Gene Autry 1998 Deaths

Gene Autry

cowboy singer and actor who made 95 movies, starred in The Gene Autry Show on television, and at the time of his death was the only Western star still on the list of top ten all-time box office moneymakers. His folksy tunes include “Back in the Saddle Again” and the Christmas classic, Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer. After he retired from show business, he went on to a successful business career, investing in several television and radio studios and buying the California Angels baseball team. The Angels won three American League pennants (1979,82,86) during Autry's 38 years of ownership, but never made an appearance in the World Series; had the number 26 retired in his honor as the team's 26th player in 1982; in May 1996 the Walt Disney Co. bought 25 percent interest in the team and renamed the California Angels, the Anaheim Angels in November 1996