*King of the Cowboys & Queen of the West*

* *

The *King of the Cowboys & Queen of the West*, Roy Rogers & Dale Evans have been one of the biggest infuences, in my entire life!! I feel, I HAVE to show my respect and admiration for them both, by havin' this special page on this website dedicated to & for them. "Rogers Family," don't worry, I'll add your photos and stories too!!

So I is a hopin' ya'll will enjoy their special page, as much as I am puttin' it together for ya'll & me!

*Wedding Day: December 31, 1947*
This on-screen team became an off-screen team on New Years Eve, 1947. They were married on the Flying L Ranch in Davis, Oklahoma, by the Reverend Dr. Bill Alexander. They had just completed filming *Home in Oklahoma*. The owner of the ranch, when he learned they were to be married, offered the ranch as a wedding site.

*Roy Rogers "King of the Cowboys" & Dale Evans "Queen of the West*
The United States has no king as head of state; but on rare occasions our culture provides a hero so great that the royal title fits: Elvis, King of Rock and Roll; Kitty Wells, Queen of Country Music; Babe Ruth, Sultan of Swat. In 1943 Republic Studios declared Roy Rogers King of the Cowboys. It was an audacious marketing ploy, but it worked. The tuneful sagebrush superstar from Duck Run, Ohio, fit the silver-saddle throne like no man before or since. As a movie buckaroo, he was the best there ever was: he shot the straightest and rode the fastest (on Trigger, "The Smartest Horse in the Movies") and yodeled the sweetest and strummed hypnotic sagebrush tunes about tumbling tumbleweeds on his guitar. He was invincible: when it came to fisticuffs, he could outbox any one man or any four, always fighting cleanly even if they did not. He was fabulously well-dressed in fringe and fancy leather, and he was a man who never seemed to need a shave. His partner in many of the movies he made was just about the prettiest cowgirl there ever was - Dale Evans, "Queen of the West." When Roy crinkled his eyes in a smile, girls fell in love and boys smiled right along with him. Children especially adored him because even though he was a grown-up, Roy Rogers seemed never to lose his boyish enthusiasm for life's adventures. At the peak of his career, from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s, he made as many as six pictures a year, which were seen annually by more than 80 million Americans - over half the population of the country. In 1950 there were more than two thousand Roy Rogers fan clubs around the globe; the one in London had fifty thousand members - the biggest such club then for anyone, anywhere on earth. In 1951 Roy Rogers moved to television and starred for six years on "The Roy Rogers Show" along with his wife, Dale Evans. They also created several long-running radio series that featured their singing duets and dramatic sketches, and they regularly rode in all the biggest parades and performed at all the grandest rodeos throughout the nation. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were simply the most popular cowboy and cowgirl the world has ever known. Their West was a magical American landscape full of promise and hope in which goodness was always rewarded and bad guys always got what they deserved. They reigned at a time when the cowboy ideal seemed to signify everything decent about a nation in which all things were possible if you were a good guy with a solid handshake and a sense of honor. They were, in the words of H. Allen Smith, "purity rampant" at a time when we Americans wanted heroes pure and yearned to believe that dreams come true. They fought fair and didn't swear or even grumble when the going got tough. The adventures they had were thrilling and fun and wholesome, filled with rollicking songs, mile-a-minute horse chases, and a dash of fresh romance (but not too much mushy stuff). Whatever trouble came along, you knew that Roy and Dale could handle it - with skill and certainty, good humor, and grace. The mythology known as pop culture doesn't make heroes like them anymore, which is why Roy and Dale have become American icons bigger than their fame as performers and celebrities. For many of us who grew up with them, they always felt so much more personal than other Hollywood royalty. In their fanciful movie and TV dramas, but also in the very real and sometimes tragic struggles of their private lives, they took their position as stars to heart and always tried to set a good example. They cared about the influence they had on all the little pardners in their thrall, and they weren't embarrassed to tell us so. Dale often liked to tell her own children as well as the rest of us, "Your life is the only Bible some people will ever read"; and for us