To the strains of 'Back in the Saddle Again', by
Ray Whitley and Gene Autry, TV viewers were treated to the first
performance of The Gene Autry Show in September, 1950. Autry and his
sidekick, Pat Buttram maintained law and order in the US Southwest
for six years. Gene sang just like he did in the movies and his
horse, Champion, would do amazing horse tricks while Pat Buttram
would invariably get into silly situations. Gene Autry and friends
hopped back in the saddle weekly until 1956.
Autry went on to become a Country Music Association Hall of Famer,
own Golden West Broadcasting and the California Angels baseball team
and he is the only person to have five Hollywood Walk of Fame stars
(film, radio, TV, stage, records). He died October 2, 1998.