Gene Autry, legend of Western films and radio star, entered America’s living rooms with his television series, The Gene Autry Show. The beloved cowboy and his horse, Champion, made their home on CBS for six years running.

Autry was already well known as the ‘Singing Cowboy’ due to his recording and radio career. He played the same honest, upright man of the West in the TV show, always following his ‘cowboy code,’ a series of ten rules a cowboy should live by.

The format of the show had Autry assuming different roles every week: he could be a cowboy, a ranch hand, or a sheriff. He rode into town and put things right, defending the weak and doling out cowboy justice to any evildoers in the vicinity. Pat Buttram—later of Green Acres fame—played Gene’s sidekick for most of the episodes.

The show was very popular and allowed Autry to finance his own studio, Flying A Pictures, which took over production of The Gene Autry Show. The series even spawned two other shows: The Adventures of Champion featuring Autry brave horse and Annie Oakley about the legendary sharpshooter.