Established | 1967 |
---|---|
Dissolved | December 12, 2009 |
Location | Branson, Missouri |
Type | Western and American Indian |
The Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum was a museum in Branson, Missouri, focused on the careers of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, stars of radio, film and television. The museum was open from 1967 until 2009, at three locations in California and Missouri. [1]
Rogers took the idea of building a museum after visiting the Will Rogers Museum in 1938 and finding it with few heirlooms. Rogers decided to start a collection of his own materials and upon retirement in the 1960s put them on display. [2] Two prized and unique possessions of the museum were Trigger, Rogers' horse, and Bullet, Rogers' dog, in taxidermy. [3]
The Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum was established in its first location in Apple Valley, CA. In 1976 it relocated within California to Victorville, where it stayed for 27 years.
After Rogers's death in 1998, and Evans's in 2001, in 2003 the museum moved to Branson, Missouri, [4] where it stood for 6 years until it closed.
The museum struggled financially during an economic downturn, and the remaining family decided to close its doors on December 12, 2009.
The majority of the collection was sold in July 2010 for $2.9 million, [5] with Trigger and Bullet being purchased by a Nebraska-based TV network named RFD. [3] The Autry National Center acquired key artifacts including newspaper clippings, Rose Parade programs, Roy Rogers Show memorabilia, sheet music, and the rare plastic saddle he used on Trigger. [6]
Another significant item that sold in auction was Rogers’ 1964 Pontiac Bonneville for the price of $254,500. Artist Nudie Cohn, Rogers’ tailor, outfitted the car with silver dollars, chrome-plated pistols, horseshoes, miniature horses and rifles, many of which were functional parts of the car such as door handles, switches and controls. [7]
Orvon GroverAutry, nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a crooning style on radio, in films, and on television for more than three decades, beginning in the early 1930s. During that time, he personified the straight-shooting hero — honest, brave, and true.
Roy Rogers, nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, freemason and rodeo performer.
Dale Evans Rogers was an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She was the second wife of singing cowboy film star Roy Rogers.
Trigger was a 15.3 hands palomino horse made famous in American Western films with his owner and rider, cowboy star Roy Rogers.
Buttermilk was a buckskin Quarter Horse. He appeared in numerous Western films with his owner/rider, cowgirl star Dale Evans.
The Southwest Museum of the American Indian was a museum, library, and archive located in the Mt. Washington neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States, above the north-western bank of the Arroyo Seco canyon and stream. The museum was owned, and later absorbed by, the Autry Museum of the American West. Its collections dealt mainly with Native Americans. It also had an extensive collection of pre-Hispanic, Spanish colonial, Latino, and Western American art and artifacts.
Nuta Kotlyarenko, known professionally as Nudie Cohn, was a Ukrainian-American tailor who designed decorative rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as "Nudie Suits", and other elaborate outfits for some of the most famous celebrities of his era. He also became famous for his outrageous customized automobiles.
The Hollywood Christmas Parade is an annual American parade held on the Sunday after Thanksgiving in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It follows a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) route along Hollywood Boulevard, then back along Sunset Boulevard, featuring various celebrities.
Cowboy culture is the set of behaviors, preferences, and appearances associated with the attitudes, ethics, and history of the American cowboy. The term can describe the content or stylistic appearance of an artistic representation, often built on romanticized impressions of the wild west, or certain aspects of people's lifestyle, such as their choices in recreation, apparel, and western or southwestern cuisine.
Monte Hale was an American B-Western film star and country musician.
The Roy Rogers Show is an American Western television series starring Roy Rogers. 100 episodes were broadcast on NBC for six seasons between December 30, 1951, and June 9, 1957. The episodes were set in the prevailing times (1950s) in the style of a neo-Western, rather than the Old West. Various episodes are known to be in the public domain today, being featured in low-budget cable television channels and home video.
Twilight in the Sierras is a 1950 American Trucolor Western film directed by William Witney and starring Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger, along with Dale Evans, Estelita Rodriguez, and Pat Brady.
The phrase Wonder Horses refers to the equine companions of cowboy heroes in early Western films. What makes these horses different from others that have appeared on the silver screen is their rise from trusty steed to a genuine screen personality. A number of horses have enjoyed such fame, often receiving equal or second billing with their human costars.
Vernon Harold Timothy Spencer was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Spencer is best known for founding the popular American Cowboy singing group the Sons of the Pioneers in 1933 along with Bob Nolan and Roy Rogers.
High Noon is a retailer, and auction consulting company. They specialize in Western American art & antique Americana, including cowboy and American Indian artifacts and western art. The company is known for founding the High Noon Western Americana Auction and Antique Show in 1991, which is held every January at the Phoenix Mesa Marriott in Mesa, Arizona.
San Fernando Valley is a 1944 American Western film directed by John English and starring Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and Jean Porter. The film was part of the long-running series of Roy Rogers films produced by Republic Pictures.
The Roy Rogers Show was a 30-minute Western radio program in the United States. It began in 1944, ended in 1955, and was carried on more than 500 stations. Because of demands on Rogers' time for personal appearances and making films, the show was one of the first radio series to be transcribed.
Glenn H. Randall Sr. (1908-1992) was a professional horse trainer, best known for training the horse Trigger for the television series The Roy Rogers Show. He developed over 30 hand commands to which the palomino responded. Randall Sr. also trained Gene Autry's horse Champion the Wonder Horse.