Lester Alvin Burnett, better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and other B-movie cowboys. He was also a prolific singer-songwriter who is reported to have played proficiently over 100 musical instruments, sometimes more than one simultaneously. His career, beginning in 1934, spanned four decades, including a regular role on CBS-TV's Petticoat Junction in the 1960s.
Sunset Carson was an American B-western star of the 1940s.
Guns and Guitars is a 1936 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Dorothy Dix in her final film appearance. Written by Dorrell and Stuart E. McGowan, the film is about a singing cowboy who helps protect a county from fever-ridden cattle, and after being framed for murdering the sheriff, proves his innocence, gets elected sheriff, and then goes after the bad guy.
Blue Montana Skies is a 1939 American Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and June Storey. Based on a story by Norman S. Hall and Paul Franklin, the film is about a singing cowboy who goes up against a gang of fur smugglers operating near the Canada–United States border.
Mountain Rhythm is a 1939 American Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and June Storey. Based on a story by Connie Lee, the film is about a cowboy who organizes his fellow ranchers to oppose an Eastern promoter's land grab scheme.
Colorado Sunset is a 1939 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and June Storey. Written by Betty Burbridge and Stanley Roberts, based on a story by Luci Ward and Jack Natteford, the film is about a singing cowboy and his buddies who discover that the ranch they bought is really a dairy farm—and worse, it's subject to intimidation from a protection racket that prevents dairy products from safely reaching the market.
The Man from the Rio Grande is a 1943 American Western film directed by Howard Bretherton and written by Norman S. Hall. The film stars Don "Red" Barry, Wally Vernon, Twinkle Watts, Harry Cording, Nancy Gay and Kirk Alyn. The film was released on October 18, 1943, by Republic Pictures.
Pride of the Plains is a 1944 American Western film directed by Wallace Fox and written by John K. Butler and Robert Creighton Williams. The film stars Robert Livingston, Smiley Burnette, Nancy Gay, Steve Barclay, Kenneth MacDonald and Charles Miller. The film was released on January 5, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
Beneath Western Skies is a 1944 American Western film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and written by Albert DeMond and Robert Creighton Williams. The film stars Robert Livingston, Smiley Burnette, Effie Laird, Frank Jaquet, Tom London and Charles Miller. The film was released on March 3, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
Silver City Kid is a 1944 American Western film directed by John English and written by Taylor Caven. Starring Allan Lane, Peggy Stewart, Wally Vernon, Twinkle Watts, Harry Woods and Frank Jaquet, it was released on July 20, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
Bordertown Trail is a 1944 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Robert Creighton Williams and Jesse Duffy. The film stars Smiley Burnette, Sunset Carson, Weldon Heyburn, Addison Richards, Francis McDonald and Jack Luden. The film was released on August 11, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
Code of the Prairie is a 1944 American Western film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and written by Albert DeMond and Anthony Coldeway. The film stars Smiley Burnette, Sunset Carson, Peggy Stewart, Weldon Heyburn, Tom Chatterton and Roy Barcroft. The film was released on October 6, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
Firebrands of Arizona is a 1944 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Randall Faye. The film stars Smiley Burnette, Sunset Carson, Peggy Stewart, Earle Hodgins, Roy Barcroft and LeRoy Mason. The film was released on December 1, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
The Topeka Terror is a 1945 American Western film directed by Howard Bretherton, written by Patricia Harper and Norman S. Hall, and starring Allan Lane, Linda Stirling, Earle Hodgins, Twinkle Watts, Roy Barcroft and Bud Geary. It was released on January 26, 1945, by Republic Pictures.
Sheriff of Cimarron is a 1945 American Western film directed by Yakima Canutt, written by Bennett Cohen, and starring Sunset Carson, Linda Stirling, Olin Howland, Riley Hill, Jack Ingram and Tom London. It was released on February 28, 1945, by Republic Pictures.
Santa Fe Saddlemates is a 1945 American Western film directed by Thomas Carr and written by Bennett Cohen. Starring Sunset Carson, Linda Stirling, Olin Howland, Roy Barcroft, Bud Geary and Kenne Duncan, it was released on June 2, 1945, by Republic Pictures.
Oregon Trail is a 1945 American Western film directed by Thomas Carr and written by Betty Burbridge. The film stars Sunset Carson, Peggy Stewart, Frank Jaquet, John Merton, Mary Carr and Si Jenks. The film was released on July 14, 1945, by Republic Pictures.
Streets of Ghost Town is a 1950 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and written by Barry Shipman. The film stars Charles Starrett, Smiley Burnette, George Chesebro, Mary Ellen Kay, Stanley Andrews, Frank Fenton, Don Reynolds, and Ozie Waters. The film was released on August 3, 1950, by Columbia Pictures. This was the forty-eighth of 65 films in the Durango Kid series.
Laramie Mountains is a 1952 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring Charles Starrett, Jock Mahoney and Fred F. Sears. This was the sixty-second of 65 films in the Durango Kid series.
Bandits of El Dorado is a 1949 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and written by Barry Shipman. The film stars Charles Starrett, George J. Lewis, Fred F. Sears, John Dehner, Clayton Moore and Smiley Burnette. The film was released on October 20, 1949, by Columbia Pictures. This was the forty-first of 65 films in the Durango Kid series.