youngsters who adored them, Roy and Dale truly were an inspiration of near-biblical significance. If our own parents weren't around to help or maybe sometimes didn't provide such good examples, the King of the Cowboys and the Queen of the West were there to show us how to live: how to make a slingshot from the prongs of a vining maple tree, how to shoot straight and ride smooth, how to be brave at times when we were scared, how to be decent human beings in the face of bushwhackers and bad guys. Some of us fell in love with him. A neighbor of ours who runs a Western wear and tack store recalls gathering around the TV with her three sisters to watch "The Roy Rogers Show" every Sunday evening at 6:30. "We sat as close to the television set as our parents allowed," she says. "And whenever Roy came on, we took turns jumping up to kiss the screen." She asks us, "Is he really as nice as he seems? Are they truly in love?" When we tell her that Roy and Dale in person today are as kind and bright and charming and plumb good as she remembers from forty years ago, she beams with delight, looking like a little girl with stars in her eyes. Another woman we know says that she liked Roy and Dale because of the relationship they had. "Dale sometimes told Roy off," our friend recalls with a wistful smile, "and he liked it! They liked each other so much; you could see that. Dale was my role model when I was growing up because she showed you could be a cowgirl with a fast horse and be pretty, too. I think the biggest thrill of my childhood was when my father took the whole family to the rodeo at Madison Square Garden. We didn't know it until we got there, but Roy Rogers was the headliner. He was there with Dale and his sidekick Pat Brady. They sang songs and put on a show, but what I remember most is the end of the performance when Roy went all the way around the edge of the tanbark, riding Trigger in a sidepass and reaching down to shake hands with the audience. We were in the tenth row, and it seemed like there were a thousand other boys and girls in front of me. As he pranced along and came closer, I bent forward and held my hand out as far and high as I could. Everyone was yelling - all my brothers and sisters and the other kids - but I swear he looked my way when he heard me call his name. He spurred Trigger to move closer so the horse's breast pressed against the stands. Roy stood in his stirrups, leaning forward and extending his right hand - I watched the fringe swinging from his gauntlet - and as he passed, I reached impossibly far above the crowd and into the air. His hand grabbed mine, he looked me in the eyes, and he said, 'Howdy, Pardner.' At that moment, I felt there was no one else in the arena but us, and all he cared about was me."...................................................................forward from Jane and Michael Stern's, "Happy Trails, Our Life Story"

*Roy & Dale:King and Queen Forever
The 1960s was not an easy time to be icons of truth, justice, and the American Way. Cowboy heroes and cowboy ideals were not merely out of style; they became a kind of joke to the counterculture, which was composed mostly of baby boomers who felt a little embarrassed about having grown up in a society with old-fashioned values and heroes who were good guys. Cowboy "heroes," such as they were, no longer upheld the Code of the West. Clint Eastwood as the scornful, unshaven "Man with No Name," Paul Newman and Robert Redford as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Sam Peckinpah's Wild Bunch were all cowboys who didn't give a fig for traditional principles of right and wrong. Many movie "cowboy" types, in contemporary films as well as historical dramas, were presented as trigger-happy lunatics, such as Dr. Strangelove's B-52 pilot Slim Pickens, who rides an A-bomb like a bucking bronco, or the bloodthirsty cavalry officers of Soldier Blue; and there was Paul Newman's Hud, whose lethargy and nihilism was supposed to symbolize the utter death of the West. Perhaps the ultimate cowboy joke of the decade was the pitiful loser played by Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy-the man of the West as a caricature, a hapless hick. John Wayne finally won an oscar in 1969, for True Grit, but it was for playing Rooster Cogburn, a burlesque of all the heroes he had played in decades past. Despite 1960s cynicism and its iconoclastic legacy, America's cowboy has proven to be one tough hombre. Even though Westerns were pronounced dead once and for all in 1980 after "Heaven's Gate" laid the most expensive egg in boxoffice history, we Americans have returned once again to the values of the West to renew our souls. Ten years after the "Heaven's Gate" death knell was sounded, Kevin