Roy Rogers's show was broadcast on radio for nine years and then on television from 1951 through 1957.
29 Facts About Roy Rogers
2.
Roy Rogers was born Leonard Franklin Slye, the son of Mattie and Andrew "Andy" Slye in Cincinnati, Ohio.
3.
Roy Rogers learned to yodel during this time, and with his mother they would use different yodels to communicate with each other across distances on the farm.
4.
Roy Rogers tried to attend night school, but after being ridiculed for falling asleep in class, he quit school and never returned.
5.
Roy Rogers accepted the group's offer and became a member in August 1931.
6.
Roy Rogers was assigned the leading role in Under Western Stars.
7.
Roy Rogers became a matinee idol, a competitor with Autry as the nation's favorite singing cowboy.
8.
Roy Rogers appeared in the similar BoxOffice poll from 1938 to 1955, holding first place from 1943 to 1952.
9.
Roy Rogers was an idol for many children through his films and television shows.
10.
Roy Rogers was second only to Walt Disney in the number of items featuring his name.
11.
The Sons of the Pioneers continued their popularity and have not stopped performing from the time Roy Rogers started the group, replacing members as they retired or died.
12.
Roy Rogers met Dale Evans in 1944 when they were cast in a film together.
13.
Roy Rogers was an active Freemason and a Shriner and was noted for his support of their charities.
14.
Roy Rogers made numerous cameo or guest appearances on other popular television shows, starring as himself or other cowboy-type characters, such as in an episode of Wonder Woman called "The Bushwackers".
15.
Roy Rogers owned a Hollywood production company, which produced his own series.
16.
Roy Rogers returned to Lubbock in 1970 to headline the Texas Tech University Intercollegiate Rodeo with Evans.
17.
In 1932, a palomino colt foaled in California was named "Golden Cloud"; when Roy Rogers acquired him, he renamed him Trigger.
18.
Roy Rogers owned a thoroughbred racehorse named Triggairo, that won 13 career races, including the 1975 El Encino Stakes at Santa Anita Park.
19.
Roy Rogers had been on tour with the O-Bar-O Cowboys in June 1933 and while they were performing in Roswell, New Mexico, a caller to a radio station, Grace Arline Wilkins, promised Roy Rogers that she would bake him a pie if he sang "The Swiss Yodel".
20.
Roy Rogers met Dale Evans in 1944 when they were cast in a film together.
21.
Roy Rogers was a Freemason and a member of Hollywood Lodge No 355, the Scottish Rite Valley of Los Angeles, and Al Malaikah Shrine Temple.
22.
Roy Rogers was a pilot and the owner of a Cessna Bobcat.
23.
Roy Rogers supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.
24.
Roy Rogers died of congestive heart failure on July 6,1998, aged 86, in Apple Valley, California.
25.
Roy Rogers was buried at Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Apple Valley, as was his wife Dale Evans three years later.
26.
On February 8,1960, Roy Rogers was honored with three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: for Motion Pictures at 1752 Vine Street, for Television at 1620 Vine Street, and for Radio at 1733 Vine Street.
27.
Roy Rogers received recognition from the State of Arkansas, appointed by the governor of that state with an Arkansas Traveler certificate.
28.
Roy Rogers was twice elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, first as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers in 1980, and again as a soloist in 1988.
29.
Roy Rogers himself makes an appearance in the music video for the song "Heroes and Friends" by Randy Travis.