Chris Enss's Blog - Posts Tagged "roy-rogers"
Who Wrote the Song Happy Trails?
Like to win? Now’s your chance. Enter to win a copy of The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
Elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers and elected again in 1988 as Roy Rogers.
Roy got his horse Trigger in 1938 and rode him in every one of his films and TV shows after that. He had appeared in one earlier movie, ridden by Olivia de Havilland in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Trigger died in 1965 at age 33.
Roy's theme song, "Happy Trails", was written by Dale Evans.
Inducted (as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers) into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1995.
Enter to win now and Happy Trails. www.chrisenss.com
Elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers and elected again in 1988 as Roy Rogers.
Roy got his horse Trigger in 1938 and rode him in every one of his films and TV shows after that. He had appeared in one earlier movie, ridden by Olivia de Havilland in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Trigger died in 1965 at age 33.
Roy's theme song, "Happy Trails", was written by Dale Evans.
Inducted (as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers) into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1995.
Enter to win now and Happy Trails. www.chrisenss.com
They Said What?
Enter to win a copy of The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
“I'm an introvert at heart... And show business - even though I've loved it so much - has always been hard for me.”
- Roy Rogers
“Cowgirl is an attitude, really; a pioneer spirit, a special American brand of courage. The cowgirl faces life head on, lives by her own lights and makes no excuses. Cowgirls take stands. They speak up. They defend the things they hold dear. A cowgirl might be a rancher, or a barrel racer, or a bull rider, or an actress. But she’s just as likely to be a checker at the local Winn Dixie, a full-time mother, a banker, an attorney, or an astronaut.”
– Dale Evans
“Until we meet again, may the good Lord take a liking to you.”
- Roy Rogers
“I have studied many religions, many different persuasions of thought in Christian belief, and I have come, in this experience to this: the most important question in anyone's life is the question asked by poor Pilate in Matthew 27:22: 'What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?' No Other question in the whole sweep of human experience is as important as this. It is the choice between life and death, between meaningless existence and life abundant. What will you do with Christ? Accept Him and life, or reject Him and die? What else is there?”
- Dale Evans Rogers
Enter to win now and Happy Trails.
“I'm an introvert at heart... And show business - even though I've loved it so much - has always been hard for me.”
- Roy Rogers
“Cowgirl is an attitude, really; a pioneer spirit, a special American brand of courage. The cowgirl faces life head on, lives by her own lights and makes no excuses. Cowgirls take stands. They speak up. They defend the things they hold dear. A cowgirl might be a rancher, or a barrel racer, or a bull rider, or an actress. But she’s just as likely to be a checker at the local Winn Dixie, a full-time mother, a banker, an attorney, or an astronaut.”
– Dale Evans
“Until we meet again, may the good Lord take a liking to you.”
- Roy Rogers
“I have studied many religions, many different persuasions of thought in Christian belief, and I have come, in this experience to this: the most important question in anyone's life is the question asked by poor Pilate in Matthew 27:22: 'What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?' No Other question in the whole sweep of human experience is as important as this. It is the choice between life and death, between meaningless existence and life abundant. What will you do with Christ? Accept Him and life, or reject Him and die? What else is there?”
- Dale Evans Rogers
Enter to win now and Happy Trails.
The Truth About Roy & Dale
Enter to win a copy of The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
…that in 1936, Leonard Slye (Roy Rogers) had an unaccredited role as a Sons of the Pioneers guitar player in the Gene Autry’s 1936 film, The Big Show?
…that Roy Rogers hit #7 on the U.S. Country chart in 1946 with "A Little White Cross on the Hill"?
…that actress and singer Dale Evans was born Frances Octavia Smith on October 31, 1912, in Uvalde, Texas.
…that after being discovered by a talent scout, Evans did a screen test for Paramount Pictures, which was considering casting her in Holiday Inn (1942) with Bing Crosby. She didn't get that part, but she soon landed a one-year contract with 20th Century Fox.
…that Evans appeared in the 1942 comedy Girl Trouble with Don Ameche and Billie Burke. She had parts in such musicals as Swing Your Partner (1943) and Hoosier Holiday (1943). Changing studios, Evans moved to Republic and appeared in her first western film, In Old Oklahoma (1943) (the film was later retitled The War of the Wildcats), opposite John Wayne.
