MONTE HALE - AUTOGRAPHED INSCRIBED PHOTOGRAPH CO-SIGNED BY: SUNSET CARSON, EDDIE DEAN - HFSID 326604

MONTE HALE, SUNSET CARSON, and EDDIE DEAN
Candid photograph of the three Western stars having a laugh, with each actor signing on their respective image (6x4)
Inscribed photograph signed: "To Clint/Monte Hale", "To Clint/Eddie Dean", "To Clint/My Pal/Sunset/Carson/1-290", color 6x4. One of Republic Pictures' singing cowboys, MONTE HALE (1919-2009), had supporting roles in Westerns starring Roy Rogers and Sunset Carson before starring in his own series of films in the late 1940s. Later he toured with the band of singing cowboy composer Ray Whitley. He's a member of the Western Music Association Hall of Fame. Rodeo rider Winifred Maurice Harrison (1920-1990) was given the name SUNSET CARSON by Republic Studios, for whom he starred in a number of western films in the mid-1940s. He starred in his own film series, beginning with The Sheriff of Cimarron (1945). He was later a popular guest at B Western nostalgia shows, and hosted a TV film revival series, Six Gun Heroes. EDDIE DEAN (1907-1999), a former singer on the popular National Barn Dance radio program in 1934, became a featured performer on Gene Autry's Melody Ranch and The Judy Canova Show. In 1938, Autry offered Dean a film role in Western Jamboree, beginning an eight-year stint in low budget Westerns, including five Hopalong Cassidy films and the serial, The Lone Ranger Rides Again. Ironically, Dean was not asked to sing until 1944's Harmony Trail, which brought him to the attention of PRC, a low-budget studio. The studio, which hoped to compete with Republic's Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, released the first Eddie Dean musical westerns in color, making their singing cowboy the first star of color "B" Westerns. Dean was first teamed with Emmett Lynn, who was later replaced by Roscoe Ates, his best-remembered sidekick. In addition to his film work, Dean appeared on the TV series, The Beverly Hillbillies (1963), and wrote songs for other country artists, including "One Has My Name, The Other Has My Heart", which was a hit for Jimmy Wakely, and "I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven", which became one of Tex Ritter's most successful recordings. Dean, who received a "Pioneer Award" from the Academy of Country Music, was inducted into the Western Music Association's Hall of Fame in1990. Fine condition.