GENE AUTRY - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH - HFSID 191604

GENE AUTRY
B/w publicity photo of Gene Autry, sidekick Smiley Burnette and June Storey, who appeared in many Autry westerns, signed with Autry's "Best Wishes" in 1987
Photograph signed "Best wishes/Gene Autry/1-16-87". B/w, 9¾x8 overall, 9x7 image, one surface. Also pictured are Smiley Burnette, Autry's first film sidekick, and June Storey, who appeared in a number of Autry Westerns. The year before he signed this photograph, Autry appeared in the documentary, Bad Girls in the Movies. Autry (1907-1998, born Orvon Grover Autry in Tioga, Texas), the original singing cowboy, appeared in his first western in 1934. He was the only western star to be listed among the top ten moneymakers from 1938 to 1942. In 1942, Autry was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song for Be Honest With Me from his film Ridin' on a Rainbow. The Gene Autry Show was televised on CBS from 1950 to 1956, and The Adventures of Champion, which starred Autry's horse, also ran on CBS from 1955 to 1956. Scheduled opposite the popular series, Rin Tin Tin, it was cancelled in mid-season. Autry's business interests included a radio and TV chain, ranches, oil wells, a flying school, a music publishing company (he wrote 200 songs including "Here Comes Santa Claus") and the California Angels baseball team. Lightly creased and bowed. Random ink stains. Defects from original negative have reproduced in photo. Otherwise in fine condition.