Enter to win now and Happy Trails.
…that in 1936, Leonard Slye (Roy Rogers) had an unaccredited role as a Sons of the Pioneers guitar player in the Gene Autry’s 1936 film, The Big Show?
…that Roy Rogers hit #7 on the U.S. Country chart in 1946 with "A Little White Cross on the Hill"?
…that actress and singer Dale Evans was born Frances Octavia Smith on October 31, 1912, in Uvalde, Texas.
…that after being discovered by a talent scout, Evans did a screen test for Paramount Pictures, which was considering casting her in Holiday Inn (1942) with Bing Crosby. She didn't get that part, but she soon landed a one-year contract with 20th Century Fox.
…that Evans appeared in the 1942 comedy Girl Trouble with Don Ameche and Billie Burke. She had parts in such musicals as Swing Your Partner (1943) and Hoosier Holiday (1943). Changing studios, Evans moved to Republic and appeared in her first western film, In Old Oklahoma (1943) (the film was later retitled The War of the Wildcats), opposite John Wayne.
Enter to win now and Happy Trails.
The Smartest Horse in Movies
Enter to win a copy of The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
There’s almost nothing more important to a cowboy than his horse. He depends on his reliable steed to help him with his job and to be his friend and all-around partner through thick and thin. Throughout the 1930s, 40s’, and 50s, Roy Rogers was the quintessential cowboy, but a big part of this heroic appeal was his palomino, Trigger. Billed as “the smartest horse in movies,” Trigger was Roy’s riding partner in eighty films and one hundred television shows.
Roy purchased Trigger in 1938 from Hudkins Stables in Los Angeles for $2,500. He knew Trigger was a special horse the moment he saw him trotting through a field. With the help of expert horse trainer Glenn Randall, Roy worked with Trigger to teach him a myriad of tricks, including counting, writing, and bowing to an audience.
Trigger’s fame grew with every new Roy Rogers movies. The horse was a star with four stand-ins. He made $750 a week and received 200 fan letters a month. In 1940 Roy insured the valuable animal for $100,000.
To learn more about Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Trigger enter to win now and Happy Trails.
There’s almost nothing more important to a cowboy than his horse. He depends on his reliable steed to help him with his job and to be his friend and all-around partner through thick and thin. Throughout the 1930s, 40s’, and 50s, Roy Rogers was the quintessential cowboy, but a big part of this heroic appeal was his palomino, Trigger. Billed as “the smartest horse in movies,” Trigger was Roy’s riding partner in eighty films and one hundred television shows.
Roy purchased Trigger in 1938 from Hudkins Stables in Los Angeles for $2,500. He knew Trigger was a special horse the moment he saw him trotting through a field. With the help of expert horse trainer Glenn Randall, Roy worked with Trigger to teach him a myriad of tricks, including counting, writing, and bowing to an audience.
Trigger’s fame grew with every new Roy Rogers movies. The horse was a star with four stand-ins. He made $750 a week and received 200 fan letters a month. In 1940 Roy insured the valuable animal for $100,000.
To learn more about Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Trigger enter to win now and Happy Trails.
Box-Office Star
Time is running out! Enter to win a copy of The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
On July 12, 1943, Roy Rogers and his trusty palomino, Trigger, appeared on the cover of Life magazine. The overwhelming success of Roy’s movies had made him the biggest box-office draw in the country.
On average, Roy made eight pictures a year, and in between productions he traveled around the country promoting his work. He sometimes made six appearance a day at various theatres where his movies were playing. Audiences would fill the seats of the movie houses, Roy and the Sons of the Pioneers would sing a few songs, and then his film would run.
Trigger accompanied Roy on all his promotional trips. Roy had acquired Trigger in 1938 when the horse was a yearling and, with the aid of a professional trainer, he brought the animal into prominence.
Along with information about his home life, the origin of the singing cowboy’s name was revealed in the Life article. Studio executives had given Leonard Slye, also known as Dick Weston (a name Leonard picked himself and used as his professional name for a short time), the handle of Rogers in 1937, after the famous humorist Will Rogers, and Roy, which means “king.” The two stage names fit together perfectly.
To learn more about Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Trigger enter to win now and Happy Trails.
On July 12, 1943, Roy Rogers and his trusty palomino, Trigger, appeared on the cover of Life magazine. The overwhelming success of Roy’s movies had made him the biggest box-office draw in the country.
