''Gene Autry's Melody Ranch'' is a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

show in the

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. A 15-minute pilot show aired on December 31, 1939. The program ran from January 7, 1940 to August 1, 1943, and from September 23, 1945 to May 16, 1956.French, Jack & Siegel, David S. (eds.) (2014). "Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 75. The show's entire run was broadcast over the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

radio network, sponsored by

Doublemint Doublemint is a variety of chewing gum made by the Wrigley Company; according to early advertisements, it is "double strength" peppermint flavored. It was launched in the United States in 1914, and has had variable market share since then. The ...

gum.Dunning, John. (1976). ''Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925-1976''. Prentice-Hall, Inc. , p. 236. The approximately two-year interruption resulted from Autry's enlistment in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Initially titled ''Doublemint's Melody Ranch'', the show's name was changed to ''Gene Autry's Melody Ranch'' in early 1941. Episodes were 30 minutes long except for a 15-minute version that ran from September 23, 1945 to June 16, 1946. The theme song was "

Back in the Saddle Again "Back in the Saddle Again" was the signature song of American cowboy entertainer Gene Autry. It was co-written by Autry with Ray Whitley and first released in 1939. The song was associated with Autry throughout his career and was used as the n ...

". In its early years the show was broadcast live before a studio audience from the CBS Columbia Square KNX Playhouse at Sunset and Gower in HollywoodRigney Graphics
List of Existing Melody Ranch Radio Show Transcriptions 1939-1954 with song/drama titles, artists/cast, studio/station/location, and notes by Karla Buhlman and Mike Johnson (no longer available on the website) and preserved on

acetate disc An acetate disc (also known as a ''lacquer'', ''test acetate'', ''dubplate'', or ''transcription disc'') is a type of phonograph record generally used from the 1930s to the late 1950s for recording and broadcast purposes and still in limited use t ...

. Later on it was taped prior to airtime, usually at KNX. When on tour, the show would originate through the facilities of local CBS affiliate stations. Sometimes it took place at a special event. In 1951 the program had an 8:00 p.m., Saturday night, 30 minute time slot. The show for August 11, 1951 originated from the

Illinois State Fairgrounds The Illinois State Fairgrounds is located in Springfield, Illinois. It hosts the annual Illinois State Fair in the summer as well as other events throughout the year. The fairgrounds encompasses 366 acres of land and was added as a historic dist ...

at Springfield, Illinois. The guests were Governor of Illinois

Adlai E. Stevenson II Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was twice the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. He was the grandson of Adlai Stevenson I, the 23rd vice president of ...

and 12-year-old 4-H Club member Shelby Jean Thomas of Kilbourne, Illinois.

Background

The

William Wrigley Jr. Company The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, known as the Wrigley Company, is an American multinational chewing gum (Wrigley's gum) company, based in the Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Goose Island, Chicago, Illinois. Wrigley's is wholly owned by Mars, In ...

selected Autry's program for sponsorship after hearing an audition episode. The show replaced ''Gateway to Hollywood'', which the company had sponsored. An item in the January 1, 1940, issue of

Broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

magazine reported that the program "will feature Gene Autry, singing cowboy, and dramatics" and that it would be carried on 67 CBS stations.

Format

Centering on the talent and popularity of the star,

singing cowboy A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films. It references real-world campfire side ballads in the American frontier, the original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, hardships, and d ...

Gene Autry, each episode of the program "consisted of a Western adventure interspersed with interludes of music."Buxton, Frank and Owen, Bill (1972). ''The Big Broadcast: 1920-1950''. The Viking Press. SBN 670-16240-x. P. 96. John Dunning, in his reference book, ''Tune in Yesterday'', summarized the format as follows:

His own show changed little over the years. It featured a slightly sophisticated version of his 1929 act—Autry stories and songs, projected in a campfire atmosphere. Autry told his listeners that his broadcasts were coming directly from his home, Melody Ranch, in the San Fernando Mountains. He surrounded himself with a cast of regular foot-stompers ... The music was decidedly Western, with heavy accordion emphasis. There was usually one "Cowboy Classic" by Autry. atButtram's acts were inserted for comic relief and consisted mainly of back-and-forth banter with Autry ... The highlight of each show, at least for the juvenile listeners, came when Autry told a 10- to 15-minute story, fully dramatized, of some recent adventure.

