SMILEY (LESTER) BURNETTE - AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED CO-SIGNED BY: GENE AUTRY - HFSID 292038

SMILEY BURNETTE and GENE AUTRY
The two entertainers sign a note "To Lucy" on a 5x3 card.
Autograph Note signed: "Gene Autry/To Lucy/good luck/Smiley Burnette" in pencil, 5x3 card. Gene Autry (1907-1998), 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 1938-1942. 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 1950-1956, and The Adventures of Champion, which starred Autry's horse, also ran on CBS from 1955-1956. 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. 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. Lightly toned. Lightly creased. Otherwise, fine condition.