On average, Roy made eight pictures a year, and in between productions he traveled around the country promoting his work. He sometimes made six appearance a day at various theatres where his movies were playing. Audiences would fill the seats of the movie houses, Roy and the Sons of the Pioneers would sing a few songs, and then his film would run.
Trigger accompanied Roy on all his promotional trips. Roy had acquired Trigger in 1938 when the horse was a yearling and, with the aid of a professional trainer, he brought the animal into prominence.
Along with information about his home life, the origin of the singing cowboy’s name was revealed in the Life article. Studio executives had given Leonard Slye, also known as Dick Weston (a name Leonard picked himself and used as his professional name for a short time), the handle of Rogers in 1937, after the famous humorist Will Rogers, and Roy, which means “king.” The two stage names fit together perfectly.
To learn more about Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Trigger enter to win now and Happy Trails.
King of Cowboys Marries Queen of the West
Last chance to enter to win a copy of The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
In the fall of 1947 Roy proposed to Dale as he sat on Trigger. The pair was performing at a rode in Chicago, and moments before their big entrance Roy suggested they get married. The date set for the wedding was New Year’s Eve. Gossip columnists predicted that Trigger would be the best man and that Dale would wear a red-sequined, cowgirl gown. The prediction proved to be false.
Roy and Dale’s wedding was a simple affair held at a ranch in Oklahoma, which happened to be the location for the filming of their seventeenth movie, Home in Oklahoma. The couple’s agent, Art Rush, served as best man and his wife, Mary Jo, was the matron of honor.
To learn more about Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Trigger enter to win now and Happy Trails.
In the fall of 1947 Roy proposed to Dale as he sat on Trigger. The pair was performing at a rode in Chicago, and moments before their big entrance Roy suggested they get married. The date set for the wedding was New Year’s Eve. Gossip columnists predicted that Trigger would be the best man and that Dale would wear a red-sequined, cowgirl gown. The prediction proved to be false.
Roy and Dale’s wedding was a simple affair held at a ranch in Oklahoma, which happened to be the location for the filming of their seventeenth movie, Home in Oklahoma. The couple’s agent, Art Rush, served as best man and his wife, Mary Jo, was the matron of honor.
To learn more about Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Trigger enter to win now and Happy Trails.
Happy Trails
Join Chris Enss in her Biggest Giveaway EVER!
GRAND PRIZE: Win a copy of ALL of my books in print including: Entertaining Women: Actresses, Singers, and Dancers of the Old West, Hearts West: Mail Order Brides of the Frontier, The Young Duke: The Story of John Wayne’s Early Life, The Cowboy and the Senorita: The Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Happy Trails: A Pictorial of Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Trigger, Sam Sixkiller: Cherokee Frontier Lawman, and fifteen other titles about women of the Old West. For a total of 20 books!! PLUS a western book bag and $50 Amazon gift card! Now is that a prize or what??
Second prize: You choose TEN of my books and a $25 gift Amazon gift card.
Third prize: You choose FIVE of my books and a $15 gift Amazon gift card.
All you have to do to enter is using form below. You must be a subscriber of the blog (signed up to the email newsletter) to win.
Easy enough, right? If you want to comment and tell me where you’d put that big collection of books in your home, I’d love to hear about it.
Here’s a sample of just one of the books in the collection.
Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans
More than six decades have passed since Roy Rogers and Dale Evans first rode the celluloid range together, yet they continue to be loved and admired in a way few--if any--celebrities can claim. They co-starred in twenty-nine motion pictures and recorded more than 200 albums together, and they brought their talents to television in the 1950s, entertaining a large audience with The Roy Rogers Show.
Happy Trails shares intimate photographs of the lives and fifty-six-year partnership of this famous couple, both on and off the screen. From their first singing jobs to their successful film careers, the photographs chronicle the duo's early struggles and slow rise to stardom. On the home front, their faith was constantly tested by the struggles in their personal lives. Roy's first wife died, leaving him with three children to bring up alone. After Roy and Dale were married, their two-year-old daughter died, a second daughter died in a tragic accident, and a son died suddenly overseas. The family photographs show the family's steadfast faith and endurance during tough times and their love and warmth during happier times, when the children were very young and their parents were not only superstars, they were "Mom" and "Dad."