Costner made Dances with Wolves. This epic fantasy about a cavalry officer ennobled by his sabbatical with the Sioux corraled gigantic audiences and won a fistful of Academy Awards. The triumph of Dances with Wolves wasn't completely out of the blue; the year before, the miniseries made from Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove had garnered big television ratings for what was a grand-scale, old fashioned cattle-drive epic complete with a thundering stampede, a bloodthirsty Indian out for white men's scalps, a pretty blond whore with a heart of gold, and Texas Ranger heroes who could ride, rope, shoot, fight, and philosophize as well as any pop-culture cowboy ever did. By 1990, it seemed that Americans were eager once again to embrace the values of the West. BMWs were traded in on pickup trucks, Rolexes gave way to Wranglers, cowboy boots appeared on feet once shod only by Gucci, and the fashionable address became Montana rather than the Hamptons. Cowboy cool has gained ever more momentum in the 1990s as an antidote to the rampant sleaze of pop culture and the hypocrisy of so many public figures in politics as well as pop culture. Consider America's cowboy hero: you'll never see him ranting about his problems to Oprah or Geraldo; nor will you see him waiting in line at the Motor Vehicle Bureau or filling out a medical insurance claim form. In the movie West of Hollywood's imagination, there are no corporate committees who decide when to saddle up, no accountants prescribing proper amounts of hay for the horses, no middle-management bureaucrats putting up gates and fences, and little in the way of meddling government to obstruct a buckaroo with a job to do. If a cowboy hero kisses a girl who doesn't like him, she knows how to slap him with her hand instead of with a sexual harassment suit. Is it any wonder Roy Rogers and Dale Evans are popular all over again? Never forgotton by their true fans, the King of the Cowboys and the Queen of the West have come to symbolize a dearly remembered era when pop culture was clean and decent and you got to be a celebrity because you were a good guy. Modern Nashville royalty including Clint Black, K.T. Oslin, and Randy Travis idolize Roy and Dale as the parents of country music; in 1991 twelve current country stars joined in duets with Roy on an album called Tribute, which climaxed with them all singing "Happy Trails." The album inspired a TV special in which Roy sang with the top names in Nashville today. Roy Roger's imprimatur is golden once again, and you can buy everything from a replica of Roy's first gun holster set, to Roy Rogers chocolate candy for your sweetheart. One of the most popular of all souvenirs at the family museum in Victorville, California, is a sheet with all the rules of the Roy Rogers Riders Club written on it. For many Americans who yearn to return to a sense of moral balance missing now from public life, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans represent the best of the West-its ideals. If you were lucky enough to go to the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum and met them in person you were not dissapointed He never aged; he would radiate the rapture and eternal optimism of an all-American boy. If ya had asked him about Trigger or bowling or fishing or his kids, or most certainly about his life with Dale, and you would have seen his famous eyes crease into slits of happiness and an impish grin erase the decades that had stiffened his knees and dimmed his hearing. And when you walked through the museum, you, too, would be transported back to a time when America was a nicer place. You would have stroll past the momentos of the lives and careers of the King of the Cowboys and Queen of the West, and you were in a land where every police officer was helpful, where all polite men wore hats-and take them off when the flag passed by-and where children lived a charmed life separate and apart from the grim problems of adults. For those of us who grew up in that wonderful imagined America, Roy and Dale are King and Queen forever. -J. & M. S.

*Rogers Riders Club Rules*
1. Be neat and clean. 2. Be courteous and polite. 3. Always obey your parents. 4. Protect the weak and help them. 5. Be brave but never take chances. 6. Study hard and learn all you can. 7. Be kind to animals and take care of them. 8. Eat all your food and never waste any. 9. Love God and go to Sunday school regularly. 10. Always respect our flag and our country.

*Our RR/DE Fan Message Board, Name Tag*
Our personal Official RR/DE Fan Message Board Name Tags, for when we attend Roy Rogers & Dale Evans functions.I proudly will tell ya'll that I created them. I think they're sorta spify lookin', if I do say so myself!

