SMILEY (LESTER) BURNETTE - AUTOGRAPH CO-SIGNED BY: VAN JOHNSON - HFSID 295631

SMILEY BURNETTE and VAN JOHNSON
The two actors sign opposite sides of a 5¾x4¼ album leaf.
Signatures: "Smiley/Burnette" and "Van/Johnson", 5¾x4¼ album leaf. Actor, singer and songwriter SMILEY BURNETTE (1911-1967), born Lester Alvin Burnette, appeared on vaudeville before joining his friend, Gene Autry, on the radio show, The National Barn Dance. Burnette and Autry broke into films together in 1934 (In Old Santa Fe), and they went on to appear in over 80 Westerns. Burnette, who played Autry's sidekick, Frog Milhouse, also provided comic relief for other Western stars, including Sunset Carson and Charles "Durango Kid" Starrett. A talented musician who played over 100 instruments, Burnette wrote over 300 Western songs, some of which he sang in his films. After retiring from the big screen in 1953, Burnette debuted on the small screen in 1958, appearing as a regular on the TV series, Ranch Party. His best known TV role was as Charley Pratt (1963-1967) on the TV sitcom, Petticoat Junction. VAN JOHNSON (1916-2008, born Charles Van Johnson in Newport, Rhode Island) emerged as a film star during World War II, later making a good transition from leading man to character roles. His prominent films include Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1943), The Caine Mutiny (1954), Divorce, American Style (1967) and The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985). Johnson could also sing, permitting him to star in the film version of Brigadoon (1954) and on many stages as The Music Man. Often cast in war movies, as in Battleground (1949), he could also play romantic leads, as he did opposite such stars as Janet Leigh, Judy Garland, Esther Williams, June Allyson and Deborah Kerr. Multiple pin-head size holes at right. Creased. Otherwise, fine condition.