American performer, counted as one of the most important artists in the history of country music, Autry is the only person to be awarded stars in all five categories on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for film, television, music, radio, and live performance. From the early 1930's on, he gained fame as a singing cowboy on the radio, in movies, and on television. A member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Autry made 640 recordings, including over 300 songs written or co-written by himself. His records sold more than 100 million copies and he has more than a dozen gold and platinum records, including the first record ever certified gold. From 1934 to 1953, excluding 1943–45 while he served in the United States Army Air Corps., Autry appeared in 93 films and 91 episodes of The Gene Autry Show television series. He was also the original owner of Challenge Records, with other business ventures including ownership of a television station, several radio stations in Southern California, & the Los Angeles Angels Major League Baseball team from 1961 to 1997 (aka the California Angels / the Anaheim Angels).
[Born]: September 29, 1907, Tioga, Texas
[Died]: October 2, 1998, Studio City, California