An article in ''Movie-Radio Guide'' in 1941 gave a couple of examples of plots used on the show: "Sometimes they're initiating an eastern tenderfoot visiting the ranch; sometimes they're saving the school teacher and her children trapped in a ring of fire."Gene Autry and His "Melody Ranch"
Movie-Radio Guide, March 1, 1941, p.33. Article includes photo of Gene Autry with cast members Shorty Long (Horace Murphy), Mary Lee Wooters, Tom Hanlon, Jimmy Wakely, Johnny Bond, and Dick Reinhart. - from http://www.americanradiohistory.com/ Two episodes of the program featured notable variations from the standard format. One involved the changing of the name of Berwyn, Oklahoma, to

Gene Autry, Oklahoma Gene Autry is a town in Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 158 as of the 2010 census, up from 99 in 2000. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan Statistical Area. History The town was originally named "Lou" by ...

. From there, on November 16, 1941, the ''Melody Ranch'' program aired as a part of the name-changing ceremony. An Oklahoma Gazette article from September 3, 2009, included the following information:

He is also the namesake of an Oklahoma town, population 99. Born in Texas, Autry was raised north of the Red River near Ravia after his parents moved there in the 1920s. Autry's Flying A Ranch, where the famous cowboy kept his rodeo stock, was located adjacent to the town that was, at the time, known as Berwyn. In honor of the presence of cowboy royalty in its midst, the town was renamed Gene Autry in 1941. To mark the occasion, Autry broadcast his ''Gene Autry's Melody Ranch'' radio show from the Flying A, and more than 35,000 people turned out for the festivities, which included Autry parading through the town atop a flatbed car. At the time, the population of the newly re-christened town was around 300 people, according to Mary Schutz, director of programs and publicity at the Gene Autry Oklahoma Museum there.

Three weeks later, on Sunday, December 7, 1941, from the CBS KNX Playhouse, Studio C, in Hollywood, the live broadcast of the ''Melody Ranch'' program was delayed for a 15-minute news update regarding the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which had commenced some six hours earlier in the morning at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Time. Probably not yet aware of the attack, everyone in the KNX studio was stunned. Somehow they managed to get through a shortened program after the cue was finally given to begin. On December 21, 1941, a 45-minute ''Melody Ranch Christmas Special'' aired from the KNX Playhouse in Hollywood. The 45 minute format continued on into 1942 with a second drama added as the theme of the program quickly changed to support the war effort. The second drama was often about a historic U.S. Cavalry battle with the Indians or a similar historic event. The songs were a mix of Western and patriotic selections. The other notable episode came July 26, 1942, when Autry took his oath of office to join the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during that day's broadcast of the ''Melody Ranch'' program which originated from the CBS WBBM Playhouse, Studio 10, in Chicago.French, Jack & Siegel, David S. (eds.) (2014). ''Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967'', McFarland & Company, Inc. , pp. 76. There, at 4:02 minutes into the program, we hear Virginia Vass sing "Idaho". She was a regular vocalist on the ''Melody Ranch'' show at the time. In mid 2009, at the age of 93, Virginia recalled Gene Autry and his ''Melody Ranch'' show in an ''Out of the Past'' interview by Chuck Langdon and Lee Shephard.Chuck Langdon and Lee Shephard, ''Out of the Past''
Virginia Vass Interview
2009 The most significant change in the program was to come after Gene Autry's induction into the U.S. Army Air Forces. While the format remained the same it was the theme that was modified. The name of the show was changed to ''Sergeant Gene Autry'' retaining its same CBS timeslot. The show began to include Army Air Forces songs and the drama became Army Air Forces oriented as well. At first still originating at or through KNX in Los Angeles and WBBM in Chicago, soon the show began originating from various Army Air Forces bases through local CBS stations, often from one of Luke Field's facilities through CBS affiliate

KOY KOY (1230 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Phoenix, Arizona, and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station broadcasts a Regional Mexican radio format and is branded as "93.7 El Patrón". The studios are located in Phoe ...

