In the Fifties the two top singing cowboy stars decided to enter the new medium of television each with a half hour series. Gene Autry for the most part operated out of the Flying Crown Ranch and note that his producing company was Flying Crown Productions while Roy Rogers continued to work out of the Double R Bar Ranch.
We always got a song out of Gene as he managed to do in thirty minutes what he did in his 60 minute B westerns, route the bad guys and kiss the horse. Gene rarely got too romantic with the girl in his films and television was no exception.
In his movies Gene's perennial sidekick was Smiley Burnette playing the vocally challenged Frog. For television he took on a new sidekick Pat Buttram, later to be made more famous by appearing in Green Acres as the lovable country con man Mr. Haney.
This man didn't miss a thing in turning a buck. He produced his own television shows, had a hand in writing a lot of the songs he made famous, and did quite well in the merchandising and personal appearances. And later on he was co-owner of the California Angels.
Pretty good for a kid from Tioga, Texas.
