Palm Springs history: Gene Autry, Christmas and good character in the desert

Writing for the Society for American Baseball Research, Warren Corbett captured Gene Autry’s character. “Autry was the kind of man who paid the bills for old friends in their old age, rode in the front seat beside his chauffeur, and showed up in the bar of his resort hotel to lead guests in a sing-along.”

Autry’s rough early life formed his character. Corbett reports that, “He seldom spoke of his childhood because he wanted to forget most of it. His father was generally worthless, absent more often than present, and his mother and her four children had to depend on the charity of relatives in Texas and Oklahoma.” Autry dropped out of high school to help support his family, working as a railroad telegrapher.

He saved $8 from farm chores to buy a guitar from the Sears Roebuck catalog. “He liked to tell of the night that the world’s most famous Oklahoma native, Will Rogers, walked into the railroad depot, heard him picking and singing and encouraged his dream of a music career. The tale may be a press agent’s invention” according to Corbett, but it is a great story.

Early rejection by New York radio and recording companies didn’t stop him. He returned to Oklahoma made it on the radio and eventually Chicago and Nashville, which led him to Hollywood, bit parts, big breaks and then regular westerns.

“His movies for Republic Pictures followed a simple formula for wholesome, bland, family entertainment: Good guy defeats bad guy, but never shoots first and never kills anybody. Hero gets girl, but never kisses her. Kissing was allowed in the early films, but the clinches disappeared when the studio realized that Autry’s core audience was pre-teen boys, who didn’t go for that mushy stuff. They preferred to see him with his horse, Champion.”

Autry good character was codified in his “Cowboy Code of Living” for that admiring audience:

• The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.

• He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.

• He must always tell the truth.

• He must always be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.

• He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.

• He must help people in distress.

• He must be a good worker.

• He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.

• He must respect women, parents and his nation’s laws.

• The Cowboy is a patriot.

Autry taught a generation of boys how to be good men.

Dutiful as always, Autry served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and tried to get out of his Republic contract. The studio retaliated by promoting Roy Rogers, who was found unfit for military service because of a bad back. “Seeing harsh evidence that stardom was temporary, Autry turned his energy toward business after the war. He bought radio and television stations and hotels and invested in oil wells and real estate.”

Autry repeatedly demonstrated his resilience and adherence to the Cowboy Code. Resuming his radio presence in 1947, he released “Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane,”) a tune he wrote with Oakley Haldeman. The record forever associated him with Christmas.

He would go on to record numerous holiday songs including “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” written by Johnny Marks. That best-selling song would cement Autry’s place in the rarefied pantheon of Christmas royalty, along with Bing Crosby’s rendition of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” and Nat King Cole’s recording of Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song,” known as “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” “Rudolph” sold an astronomical 2 million copies in 1949 and many millions more since.

Autry’s songwriting and singing prowess were impressive. The very first gold record ever awarded was given to Autry for “Rudolph.” He wrote or co-wrote more than 200 songs, including “Back in the Saddle Again” and released 635 recordings.

As his movie career was waning, Autry pivoted to television. He was the first major movie star to do so. His “Melody Ranch” radio show was carried by CBS radio from 1940 to 1956. Starting in 1950, CBS featured “The Gene Autry Show,” following the format from radio. From his home at "Melody Ranch" Autry regularly battled bad guys, set the standard of good behavior and saved the day.

The 1960s saw him reinventing his career yet again. Autry became a major league baseball owner by serendipity. In 1960, Autry attended an American League expansion meeting hoping to secure the radio broadcasting rights but ended up owning the team. From its inception in 1961, the Angels held spring training in Palm Springs.

Autry put the players up at his eponymous hotel on South Palm Canyon Drive, mounting a bicycle to lead them in parade to the ballpark, built to accommodate the team. The Angels opened their inaugural season with eight games on the road, losing seven. Like their intrepid owner, the club was undaunted by the setback and rallied to a 70-91 record.

As a beloved member of the desert community, Autry would spend the rest of his life as an underdog aspiring to win the pennant. Christmas time in 1979, the newspaper reported Autry made a public appearance at the Desert Press Club “and won over the audience just as he used to win over the girl in his film career.”

“He didn’t arrive with his guns blazing, like he had nearly 100 times in films. There wasn’t a beautiful woman at his side, nor sidekick to rescue, nor did he ride off into the sunset after having conquered evil in the manner of a true champion.”

“Bubbling with enthusiasm, eyes sparkling like he had just signed a seven-time American League batting champion to a long-term contract, there he was, Gene Autry, himself…And for only a few times in the 19-year history of his beloved club, the Angels command more respect. You can’t overlook a West Division champion, nor the man who spent millions to give his loyal fans a pennant-contending club.”

“Autry had plenty to say to those attending…with a soft voice that left his appreciative audience straining to hear every word, Autry discussed music, politics, his almost-career as owner of the Desert Sun and of course his favorite subject and the favorite subject of more than 2.5 million fans – the ‘Yes We Can’ California Angels.”

“Talk around baseball circles for the past few years was about the Angels. Opposing owners, managers and players wished the Angels’ owner a pennant…that’s a true testimonial for anybody in professional sports.”

Tracy Conrad is president of the Palm Springs Historical Society. The Thanks for the Memories column appears Sundays in The Desert Sun. Write to her at pshstracy@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs history: Gene Autry's Christmas songs