Born Leonard Franklin Slye on November 5, 1911 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Andrew and Mattie Womack
Slye, Rogers grew up in a home with his parents and sisters Mary, Cleda and Kathleen. While he was still an infant, his family moved to Portsmouth, Ohio. And when he was seven years old, the family moved to Duck Run, Ohio to live on a newly purchased farm.
Rogers sang in the church choir and played guitar, mandolin, clarinet and yodeled. His family was musical and on many Saturday nights the farm was the site of neighborhood square dances accompanied by live music. Rogers worked on the farm and dropped out of school when he was 17 to work at a shoe factory, the same shoe factory where his father then worked. Making a decent living as a farmer had proved difficult for Rogers' father.
Rogers Joins Singing Groups
In the early 1930s, Rogers' family settled in California, where in the area around Los Angeles
his life as a professional entertainer took root. He worked with the country and western bands the Rocky Mountaineers, which he joined in August 1931; the O-Bar-O Cowboys, which he joined in June 1933; and the Texas Outlaws, which he joined in September 1933 after the O-Bar-O Cowboys split up.
With songwriters Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer he formed the Pioneer Trio. By early 1935 the group had added brothers Hugh and Karl Farr, who played fiddle and guitar, respectively. The group changed its name to the Sons of the Pioneers.
Sons of the Pioneers Heard Nationally
In the summer of 1934, the Sounds of the Pioneers reached a nationwide audience thanks to Standard Radio, a radio transcription service that recorded music for distribution to radio stations across the U. S. and Canada.
The groups's songs pleased its new radio audience and Hollywood came calling. The Sons of the Pioneers appeared in the short film Radio Scout and then the feature The Old Homestead in 1934. In 1937 Republic Pictures signed Rogers to an individual contract. The studio changed his name to Roy Rogers. His 1938 film Under Western Stars made him a star.
Family
In 1944 Roy Rogers starred in the film The Cowboy and the Senorita with Dale Evans (b. 1912), who became the love of his life. They married on December 31, 1947 in Davis, Oklahoma. It was her fourth marriage and his third. His brief first marriage had ended in divorce as had all of Evans' marriages. His second wife Arlene had died in 1946 just days after giving birth to Roy Rogers Jr. Including children from previous marriages and adopted children, they had nine: Linda Lou Johnson, Roy Jr., Robin Elizabeth, Cheryl Darlene Rose, Mary Little Doe Stanley, John David, Marion Swift, Deborah Lee and Thomas Frederick Fox, Jr.
Christian Faith
Rogers and Evans were not only family-oriented, they were also Christian evangelists. Beginning in1950, writes Joel "Dutch" Dortch in his article "Roy Rogers", they decided to include one Christian song in each of their live performances. They appeared in evangelist Billy Graham's Crusades, giving their testimony and singing songs. In his films, Rogers refused to shoot anyone, preferring to shoot the gun out of the villain's hand. Even though he was the hero in the films, he gave no onscreen kisses to his leading ladies.
Rogers and Evans on Television
From 1951 to 1957, they starred in the Roy Rogers Show on television. In 1962 they came back to television with the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show. Rogers was also involved in the corporate world as spokesman for and member of the board of directors of the fast-food chain Roy Rogers Family Restaurants. In 1980 Rogers was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers, and in 1988 he was inducted as a solo performer.
In 1967 he and Evans opened a museum in Apple Valley, California which featured memorabilia from their lives. The Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum moved to Victorville, California in 1976 and in 2003 to Branson, Missouri. It closed in 2009. In 2010 Christie's auctioned off items from the museum. including Rogers' stuffed screen horse Trigger, which sold for $266,500. His stuffed screen dog Bullet sold for $35,000. All told, the Rogers -Evans auction brought in $3 million.
Rogers died on July 6,1998 in Apple Valley, California, and Evans died there on February 7, 2001.
Sources:
- Dortch, Joel "Dutch. "Roy Rogers: God... Family...Country." happytrails.org. Accessed 9 October 2011.
- Zwisohn, Laurence. "Happy Trails: The Life of Roy Rogers." royrogers.com. Accessed 10 October 2011.
- "Roy Rogers." Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group. Accessed 22 July 2011.
- "Roy Rogers." countrymusichalloffame.org. Accessed 13 October 2011.
Linda N. Riggins - I have written freelance articles for Victorian Homes,Catholic Digest, the Old Farmer's Almanac, Fine Homebuilding, the Christian Science ...
