunday Times Comics. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- "Box Office Stars". The News. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 28 December 1945. p. 1. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- "The Box Office Draw". Goulburn Evening Post. New South Wales: National Library of Australia. 31 December 1948. p. 3, daily and evening edition. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- "Filmdom Ranks Its Money-Spinning Stars Best at Box-Office". Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 30 March 1950. p. 12. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- "Comedians Top Films Poll". The Advocate. Burnie, Tasmania: National Library of Australia. 27 December 1952. p. 2. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955–2010. Record Research, Inc. p. 762. ISBN 978-0-89820-188-8.
- Bibliography
- Enss, Chris; Kazanjian, Howard (2005). The Cowboy and the Senorita. Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press. ISBN 978-0762738304.
- Green, Douglas B. (2002). Singing in the Saddle: The History of the Singing Cowboy. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 978-0826514127.
- Kazanjian, Howard (2005). Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration ... Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press. ISBN 978-0762730896.
- Pando, Leo (2007). An Illustrated History of Trigger, The Lives and Legend of Roy Rogers' Palomino. McFarland Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7864-6111-0.
- Phillips, Robert W. (1995). Roy Rogers: A Biography. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0899509372.
- Rogers, Roy; Evans, Dale (1994). Happy Trails: Our Life Story. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0671897147.
- Rogers, Roy; Evans, Dale; Stowers, Carlton (1979). Happy Trails: The Story of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Waco, Texas: Word Books. ISBN 978-0849900860.
- Rogers, Roy; Morris, Georgia (1994). Roy Rogers: King of the Cowboys. New York: Collins Publishers. ISBN 978-0002553346.
- Zwisohn, Laurence (1998). Paul Kingsbury (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Country Music. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 456–57. ISBN 978-0195116717.
External links
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