Roy Rogers

Date of Birth

5 November 1911, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Date of Death

6 July 1998, Apple Valley, California, USA (

Birth Name

Leonard Franklin Slye

Roy Rogers (born Leonard Slye) moved to California in 1930, aged 18. He played in such musical groups as The Hollywood Hillbillies, Rocky Mountaineers, Texas Outlaws, and his own group, the International Cowboys. In 1934 he formed a group with Bob Nolan called Sons of the Pioneers. While in that group he was known as Leonard Slye, then Dick Weston. Their songs included "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds". They first appeared in the western Rhythm on the Range (1936), starring Bing Crosby and Martha Raye. In 1936 he appeared as a bandit opposite Gene Autry in "The Old Coral". In 1937 Rogers went solo from "The Sons Of The Pioneeres", and made his first starring film in 1938, Under Western Stars (1938). He made almost 100 films. "The Roy Rogers Show" (1951) ran on NBC from October 1951 through 1957 and on CBS from 1961 to September 1964. In 1955, 67 of his feature films were released to television.

His dog's name was Bullet and appeared in almost as many of his films as did Trigger.

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.

Nicknames: Roy Rogers "King of the Cowboys", Dale Evans "Queen of the West", Trigger "Smartest Horse in the Movies"

There is a Roy Rogers & Dale Evans Museum at Branson, Missouri.

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.

He had two children and 1 adopted daughter with Arlene Wilkins.

He and wife Dale Evans adopted four children, one of whom--Cheryl Rogers--later became an actress. One of his and Dale's daughters died in a bus wreck in Aug. 1964. One adopted son choked to death in Nov. 1965.

The little town of Portsmouth, Ohio (USA) also claims to be the hometown of Roy. They also have a little museum with mementoes and hoofprints of Trigger, handprints of Roy and Dusty in the sidewalk in front of the museum. Every year they had a Roy Rogers Day and Roy or Dusty would make an appearance.

Once received 78,852 fan letters in a single month.

Star of Mutual (1944-1951) and NBC Radio's (1951-1955) "The Roy Rogers Show."

His guest appearance on "Wonder Woman" (1975) in 1977 reflected his real life, as the character he played was a western man who had adopted several children. Roy's conservative side showed through, though, when he insisted to the show's producers that, in order for him to agree to do the episode, series star Lynda Carter needed to wear more clothing than the "bathing suit" type of costume she normally wore. Rogers won out and Carter wore a sleeved solid red top and white chino pants.

Inducted (with his wife Dale Evans) into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1976.

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.

Was a Master Mason. In other words, he a good man who became a member of the Masonic Fraternity.

Was a strong opponent of gun control, and once appeared in TV commercials put out by the National Rifle Association opposing a proposed ban outlawing certain types of guns in California.

Once lived next door to actor Val Kilmer (when Val was a child). When Roy moved, the Kilmers later moved into to his old ranch. Then, in 1999, Val led a Trigger lookalike on stage at the 1999 Academy Awards in honor of Roy Rogers.

Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 522-525. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

When Leonard Slye needed a "white hat" stage name, he chose to use the name of a dentist he had used during his childhood in Ohio. The dentist Roy Rogers had a son, grandson and great-grandson who also share his name.

Arline Wilkins, his second wife, died a few days after giving birth to their son, Roy Rogers Jr. (Dusty). She had complications from the cesarean--a blood clot formed, traveled to her brain and killed her. Dale Evans, his third wife, became his children's mom when Dusty was 15 months old. He and Arline had three children: two girls and Dusty.

Childhood home was on real estate that later included second base in Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium.

His adopted daughter is Little Doe Rogers.

Besides his most famous role as Roy Rogers himself, "King of the Cowboys", Roy may be one of the few actors, if not the most famous one, to have played three of the West's greatest legends: Wild Bill Hickok, William F. Cody (aka Buffalo Bill) and Jesse James. Also, in Billy the Kid Returns (1938), he played the slain gunslinger as well.

Profiled in "Back in the Saddle: Essays on Western Film and Television Actors", Gary Yoggy, ed. (McFarland, 1998).

Rogers was asked to run for Congress on the Republican ticket at one time. He replied, "I have both Democrat and Republican fans and I can't afford to lose any of them!".

He was awarded 3 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 1752 Vine Street; for Radio at 1733 Vine Street; and for Television at 1620 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.

The Sons of the Pioneers were awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6843 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Godfather of Robbie Lee.

Dale Evans

Date of Birth

31 October 1912, Uvalde, Texas, USA

Date of Death

7 February 2001, Apple Valley, California, USA

Birth Name

Frances Octavia Smith

American leading lady of musical westerns of the 1940s. Born Frances Octavia Smith in Uvalde, Texas. She was raised in Texas and Arkansas. Married at 14 and a mother at 15, she was divorced at 17 (some sources say widowed). Intent on a singing career, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and worked in an insurance company while taking occasional radio singing jobs. After another unhappy marriage, she went to Louisville, Kentucky, and became a popular singer on a local radio station. There she took the stage name Dale Evans (from her third husband, Robert Dale Butts, and actress Madge Evans). Divorced in 1936, she moved to Dallas, Texas, and again found local success as a radio singer. She married Butts and they moved to Chicago, where she began to attract increasing attention from both radio audiences and film industry executives. She signed with Fox Pictures and made a few small film appearances, then was cast as leading lady to rising cowboy star Roy Rogers. She and Rogers clicked and she became his steady on-screen companion. In 1946, Rogers' wife died and Evans' marriage to Butts ended about the same time. Rogers and Evans had been close onscreen in a string of successful westerns, and now became close off-screen as well. A year later she married Rogers and the two become icons of American pop culture. Their marriage was dogged by tragedy, including the loss of three children before adulthood, but Evans was able not only to find inspiration in the midst of tragedy but to provide inspiration as well, authoring several books on her life and spiritual growth through difficulty. She and Rogers starred during the 1950s on the popular TV program bearing his name, and even after retirement continued to make occasional appearances and to run their Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum in Victorville, California. Following Dale's death, the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum moved to Branson, Missouri.

On September 22 1996, Dale Evans was presented the Women in Film/Dallas' Legacy Award at the 10th Annual Topaz Awards in Dallas. The award was accepted by her daughter Cheryl Rogers-Barnett.

Her horse's name was Buttermilk. Wrote the song, "Happy Trails", which became her and Roy Rogers' theme song.

Hospitalised in October 1999 with heart problems.

12 October 1999 - Underwent heart surgery to replace a pacemaker battery.

Inducted (with her husband Roy Rogers) into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1976.

When she sent for a copy of her birth certificate in 1954, which she needed to get a passport, it read that her birth name was Lucille Wood Smith and that her birthday was Oct 30, 1912. However, her mother swears that they made a mistake and that her name was Frances Octavia Smith, with a birthdate of October 31, 1912.

She and husband Roy Rogers are the adoptive parents of Little Doe Rogers.

Wrote the spiritual, "The Bible Tells Me So.".

She was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio at 6638 Hollywood Boulevard and for Television at 1737 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.

Godmother of Robbie Lee.

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