*Dale Evans, Queen of the West*
Dale was born Frances Octavia Smith, October 31, 1912 in Uvalde, Texasa place of birth that would be quite significant later in her career. At age fourteen, Dale eloped with her high school sweetheart. A year later, she found herself in Memphis, Tennessee a single parent, pursuing a career in a field she had always lovedmusic! She landed a job with local radio stations (WMC and WREC, for all you trivia buffs) singing and playing piano. A brief stint at radio station WHAS as staff singer proved a landmark event as it was here she became Dale Evans. Initially, she used her married name; Frances Fox then changed to Marian Lee. Marian Lee was rather like a "Nom de Song" used by young singers just getting started. The station manager, a man by the name of Joe Eaton, thought the name trite and trendy. He informed her that he was changing her name to Dale. She protested that this was a boys name but he told her of a beautiful actress of the silent film era whom he had admired named Dale Winter. He wanted her to have the name in honor of her. The surname, Evans, came about as Joe Eaton felt it was "euphonious" and would roll easily from the lips of announcers. As Dale Evans, she ultimately reached Chicago, home of great music and talented bands. She became a vocalist with a number of different "big bands" and was featured soloist in such notable hotels as the Blackstone (Balinese Room), the Sherman (Panther Room, along with jazz legend, Fats Waller), the Drake (Camellia Room) and the Chez Paree Supper Club. Anson Weeks hired her as vocalist for his orchestra just as they began a major tour to the West Coast. After a two-month stand at The Coconut Grove, Dale left the Orchestra and returned to Chicago where she was hired as staff singer for radio station WBBM, the local CBS affiliate. Talent scouts from Paramount Studios discovered her and arranged a screen. test in Hollywood for the movie, Holiday Inn, starring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby. Dales dancing wasnt quite up to Astaires, so she didnt get the part. Her agent, however, showed her screen test to 20th Century Fox studios where she received a one-year contract. This resulted in only small parts in two pictures, Orchestra Wives and Girl Trouble. Dale then signed with the top ranked Chase and Sanborn Show which was broadcast nationwide. Featured as regulars with Dale were Don Ameche, Jimmy Durante, Edgar Bergen (Candice Bergens father) and Charlie McCarthy. Weekly guests read like a Whos Who of the entertainment industry. This exposure caused Republic Studios to sign her to a one-picture contract (Swing Your Partner) with a one-year option. The option was exercised and she was cast in several contemporary movies and one John Wayne western in which her singing was featured. Herbert Yates, head of Republic Studios was inspired by the successful stage play, Oklahoma, and decided to expand the female lead in westerns and adopt this format for one of his biggest stars, Roy Rogers. Dale, he reasoned, had a large following and reputation as a singer and, being from Texas, could surely ride n rope. His reasoning proved correct on the former but somewhat suspect on the latter. Nevertheless, history was made and destiny seemingly fulfilled in 1944 with release of The Cowboy and The Senoritathe first of 28 films they would make together. This on-screen team became an off-screen team on New Years Eve, 1947. They were married on the Flying L Ranch in Davis, Oklahoma, where they had just completed filming Home in Oklahoma. The owner of the ranch, when he learned they were to be married, offered the ranch as a wedding site. An instant family was formed. Dale had her son, Tom, and Roy had an adopted daughter, Cheryl, and birth children Linda Lou and Roy Rogers, Jr., "Dusty", from his first wife, Arline, who had died after Dustys birth. Roy and Dale had one child together, Robin, whose death from complications associated with Downs syndrome inspired Dales classic book, Angel Unaware. The family swelled with the addition of Mary Little Doe (Dodie), of Native American heritage: John David (Sandy), a battered child from an orphanage in Kentucky; Marion (Mimi), their foster child from Scotland; and Debbie, a Korean War orphan whose father was a G.I. of Puerto Rican ancestry. The family lost three of the children tragically: Robin (as mentioned above), Debbie, in a church bus accident when she was twelve, and Sandy of an accidental death while serving with the military in Germany. In 1950, Roy and Dale developed their own production company and began producing their halt-hour television series, The Roy Rogers Show, that ran until 1957. These episodes have been translated into every major language and, at any given time, are likely being shown somewhere in the world. The same is true of their movies. They have set appearance records in virtually every major arena in the world, including Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Houston Fat Stock Show, Los Angeles Coliseum, Chicago Stadium, Harringay Arena in London, Torontos Canadian National Exhibition, and many state fairs and rodeos. Among the many honors of which Dale was most proud are: California Mother of the Year (1967); The Texas Press Associations Texan of the Year (1970); Cowgirl Hall of Fame (1995); Cardinal Terrence Cook Humanities Award (1995); and her three stars on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. Full retirement proved an elusive concept for Dale, as she and Roy were as visible as ever, despite accepting only an extremely limited number of engagements. Dale continued as a best selling author and always seemed to have at least one book in development. There was also her weekly television show A Date With Dale for Trinity Broadcast Network. It, too, was translated into all the major languages and shown worldwide. And then there is The Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum in Victorville, California which vividly chronicled their lives, and the values and ethics that represent the basis of their worldwide appeal. Her "quality time" was spent as matriarch to a small nation of sixteen grandchildren, 30+ great-grandchildren.

*Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys*
Roy Rogers Biography (By Joel Dortch) The name Roy Rogers personifies the values, tradition and spirit that are at the heart of our rich American Heritage. His name is synonymous with integrity, honesty, quality and family values. He was a superstar who consistently delivered a wholesome brand of honest entertainment suitable for the entire family. What made him unique among those who have achieved great renown and popularity, was that there was no difference between the screen persona and Roy Rogers, the man. In fact, in all but a few of his early films, Roy played himself, not a character or a role. He was the same man off the screen as on. Roy Rogers was a Christian, who was not ashamed to boldly witness for his Lord. At the top of his career in 1950, he and Dale made a decision to include a religious song in each of their many live performances. They made this momentous decision after all their advisers counseled against it. When threatened with the cancellation of their lucrative contract at the huge Madison Square Garden World Championship Rodeo, if they didnt delete the religious segment from their show, Roy stood firm for what he believed was right. While he would have been disappointed, he was fully prepared to walk away if necessary rather than compromise his beliefs. Eventually management relented, and Roy and Dale enjoyed one of the most successful engagements and largest grosses in the history of the Garden. In later years, Roy and Dale appeared many times with Billy Graham in Crusades all over the country, singing gospel songs and giving their testimony. Dale has written more than 20 books including many best sellers. Most of them are of a religious nature. She also has hosted a long running television show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and Roy appeared on the show with her many times. Roy was a loving husband and proud father of nine children, with 15 grandchildren, and 33 great-grandchildren. He and Dale truly had an International family, adopting Dodie, an American Indian girl, Debbie, a Korean American girl, and Sandy, a little boy from Kentucky, who had been severely abused. Marion , a foster daughter from Scotland, came to live with them as a teenager. Roy and Dale loved children and spent a lifetime devoted to children and childrens charities, including the Happy Trails Childrens Foundation for severely abused and neglected children. Through the years, they made hundreds of visits to childrens hospitals and orphanages all over the country. Roy made many long-distance phone calls at his own expense to sick and dying children. He was not a stranger to sorrow and tragedy. He lost his first wife, Arlene, one week after Dusty was born, leaving him with an infant and two small girls, Cheryl and Linda. He and Dale lost their only biological child, Robin, who was buried on her second birthday. Debbie, their adopted Korean American daughter, died in a church bus crash when she was twelve years old and Sandy, their little Rebel from Kentucky, died while serving in the Army in Germany. Roy was a patriot who loved his flag and country. He sold millions of dollars worth of War Bonds during World War II and made numerous USO tours of military bases with Trigger, performing for the men and women in uniform. During one record setting tour of Texas bases, Roy and Trigger made 136 performances in just 20 days! Years later he made a tour of Vietnam, to cheer up the troops fighting there. Roy was a firm believer in our 2nd Amendment Rights, and in fact appeared in TV commercials as an NRA spokesman, opposing a proposed gun ban in California. He was an outstanding citizen and was asked to run for Congress on the Republican ticket at one time. His reply, I have both Democrat and Republican fans and I cant afford to lose any of them! Even though he was the King of the Cowboys, Roy never forgot his humble beginnings in Duck Run, Ohio, as Leonard Slye. A farm boy, active in 4-H, he originally wanted to be a Dentist or Physician, so he could help people and fix their physical problems. But that was not meant to be. He dropped out of high school after two years, to go to work in a shoe factory beside his dad, to help bolster the family income. The family made a trip to California in 1930 to visit Roys older sister. After returning to Ohio, he got to the point where he couldnt stand the inside of the shoe factory so he returned to California and took jobs driving dump trucks and picking peaches. The one bright spot in his life was always music. Roy had an excellent singing voice and his films featured some of the most popular songs of all time and his movies only made them more popular. He began singing with various country and western groups, eventually forming the Pioneer Trio with Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer. They developed a unique style of close harmony with a distinctive sound and soon became very popular on the radio and in concerts in Southern California. With the addition of fiddle player Hugh Farr, they became known as the Sons of the Pioneers, when a radio announcer thought they looked too young to be Pioneers. As their popularity increased, they received offers to appear in movies with Gene Autry, Dick Foran, Bing Crosby, and Charles Starrett. Roy auditioned for the role of a singing cowboy at Universal but lost out to a young man named Leland Weed, who starred briefly in B-Westerns as Bob Baker. Later, he heard that Republic was searching for a new singing cowboy star, to give their own Gene Autry some competition. Roy sneaked into the studio and ran into Sol Siegel, who remembered him from his appearances in the Autry films. Siegel arranged an audition and young Slye, then 26, was soon signed to a contract for $75.00 per week. Roy never had an acting or singing lesson, but he worked hard at becoming the best singing cowboy he could possibly be. He rented a horse and spent many hours in the saddle, learning how to make himself look like he was born on the range. He got a pair of six-shooters and practiced everything there was to know about handling a gun - twirling, spinning, shooting, and practicing his fast draw. Roys first starring film was released in 1938, Under Western Stars, which became an instant hit. From 1943 through 1954, (the last year the survey was made,) Roy was the number one ranked Cowboy Star, based on box office receipts. For a few years, he ranked in the top ten for all movie stars! His career was unparalleled by virtually any other entertainer. In addition to his movies being number one, his television shows were among the highest rated of their time, his records topped the charts, he set personal appearance attendance records and he was a one man industry with his name and likeness on hundreds of products from cookies to toys to clothing. Roys films were based on a formula that included action, romance, and comedy, they had something for everyone. His pictures contained some of the most innovative action sequences ever recorded on film, a testament to the skilled directors, cameramen, stuntmen, and special effects people at Republic. They were the best in the business and they took a lot of pride in their work. None of the major studios at that time could even come close to capturing on film the exciting action that was a part of every Rogers film. The musical production numbers in some of his films rivaled those of MGM. If they had been filmed in Technicolor, they would have indeed been spectacular. In 1944, after a string of leading ladies that included some of the most beautiful young actresses in Hollywood, Dale Evans joined Roy in The Cowboy and the Senorita. Together, they starred in 28 films. Roy and Trigger, along with Dale Evans, Gabby Hayes, and the Sons of the Pioneers, formed one of the greatest movie teams of all time! Roys screenplays were well written and always had a moral lesson for the legions of boys and girls who saw his films. Off screen, Roy lived by the same high standards and moral life he portrayed on screen. He had a more positive influence on the lives of boys and girls growing up in America in the 40s and 50s than any other single individual. Roy Rogers was one of the most loved, respected and honored men of this century. Roy was a man of many talents and interests and he had the time and money to pursue his varied interests. He was an outstanding athlete. Making westerns is a physically demanding job, and Roy performed many of his own stunts. He had superior hand/eye coordination and was an excellent marksman, with handguns, rifles, shotguns, bow and arrow, and even a slingshot. He became a superb horseman, perhaps the best of all the leading men in Hollywood, and he had the good fortune to own and ride the greatest horse to ever appear in motion pictures, Trigger. He was a rancher, horse breeder and trainer. He was a sportsman, outdoorsman, hunter and fisherman. He was an avid bowler and an occasional golfer. Roy was a motorcycle riding, speedboat racer. He was a successful businessman and entrepreneur, restauranteur, and real estate developer. He was a philosopher, philanthropist and raconteur. He had a way with animals and told this writer that he owned 37 coon dogs when he and Dale got married. He even raised and raced racing pigeons at one time. Roy was a 33rd Degree Mason and a true friend of everyone. He was an honorary Life Member of the Single Action Shooting Society and a major supporter of the fast growing sport of Cowboy Action Shooting. He was a genuine legend in his own time and he will be missed by all of us who follow the Code of the West - the Cowboy Way!