Winners will be chosen on Thursday, December 31.
Ready, set, GO!
GRAND PRIZE: Win a copy of ALL of my books in print including: Entertaining Women: Actresses, Singers, and Dancers of the Old West, Hearts West: Mail Order Brides of the Frontier, The Young Duke: The Story of John Wayne’s Early Life, The Cowboy and the Senorita: The Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Happy Trails: A Pictorial of Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Trigger, Sam Sixkiller: Cherokee Frontier Lawman, and fifteen other titles about women of the Old West. For a total of 20 books!! PLUS a western book bag and $50 Amazon gift card! Now is that a prize or what??
Second prize: You choose TEN of my books and a $25 gift Amazon gift card.
Third prize: You choose FIVE of my books and a $15 gift Amazon gift card.
All you have to do to enter is using form below. You must be a subscriber of the blog (signed up to the email newsletter) to win.
Easy enough, right? If you want to comment and tell me where you’d put that big collection of books in your home, I’d love to hear about it.
Here’s a sample of just one of the books in the collection.
Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans
More than six decades have passed since Roy Rogers and Dale Evans first rode the celluloid range together, yet they continue to be loved and admired in a way few--if any--celebrities can claim. They co-starred in twenty-nine motion pictures and recorded more than 200 albums together, and they brought their talents to television in the 1950s, entertaining a large audience with The Roy Rogers Show.
Happy Trails shares intimate photographs of the lives and fifty-six-year partnership of this famous couple, both on and off the screen. From their first singing jobs to their successful film careers, the photographs chronicle the duo's early struggles and slow rise to stardom. On the home front, their faith was constantly tested by the struggles in their personal lives. Roy's first wife died, leaving him with three children to bring up alone. After Roy and Dale were married, their two-year-old daughter died, a second daughter died in a tragic accident, and a son died suddenly overseas. The family photographs show the family's steadfast faith and endurance during tough times and their love and warmth during happier times, when the children were very young and their parents were not only superstars, they were "Mom" and "Dad."
Winners will be chosen on Thursday, December 31.
Ready, set, GO!
Introducing Roy Rogers
Enter now to win
The Cowboy & the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
Roy Rogers was born Leonard Franklin Slye on November 5, 1911, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents owned a farm near the small town of Duck Run, and it was there that he developed his love for music. By the age of ten he was playing the guitar and calling square dances.
In 1929 Leonard left the Midwest and headed for Hollywood. In between occasional singing engagements with the various bands he helped form (including Sons of the Pioneers) he worked as a truck driver and a fruit picker.
His big break came in 1937, when he snuck onto the lot of Republic Pictures and landed a contract paying seventy-five dollars a week. Republic Studios’ president Herbert Yates was looking for a musical actor to go boot-to-boot with singing-cowboy sensations Gene Autry. Renamed Roy Rogers, Leonard had the integrity, the talent, and the look the studio was hoping to find.
Three short years after singing with Republic, Roy Rogers would be the number-one-box-office draw in the country and be crowned the King of the Cowboys.
To learn more about Roy Rogers and Dale Evans read
The Cowboy and the Senorita.
Win a copy of the book through Goodreads or when you visit www.chrisenss.com.
The Cowboy & the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
Roy Rogers was born Leonard Franklin Slye on November 5, 1911, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents owned a farm near the small town of Duck Run, and it was there that he developed his love for music. By the age of ten he was playing the guitar and calling square dances.
In 1929 Leonard left the Midwest and headed for Hollywood. In between occasional singing engagements with the various bands he helped form (including Sons of the Pioneers) he worked as a truck driver and a fruit picker.
His big break came in 1937, when he snuck onto the lot of Republic Pictures and landed a contract paying seventy-five dollars a week. Republic Studios’ president Herbert Yates was looking for a musical actor to go boot-to-boot with singing-cowboy sensations Gene Autry. Renamed Roy Rogers, Leonard had the integrity, the talent, and the look the studio was hoping to find.
Three short years after singing with Republic, Roy Rogers would be the number-one-box-office draw in the country and be crowned the King of the Cowboys.
To learn more about Roy Rogers and Dale Evans read
The Cowboy and the Senorita.
Win a copy of the book through Goodreads or when you visit www.chrisenss.com.