in Phoenix as well as from various air fields in Texas and elsewhere. Personnel changed in the process using those then in the U.S. Army Air Forces. The members of the trio were now Eddie Dean, Jimmie Dean (brother of Eddie), and Dick Reinhart. Carl Cotner was also in the service and was still involved with the program. The program now included much talk about and interviews of Army Air Forces personnel and songs such as "Private Buckaroo", "Army Air Corps Song", and "I'll Trade My Horse and Saddle for a Pair of Wings". There was also still a cowboy song or two included as well as a Western Classic. The program was introduced by Wrigley and at the end of the show handed back to Wrigley at KNX in Hollywood so they could do their gum commercials even though Doublemint gum was no longer available due to the government's rationing of sugar. The announcer would advise the audience that the program was not an endorsement of the Wrigley product by the U.S. Army Air Forces. In early August 1943, Gene Autry was transferred to the Air Transport Command. The last ''Sergeant Gene Autry Show'' aired August 1, 1943 from the Luke Field Recreation Hall near Phoenix. The program was replaced with a new Wrigley series, ''America in the Air'', which premiered on August 8, 1943, featuring dramas portraying war-front events, and ran until the Autry series returned. With World War II having ended, ''Gene Autry's Melody Ranch'' returned to the airwaves on September 23, 1945 as a 15-minute program, going to a 30-minute format on July 16, 1946. The Pinafores, joined the show in September 1945 followed by the Cass County Boys in November 1945. In 1953, the King Sisters, as the Gene Autry Blue Jeans, replaced the Pinafores. Eventually Wrigley cut back on the budget and the orchestra's violin section was replaced by an organ. Alvino Rey came on board about the same time. In late 1955 or early 1956 the ''Melody Ranch'' program was reduced to 25 minutes to make room for a five-minute news update. Carl Cotner, the Cass County Boys, Johnny Bond, Pat Buttram, and announcer Charlie Lyon continued to the end. The contract with Wrigley called for a new Melody Ranch episode each week. Occasionally it was necessary to substitute a previously aired transcribed episode and Wrigley made it known that this was unacceptable. When this happened again on May 6, 1956 Wrigley cancelled. A tribute program followed a week later on May 13, 1956 hosted by Pat Buttram and Charles Lyon.

Reissues

In 1973, American Radio Programs reissued episodes of the program for use by radio stations. An item in ''Broadcasting'' reported, "Original transcriptions of the weekly half-hour show erereproduced on tape for syndication ..." Beginning in the late 1990s, in cooperation with the Autry Qualified Trust and The Autry Foundation, Gene Autry's movies were fully restored and issued on DVDs by Image Entertainment as the Gene Autry Collection series. Offered through the

Autry Museum of the American West The Autry Museum of the American West is a museum in Los Angeles, California, dedicated to exploring an inclusive history of the American West. Founded in 1988, the museum presents a wide range of exhibitions and public programs, including le ...

, the DVD for each film includes excerpts from or else a complete ''Melody Ranch'' radio show. Typically the audio and video quality is excellent. For example, the ''Gaucho Serenade'' DVD includes excerpts from the ''Melody Ranch'' show of June 2, 1940, location not stated, - Opening Theme: "Back in the Saddle Again", "Keep Rollin' Lazy Longhorns" (from Gaucho Serenade) by Autry, "Old Buckaroo, Goodbye" by Autry, Drama: "Ruckus in Moosehead", "I Only Want a Buddy, Not a Sweetheart" by Autry, Closing Theme: "Back in the Saddle Again". Also included are Doublemint gum pitches. Unfortunately three selections are left out - "Apple Blossoms and Chapel Bells" by Miss Nancy, "I Like Mountain Music" by Autry and Shorty Long, and "The Little Old Church in the Valley" by Autry and the Texas Rangers. Carefully edited, one does not suspect that the issue on DVD is not the complete show without comparing to the contents of the original show which information is not readily available. In another example, the ''Ridin' on a Rainbow'' DVD, the complete show of March 23, 1941 from the CBS KNX Playhouse in Hollywood is included - Opening Theme: "Sing Me a Song of the Saddle", "Wonder Valley" by Autry, "Me and My Burro" by Jimmy Wakely Trio, "My Little Cow Pony" by Mary Lee, Drama: "Crazy Sanders at Demon Lake", "You Tell Me Your Dream, I'll Tell You Mine" by Autry, Closing Theme: "Sing Me a Song of the Saddle", plus the Doublemint gum pitches.