* Roy, Dale, & Dusty *
A great picture of Roy, Dale and Dusty!Roy "Dusty" Rogers, along with the entire Rogers Family; they strive to keep "The Rogers Legacy" alive and well! They all take part, to keep the lives of their famous parents and grandparents alive!

** King Of The Cowboys **
Here are the words to **King Of The Cowboys.** This is Dusty's Tribute, to his dad,~~~~~~~~~~*The King of the Cowboys*~~~~~~~~~~ He's rode across your silver screens, for over fifty years; He's brought bad men to justice, he's seen laughter and he's seen tears; And I know forever, in many hearts he'll rein; as the *King Of The Cowboys,* there is honor to his name; He's a kind and gentle legend; a hero, is his fame; Showin' young folks to see the right from wrong, and he's taught me, very same; And I know forever, in many hearts he'll rein; as the *King Of The Cowboys,* there is magic in his name; He's the *King If The Cowboys,* a legend in his time; A man who loves his country, where he will always ride; Saddled up on his golden palamino, with a six gun by each side; And his boots and spurs and his white hat; Rides a man, with alot of pride; And I know forever, in many hearts he'll rein; as the *King Of The Cowboys,* there is honor to his name; -------- He's the *King Of The Cowboys,* a legend in his time; A man who loves his country, where he will always ride; Riding off into the sunset, in a western sky of blue; He has given us precious mem'ries, and Happy Trails for me and you.

*God...Family...Country*
GodFamilyCountry By Joel Dutch Dortch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Legendary singing cowboy Roy Rogers, star of radio, film, television and personal appearances, and hero to millions of fans from the Saturday matinee era throughout the television era, passed away at his home in Apple Valley, CA, peacefully in his sleep in the early morning hours of July 6, 1998. Many of his family members were present at the time, including his wife Dale. Roy was 86 and had suffered a number of health setbacks during the past few years including congestive heart failure. In recent months, he had been in and out of the hospital numerous times. Roy Rogers was a wonderful human being, stated Dale Evans. What a blessing to have shared my life together with him for almost 51 years. To say I will miss him is a gross understatement. He was truly the King of the Cowboys in my life. He loved his God, his family and his country. He was a real hero to thousands of people and thank you God, for the years we had together. The name Roy Rogers personifies the values, tradition and spirit that are at the heart of our rich American Heritage. His name is synonymous with integrity, honesty, quality and family values. He was a superstar who consistently delivered a wholesome brand of honest entertainment suitable for the entire family. What made him unique among those who have achieved great renown and popularity, was that there was no difference between the screen persona and Roy Rogers, the man. In fact, in all but a few of his early films, Roy played himself, not a character or a role. He was the same man off the screen as on. Roy Rogers was a Christian, who was not ashamed to boldly witness for his Lord. At the top of his career in 1950, he and Dale made a decision to include a religious song in each of their many live performances. They made this momentous decision after all their advisers counseled against it. When threatened with the cancellation of their lucrative contract at the huge Madison Square Garden World Championship Rodeo, if they didnt delete the religious segment from their show, Roy stood firm for what he believed was right. While he would have been disappointed, he was fully prepared to walk away if necessary rather than compromise his beliefs. Eventually management relented, and Roy and Dale enjoyed one of the most successful engagements and largest grosses in the history of the Garden. In later years, Roy and Dale appeared many times with Billy Graham in Crusades all over the country, singing gospel songs and giving their testimony. Dale has written more than 20 books including many best sellers. Most of them are of a religious nature. She also has hosted a long running television show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and Roy appeared on the show with her many times. Roy was a loving husband and proud father of nine children, with 15 grandchildren, and 33 great-grandchildren. He and Dale truly had an International family, adopting Dodie, an American Indian girl, Debbie, a Korean American girl, and Sandy, a little boy from Kentucky, who had been severely abused. Marion , a foster daughter from Scotland, came to live with them as a teenager. Roy and Dale loved