Public cowboy no. 1 : the life and times of Gene Autry

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Title:

Public cowboy no. 1 : the life and times of Gene Autry

Author:

George-Warren, Holly author.

ISBN:

9780195372670

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

406 pages, [68] pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm

Contents:

Autrys and the Ozments -- Cross timbers -- Tioga -- Workin' on the railroad -- Musical mentors -- New name, a new profession -- Oklahoma yodeling cowboy -- Hillbilly recording artist -- Midwestern buckaroo -- Uncle Art -- From "High steppin' Mama" to "Silver haired daddy" -- Sweet home Chicago -- "Singing and yodeling marvel" -- Motherless son -- WLS radio star -- Cowboy balladeer -- Smiley, Patsy, and Pee Wee -- Celluloid cowboy -- Negotiations by post -- Republic Pictures star -- Battles--on screen and off -- Singing cowboy -- Public cowboy No. 1 -- Strike! -- At home and abroad -- Melody ranch -- Town called Gene Autry -- War! -- Sergeant Gene Autry -- Don't fence me in -- Back in the saddle -- Gene Autry, Inc. -- From horses to reindeer, from big screen to small -- Last of the pony riders -- On the road again--and again -- Last round-up.

Personal Subject:

Autry, Gene, 1907-1998.

Subject Term:

Motion picture actors and actresses -- United States -- Biography.

Singers -- United States -- Biography.

Summary:

The only performer to earn five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame--for film, recordings, television, radio, and live performance--Gene Autry was the singing cowboy king. Journalist George-Warren offers the first serious biography, tracing Autry's climb from farm boy to multimillionaire. Autry's loving mother died on the brink of her son's success, while his ne'er-do-well father married five times and wandered the West. Autry battled his own demons but emerges here as one of America's most charitable benefactors, known for his boundless generosity, and a patriot who enlisted during World War II. The book provides colorful details of Autry's lengthy radio and recording career; his movie career, where he breathed new life into the Western genre; and his role in early television, the first movie star to develop his own TV shows. Along the way, he invested shrewdly, becoming the only entertainer listed among 1990's Fortune 400.--From publisher description.

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	921 AUTRY	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

The only performer to earn 5 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Gene Autry was the singing cowboy king of American entertainment. Now, in Public Cowboy No.1, Holly George-Warren offers the first serious biography of this singular individual, in a fascinating narrative that traces Autry's climb from small-town farm boy to multimillionaire. Here for the first time Autry the legend becomes a flesh-and-blood man--with all the passions, triumphs, and tragedies of a flawed icon. George-Warren recounts stories never before told, including revelations about Autry's impoverished boyhood, his adventures as an up-and-coming singer, and the impact his unbelievable success had on his personal life. The book provides equally colorful details of Autry's lengthy radio and recording career, which included such classics as "Back in the Saddle Again" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"; his movie career, where he breathed new life into the Western genre; and his role in early television. And along the way, we see how he invested shrewdly in radio, real-estate, and television, becoming the only entertainer listed among 1990's Fortune 400. Based on exclusive access to Gene Autry's personal papers, as well as interviews with more than 100 relatives, employees, colleagues, and friends, this engaging biography brings to life a major Hollywood star--a man who, more than anyone else, put Western music and style on the American cultural map. "This vivid, detailed chronicle of Gene Autry's life and career is a pleasure to read. His rags-to-riches story is well told here." --Leonard Maltin "Her research is deep and impeccable. Every celebrity could use a biographer like Ms. George-Warren." --Jeanine Basinger, The New York Times "Enjoyable, thoroughly researched...illuminating biography." --Publishers Weekly (Starred review)

Author Notes

Holly George-Warren is an award-winning writer, editor, and frequent commentator on Western films, music, and fashion. A contributor to more than 40 books on popular music, she is the author of Cowboy! How Hollywood Invented the Wild West and coauthor of How the West Was Worn: A History of Western Wear. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Village Voice, Entertainment Weekly, and many other publications.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this enjoyable, thoroughly researched volume, author and pop culture commentator George-Warren (Cowboy!) details the life and work of Gene Autry, the influential star of music, movies and television. After a descriptive genealogy, George-Warren takes the reader through Autry?s formative years, featuring his deadbeat dad, the oft-married Delbert, and his long-suffering mom, Nora. Born Orvon Grover Autry in 1907, the cowboy?s childhood was spent watching Tom Mix movies in Achille, Okla., and singing for classmates in Tioga. The bulk of the book is devoted to Autry?s career as a musician and a film actor, beginning with the telegraphing job he neglected in order to make his early recordings, and his subsequent discovery by American Radio Corporation A&R man Art Satherley. Most striking, though perhaps not surprising, is that the much-revered man who "reinvent[ed] the saga of the cowboy and the West" was not a cowboy at all, but a deft performer and professional who made the unexpected, highly fortuitous move from film to television in the late 1940s. Included are abundant notes, a bibliography and a brilliant, chronological list of Autry?s 640 recording sessions. An easy, fluid read, this illuminating biography also provides a look into the early days of the radio and recording industry. (Apr.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Choice Review

Also author of Cowboy! How Hollywood Invented the Wild West (2002) and other books about the American West, George-Warren (freelance writer) has produced the first comprehensive biography of Gene Autry (1907-98). Born Orvon Grover Autry, he began life in poverty and grew up mostly in Texas. He worked for the railroad and at the same time began his singing career on local radio, then records. He soon became Hollywood's most popular singing cowboy and moved into other media with his own radio and television shows. He continued a grueling touring schedule for many decades, maintaining an immense popularity that was enhanced by such later recordings as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." He stopped performing in the early 1960s, by which time he had become very wealthy, and he became a successful businessman and media mogul. This colorful study is much more than a biography of Autry; it also tells the story of country-western music, singing cowboys, radio and early television, and celebrity. Including numerous illustrations, notes, and a list of recording sessions, this volume is a fitting companion to Douglas Green's Singing in the Saddle: The History of the Singing Cowboy (CH, Mar'03, 40-3916). Summing Up: Essential. All readers, all levels. R. D. Cohen emeritus, Indiana University Northwest

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Publisher's Weekly Review

Choice Review

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