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THE
CRIMSON
CORRAL:
Western
Memories
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| GENE
AUTRY |
Orvon
Gene
Autry
Born:
Sept.
29
1907
-
Died:
Oct.
2
1998
By
Tom
Mason
 When
I
was
young,
one
of
my
favorites
was
always
Gene
Autry,
Besides
the
action
packed
movies,
there
were
all
the
products
he
endorsed.
I
especially
liked
the
cap
guns
and
cowboy
outfits.
My
Dad
was
a
fan
of
Gene's
too....
I
was
young
enough
when
WWII
was
on that
I
wondered
where
Gene
had
gone
as
there
were
no
new
movies
and
there
was
this
"New
Guy"
Roy
Rogers.
My
Dad
explained
that
Gene
was
in
the
service,
just
as
he
was,
and
would
return
after
the
war
was
over.
Sure
enough,
as
my
Dad
had
predicted,
when
WWII
was
over,
Gene
returned
to
the
screen.
I
remember
attending
the
State
Theater
in
Long
Beach
California,
where
his
first
new
post
war
movie
was
playing
in
1946.
His
film
was
playing
at
an
"A"
theater
and
my
Dad
and
I
waited
in
a
line
that
wound around
the
block.
When
television
came
to
the
fore,
Gene
formed
Flying
A
Productions
and
started
producing
and
starring
in
1/2
hour
TV
westerns
with
Pat
Buttram.
Today
those
shows
have
been
restored
from
Gene's
personal
copies
and
are
playing
daily
on
the
Encore
Western
Channel.
Gene
also
produced
other
shows
that
made
stars
of
other
actors,
Annie
Oakley,
The
Range
Rider,
Buffalo
Bill
Jr.,
and
even
a
TV
show
about
the
Adventures
of
Champion.
Gene
in
his
later
years
bought
the
television
station
KTLA
in
Los
Angeles
as
well
as the Los
Angeles
Angels
baseball
team.
One
of
Gene's
fondest
wishes
was
that
the
Angels
would
win
a
league
championship
and
play
in
the
World's
Series,
but
alas,
that
never
was
to
be.
As
he
grew
older,
he
appeared
on
the
TNN
cable
network
with
The
Melody
Ranch
Theater.
He
and
Pat
Buttram
did
93
episodes.
They
sat and
talked
about
their
old
days
together
and
screened
many
of
his
westerns
from
Republic
and
Columbia.
It
was
one
of
the
highest
rated
shows
the
TNN
Network
had
ever
aired.
In
1988
he opened
the
now-famous
Gene
Autry
Western
Heritage
Museum
in
Los
Angeles
and
it
features
memorabilia
from
all
aspects
of
the
old
west
and
movies
dealing
with
all
our
western
heroes
both
on
the
big
screen
and
television.
It
stands
today
as
a
tribute
to
the
old
west
and
the
famous
singing
cowboy;
Orvon
Gene
Autry.
Tom
Mason
aka
The
Crimson
Collector
Click
HERE
for
more
info
and
a
Filmography
on
Gene
Autry
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to
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THANKS!
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