Personnel

In addition to Autry, over the years people involved in the program included:

Cast

* Dorothy Ellers as Miss Nancy Mason - vocals (January 1940 - September 1940) *

Horace Murphy Horace Murphy (June 3, 1880 – January 20, 1975) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1953. Early years Born in Osceola, Arkansas, Murphy was playing cornet by age 11, and six years later led the ...

as Shorty Long - comedy (February 1940 - February 1943) * Frank Nelson as Reno (May 1940 - October 1940) * Mary Lee Wooters - vocals (September 1940 - March 1941) *

Johnny Bond Cyrus Whitfield Bond (June 1, 1915 – June 12, 1978), known professionally as Johnny Bond, was an American country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and composer and publisher, who co-founded a music publishing firm, he was active in the musi ...

- comedy, vocals (November 1940 - May 1956) * Ella Sutton - vocals (May 1941 - December 1941) * Virginia Vass - vocals (January 1942 - August 1942) * Eddie Dean - vocals (April 1942 - April 1943) * Nora Lou - vocals (August 1942) * Colleen Summers (

Mary Ford Mary Ford (born Iris Colleen Summers; July 7, 1924 – September 30, 1977) was an American vocalist and guitarist, comprising half of the husband-and-wife musical team Les Paul and Mary Ford. Between 1950 and 1954, the couple had 16 top-ten hi ...

) - violin, vocals (July 1946 - November 1946) *

Smiley Burnette Lester Alvin Burnett (March 18, 1911 – February 16, 1967), better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, a ...

- comedy, vocals (July 1946 - March 1947) *

Pat Buttram Maxwell Emmett "Pat" Buttram (June 19, 1915 – January 8, 1994) was an American character actor. Buttram was known for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry and for playing the character of Mr. Haney in the television series ''Green Acres''. He had ...

- comedy (May 1948 - May 1956) *

Sara Berner Sara Berner (born Lillian Ann Herdan; January 12, 1912 – December 19, 1969) was an American actress. Known for her expertise in dialect and characterization, she began her career as a performer in vaudeville before becoming a voice actress for r ...

Dunning, John. (1998). ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio'', Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 281-282
Gene Autry's Melody Ranch
/ref> as Chiquita - comedy (April 1949 - October 1949) *

Ruby Dandridge Ruby Jean Dandridge (née Butler; March 3, 1900 – October 17, 1987) was an American actress from the early 1900s through to the late 1950s. Dandridge is best known for her role on the radio show ''Amos 'n Andy'', in which she played Sadie ...

as Raindrop - comedy (August 1949 - April 1951) *

Norma Zimmer Norma Zimmer (July 13, 1923 – May 10, 2011) was an American vocalist, best remembered for her 22-year tenure as Lawrence Welk's "Champagne Lady" on '' The Lawrence Welk Show''. Early years Born Norma Larsen on a dairy farm in Shoshone County, ...

- vocal accompaniment * Jim Boles - character actor *

Jerry Hausner James Bernard Hausner (May 20, 1909 – April 1, 1993),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 122-123. known professionally as Jerry ...

- character actor * Harry Lang - character actor * Jack Mather - character actor *

Tyler McVey William Tyler McVey (February 14, 1912 – July 4, 2003) was an American character actor of film and television. Early years McVey was born Bay City, Michigan, to William David McVey and his wife, the former Jessie Arvilla Tyler. His moth ...

- character actor

Vocal groups

* Jimmy Wakely and the Rough Riders (

Jimmy Wakely Jimmy Wakely (February 16, 1914 – September 23, 1982) was an American actor, songwriter, country music vocalist, and one of the last singing cowboys. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, he released records, appeared in several B-Western movies ...

, and Dick Reinhart) (November 1940) * The Jimmy Wakely Trio (

, and Dick Reinhart) (December 1940 - July 1941) * The Pinafores (Eunice, Beulah, and Ione Kettle) (September 1945 - January 1953) * The Cass County Boys (

Jerry Scoggins Jerry Scoggins (September 30, 1911 – December 7, 2004) was an American country/western singer, guitarist, and band leader. He performed on radio, in movies, and on television from the 1930s thru the 1980s. He was noted for his work with Gen ...

