Jackie Autry (born Jacqueline Evelyn Ellam; October 2, 1941) is the former owner of the
Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
and widow of
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
, actor, singer and businessman.
Early life
On October 2, 1941, Autry was born in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.
Career
Autry started her career as a switchboard operator for Security National Bank. By age 24, Autry became an assistant manager of Operations. By age 30, Autry became a manager. By age 32, Autry became a vice president at the bank.
Autry served as the Honorary President of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
's
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
, from 2000 until 2015. Her main task was to present the American League Championship Award, the William Harridge Trophy, to the champion at the end of the ALCS as well as the ALCS MVP award. Autry is the only woman to ever serve on the Major League Baseball Executive Council, on its Oversight Committee, and as a member of the MLB board of directors.
Autry served as past President of the
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
, was responsible as President for raising funds to build an independent Community Blood Bank at the Eisenhower Medical Center and served as its President for many years. The Blood Bank continues to serve seven area hospitals surrounding the Palm Springs area.
She continues to serve on the Board of Trustees at Eisenhower Medical Center and is the longest tenured Trustee having served since 1981. She is also a current member of the board of directors of the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center.
She is President of Gene Autry Music Publishing Companies which houses four publishing companies.
She is President of the Autry Foundation which was established by Gene and Ina Autry. Funding from this Foundation provided the funds to build a world class western history museum contiguous to the Los Angeles Zoo. The . Museum now called the Autry National Center houses the Museum of the American West, Southwest Museum of the American Indian and the Institute for the Study of the American West. After 13 years she retired as Board chairman and now holds the position of chairman Emeritus and Lifetime Director.
She is Vice Chairman of Aerospace Technologies Group/ATGGroup/ which makes shades for corporate and commercial jets in which she is the majority stock holder.
She is a co-producer with partner Dennis Osborne in Control Freak Productions, which produces movies scripts that are generated internally.
Personal life
Now in semi-retirement, she handles investment portfolios, continues to attend Angels baseball games and enjoys traveling. She has a home in
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...
and also in
Studio City, California
Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...
.
In 2007 Autry won the
Golden Boot Award
Golden means made of, or relating to gold.
Golden may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
*Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall
*Golden Cap, Dorset
*Golden Square, Soho, London
*Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...
for contributions to the genre of Western television and films. She played herself in the 2007 documentary, ''Gene Autry: White Hat, Silver Screen'', and was the Executive Producer of the 2009 documentary, ''When Dream Worlds Collide''.
On November 25, 2010 (Thanksgiving Day), Autry was driving a car in Palm Springs that hit and killed a pedestrian, Jesus Cardova Diaz, who was a homeless man. She received no civil or criminal charges as she was sober and the man she hit was jaywalking."Widow of 'Singing Cowboy' Gene Autry kills pedestrian while driving in Palm Springs" ''Los Angeles Times'', November 30, 2010