U.S. #4446
Cowboys of the Silver Screen
Roy Rogers
Issue Date: April 17, 2010
City: Oklahoma City, OK
Printing Method: Lithographed
Perforations: Serpentine Die Cut 10.5 x 10.75
Color: Multicolored
U.S. #4446 was issued as part of a set of four stamps in 2010 honoring actors who popularized Westerns in the early 1900s.
Birth Of Silver Screen Cowboy Roy Rogers
On November 5, 1911, future singer and actor Leonard Franklin Slye, better known as Roy Rogers, was born.
When Slye was a child, his father brought home a cylinder player (the predecessor to the phonograph) and a cylinder by a Swiss yodeler. Slye played the cylinder again and again and developed his own style of yodeling. At the age of 18, he moved to California to become a singer.
In the 1930s, Slye’s band, Sons of the Pioneers, began singing in Western films. His movie roles were small until 1938, when Gene Autry had a contract dispute with Republic Pictures. The studio held auditions for a singing cowboy to replace Autry in the upcoming movie, Under Western Stars. Slye didn’t have an appointment, so he mingled in with a crowd of movie extras and snuck onto a lot. The producer loved Roy’s singing, and gave him the starring role. It was at this time he adopted the stage name, Roy Rogers. It was suggested by the studio, in part inspired by Will Rogers, and the shortening of “Leroy” into “Roy.”
For his horse in the film, Roy chose a palomino named Golden Cloud. A fellow actor mentioned how quick on the trigger the horse was. Rogers agreed and changed the horse’s name to Trigger. The two went on to star in over 80 movies together.
Rogers starred in more than 100 films during his career and had his own radio show that was eventually made into a T.V. show. Nicknamed “King of the Cowboys,” Roy became an idol to millions of children. In recognition of his achievements in radio, music, film, and television, Roy Rogers received four stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
U.S. #4447
Cowboys of the Silver Screen
Tom Mix
Issue Date: April 17, 2010
City: Oklahoma City, OK
Printing Method: Lithographed
Perforations: Serpentine Die Cut 10.5 x 10.75
Color: Multicolored
Tom Mix (1880-1940) was a true cowboy. Attracted to ranch life at a young age, Mix worked hard on his roping and riding skills, and by 1909 he was a national riding and rodeo champion.
Mix was a natural showman whose talents on horseback earned him a small part as a cattle wrangler in the movie Ranch Life in the Great Southwest. During filming, Mix talked the director into letting him do a bronco busting scene, and the rest is history.
In the 1920s, audiences wanted more action in Western films, and Mix gave it to them. Landing his first starring role in The Untamed, Mix and his horse Tony performed all their own stunts. His movies filled with cowboy shootouts and daredevil stunts, Mix became Hollywood’s first action hero.
Mix was also the first Western star to make his horse a sidekick. Many of his films showcased the talents of the “Wonder Horse” Tony – making him the most popular horse in the world. Every week, Tony received thousands of cards and letters from children.
Wearing elaborate outfits, Mix thundered across the prairie in pursuit of the bad guys. For over two decades, Tom Mix had the most action-packed cowboy scenes on the silver screen.
U.S. #4448
Cowboys of the Silver Screen
William S. Hart
Issue Date: April 17, 2010
City: Oklahoma City, OK
Printing Method: Lithographed
Perforations: Serpentine Die Cut 10.5 x 10.75
Color: Multicolored
William S. Hart (1864-1946) was in his teens when he moved to New York City to become a stage actor. By the 1890s, he was one of the leading Shakespearean actors on Broadway. But it was Western plays, such as The Squaw Man and The Virginian, that Hart enjoyed the most.
In 1914, Hart moved to Hollywood to act in motion pictures. After playing supporting roles in two short films, he starred in the feature film The Bargain. Hart portrayed the “good” bad man – a cowboy who would fight, gamble, and steal, but was also kind, honest, and caring.
Hart insisted on showing the real Old West in his films. He went so far as to use real Indians, gamblers, prostitutes, and saloon entertainers in his movies. His gritty depiction of the Wild West was new and refreshing to moviegoers. This made him one of the most popular Western heroes of the silent movie era.
In 1925, Hart produced Tumbleweeds, a nostalgic look at the closing of the Old West. The movie is regarded as one of the greatest silent Westerns every made. In 1939, Tumbleweeds was reissued with a spoken introduction by Hart. The speech turned out to be his farewell to the silver screen.
U.S. #4449
Cowboys of the Silver Screen
Gene Autry
Issue Date: April 17, 2010
City: Oklahoma City, OK
Printing Method: Lithographed
Perforations: Serpentine Die Cut 10.5 x 10.75
Color: Multicolored
Birthday of Gene Autry
“The Singing Cowboy,” Orvon Grover “Gene” Autry was born on September 29, 1907, in Tioga, Texas.
As a boy, Autry worked at his father’s ranch in addition to going to school. He left school in 1925 and found work as a telegrapher for the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway.
Autry enjoyed singing and playing guitar and occasionally performed at school dances. He also brought his guitar to work at the telegraph station, where he would sing and play to entertain himself during the lonely midnight shift. During one of these nights, humorist Will Rogers overheard him singing. Rogers told Autry he was good enough to sing professionally. Autry followed his advice and eventually found work singing on the radio. This earned him a spot on the radio show National Barn Dance, where he became known as Oklahoma’s “Yodeling Cowboy.”
In 1934, Autry was cast in the film In Old Santa Fe. He only had one scene, where he sang a song and called a square dance, but his next appearance was much more important – starring in the 12-chapter movie short The Phantom Empire.
The following year Autry starred in Tumbling Tumbleweeds, which made him a household name and ushered in the era of the “singing cowboy.” The movie introduced a successful formula where Autry played himself. With the help of his sidekick Smiley and his horse Champion, Autry tracked down the bad guys and brought them to justice.
From 1940 to 1956, Autry had his own weekly radio show, Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch. His horse Champion had a show too, The Adventures of Champion. Autry had a large following of young people who wished to be like him, so he created the Cowboy Code, or the Ten Cowboy Commandments, promoting clean living through leading an ethical, moral, and patriotic lifestyle.
In 1942, Autry enlisted in the US Army and served as a tech sergeant with the US Army Air Forces. He earned his Service Pilot rating and flew as part of a dangerous airlift operation over the Himalayas.
Between 1950 and 1956, Autry hosted his own television program, The Gene Autry Show. He also partnered in a rodeo company and had his own comic strip. In 1952, Autry purchased a 110-acre ranch in California. He named it Melody Ranch, after his movie of the same name. Though he sold most of the ranch, he kept 12 acres to serve as a movie ranch. It’s still in operation today.
Autry retired from performing in 1964, having made nearly 100 films and recorded 640 songs, more than 300 of which he wrote himself or co-wrote with a partner. Autry remained busy in his retirement. He invested in real estate, television and radio. In 1960, he became the owner of the Los Angeles Angels baseball team and later served as vice president of the American League.