, Bert Dodson, and Fred Martin)The Cass County Boys
b-westerns.comCass County Boys Biography
AllMusic (November 1945 - May 1956) * The King Sisters (Alyce, Marilyn, and Yvonne) as the Gene Autry Blue Jeans (1953 - 1956)

Musicians

* Frankie Marvin - steel guitar (December 1939 - 1955) * Carl Cotner - violin *

- acoustic guitar * Merle Travis - guitar *

- guitar * Bert Dodson - bass * Fred Martin - accordion * Colleen Summers (

) - violin, vocals (July 1946 - November 1946) *

Alvino Rey Alvin McBurney (July 1, 1908 – February 24, 2004), known by his stage name Alvino Rey, was an American jazz guitarist and bandleader. Career Alvin McBurney was born in Oakland, California, United States, but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Early i ...

- electric guitar (1953 - 1956)

Orchestra

* Lou Bring - music director, orchestra leader (1940 - 1945) * Paul Sells' Orchestra (1942 - 1946) *

Johnny Marvin John Senator Marvin (July 11, 1897 – December 10, 1944) was an early American recording artist and musician, starting in 1924 and covering a twenty-year period for many record labels. Early years Born in Butler, Oklahoma Territory in 18 ...

- orchestra leader (d. 20 Dec 1944) * Carl Cotner - music director, arranger, orchestra leader * Carl Cotner's Orchestra (1947 - ) * Carl Cotner's Melody Ranch Hard-Way-Six with Alvino Rey

Announcers

* Ken Ellington (pilot show) *

Wendell Niles Wendell Niles (December 29, 1904 – March 28, 1994) was an announcer during the American golden age of radio and later in television. Early years Niles was born in Livingston, Montana and grew up there. He attended New York University and ...

(January 1940 - ) * Tom Hanlon * Lou Crosby(September 1945 - June 1948) * John Jacobs (June 1948 - August 1948) * Perry Ward (September 1948 - October 1948) * Charles Lyon (February 1949 - May 1956)

Producers

* Tony Stanford ( - May 1941) * Bradford Browne (May 1941 - ) * Bill Burch (July 1946 - )

''Melody Ranch'' television show

In September 1964, the television version of ''Gene Autry's Melody Ranch'' debuted on his Los Angeles television station,

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the seco ...

channel 5. The weekly 60-minute ''Melody Ranch'' program aired in color Saturday evenings and continued through the years into 1973 with summer reruns beginning in 1971. The cast included Carl Cotner, Johnny Bond, and Billy Mize sharing host duties, plus vocalists Cathie Taylor and Joan De Ville, the Jack Halloran Singers, and Carl Cotner's band. Gene Autry, by then retired as an entertainer, made only a few rare appearances on the program which featured many well known established and upcoming country music guest artists along with occasional Western guests including Rex Allen, Tex Ritter, Jimmy Wakely, and the Sons of the Pioneers.

* Gene Autry / Melody Ranch - Gene Autry's Melody Ranch in Placerita Canyon near Newhall, California *''

Melody Ranch ''Melody Ranch'' is a 1940 Western musical film directed by Joseph Santley and starring Gene Autry, Jimmy Durante, and Ann Miller. Written by Jack Moffitt, F. Hugh Herbert, Bradford Ropes, and Betty Burbridge, the film is about a singing cowbo ...

'' - 1940 Republic Pictures film with Gene Autry, Jimmy Durante, Ann Miller, Gabby Hayes, and Mary Lee *''

The Gene Autry Show ''The Gene Autry Show'' is an American western/cowboy television series which aired for 91 episodes on CBS from July 23, 1950 until August 7, 1956, originally sponsored by Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum. Overview Series star Gene Autry had alr ...

'' - CBS television series (1950-1956)

Notes

References

External links

58 episodes of ''Gene Autry's Melody Ranch'' and 12 episodes of the AFRS program ''Melody Roundup''
are available for streaming from https://archive.org/. * Broadcasting periodicals are available at http://www.americanradiohistory.com/index.htm. {{Gene Autry American variety radio programs American country music radio programs Western (genre) radio series 1940 radio programme debuts 1956 radio programme endings 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs CBS Radio programs Gene Autry