Gene Autry (1907-1998) was the most successful of the so-called "singing cowboys," and the only entertainer to have all five stars – radio, recording, motion picture, television, and live performance (including rodeo) – on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In a career that spanned over 70 years, Autry appeared in 93 movies and 91 television productions (always as himself), and recorded hundreds of songs. From 1934 to 1953, Autry popularized the musical western in motion pictures, taking a break in 1942 to join the Army Air Corps – where he flew hazardous supply missions in the Asian theater of war as Sgt. Gene Autry – and resuming his movie career in 1946.

For more than sixty feature-length westerns in the 1930s and the early 1950s, comedy actor Smiley Burnette accompanied Autry as his lovable comic-relief sidekick Frog Millhouse. Autry’s main partner and sidekick, however, was his horse Champion, also known as the "World’s Wonder Horse." The name Champion in fact referred to a variety of trick horses over the years, all sorrel-colored geldings with a blaze and white stockings. The original Champion performed with Autry in the 1930s and died when Autry was in the service.

Besides movies, Autry also ventured into radio and television production: his weekly radio show, Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch, aired on CBS radio from 1940 to 1956, while half-hour episodes of The Gene Autry Show appeared on CBS Television between 1950 and 1955. In all of his shows and performances, Autry offered a combination of singing, comedy, and action-filled adventures suitable for young audiences.