Gene Autry

Singer and actor best known as the “Singing Cowboy.” Autry was a popular radio figure in the early 1930s, performing at the Grand Ole Opry. He emerged as a movie star in 1935, when he signed with Republic Pictures and made his big-screen debut with The Phantom Empire. He is credited with creating the musical Western. In 1938, Roy Rogers also joined Republic and the two actors became the country's most loved cowboy team. Autry's other films include Tumbling Tumbleweeds (1935), The Singing Cowboy (1937) and Rhythm of the Saddle (1938). He parlayed his stardom into a fortune and is the former owner of baseball's California Angels.