children and spent a lifetime devoted to children and childrens charities, including the Happy Trails Childrens Foundation for severely abused and neglected children. Through the years, they made hundreds of visits to childrens hospitals and orphanages all over the country. Roy made many long-distance phone calls at his own expense to sick and dying children. He was not a stranger to sorrow and tragedy. He lost his first wife, Arlene, one week after Dusty was born, leaving him with an infant and two small girls, Cheryl and Linda. He and Dale lost their only biological child, Robin, who was buried on her second birthday. Debbie, their adopted Korean American daughter, died in a church bus crash when she was twelve years old and Sandy, their little Rebel from Kentucky, died while serving in the Army in Germany. Roy was a patriot who loved his flag and country. He sold millions of dollars worth of War Bonds during World War II and made numerous USO tours of military bases with Trigger, performing for the men and women in uniform. During one record setting tour of Texas bases, Roy and Trigger made 136 performances in just 20 days! Years later he made a tour of Vietnam, to cheer up the troops fighting there. Roy was a firm believer in our 2nd Amendment Rights, and in fact appeared in TV commercials as an NRA spokesman, opposing a proposed gun ban in California. He was an outstanding citizen and was asked to run for Congress on the Republican ticket at one time. His reply, I have both Democrat and Republican fans and I cant afford to lose any of them! Even though he was the King of the Cowboys, Roy never forgot his humble beginnings in Duck Run, Ohio, as Leonard Slye. A farm boy, active in 4-H, he originally wanted to be a Dentist or Physician, so he could help people and fix their physical problems. But that was not meant to be. He dropped out of high school after two years, to go to work in a shoe factory beside his dad, to help bolster the family income. The family made a trip to California in 1930 to visit Roys older sister. After returning to Ohio, he got to the point where he couldnt stand the inside of the shoe factory so he returned to California and took jobs driving dump trucks and picking peaches. The one bright spot in his life was always music. Roy had an excellent singing voice and his films featured some of the most popular songs of all time and his movies only made them more popular. He began singing with various country and western groups, eventually forming the Pioneer Trio with Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer. They developed a unique style of close harmony with a distinctive sound and soon became very popular on the radio and in concerts in Southern California. With the addition of fiddle player Hugh Farr, they became known as the Sons of the Pioneers, when a radio announcer thought they looked too young to be Pioneers. As their popularity increased, they received offers to appear in movies with Gene Autry, Dick Foran, Bing Crosby, and Charles Starrett. Roy auditioned for the role of a singing cowboy at Universal but lost out to a young man named Leland Weed, who starred briefly in B-Westerns as Bob Baker. Later, he heard that Republic was searching for a new singing cowboy star, to give their own Gene Autry some competition. Roy sneaked into the studio and ran into Sol Siegel, who remembered him from his appearances in the Autry films. Siegel arranged an audition and young Slye, then 26, was soon signed to a contract for $75.00 per week. Roy never had an acting or singing lesson, but he worked hard at becoming the best singing cowboy he could possibly be. He rented a horse and spent many hours in the saddle, learning how to make himself look like he was born on the range. He got a pair of six-shooters and practiced everything there was to know about handling a gun - twirling, spinning, shooting, and practicing his fast draw. Roys first starring film was released in 1938, Under Western Stars, which became an instant hit. From 1943 through 1954, (the last year the survey was made,) Roy was the number one ranked Cowboy Star, based on box office receipts. For a few years, he ranked in the top ten for all movie stars! His career was unparalleled by virtually any other entertainer. In addition to his movies being number one, his television shows were among the highest rated of their time, his records topped the charts, he set personal appearance attendance records and he was a one man industry with his name and likeness on hundreds of products from cookies to toys to clothing. Roys films were based on a formula that included action, romance, and comedy, they had something for everyone. His pictures contained some of the most innovative action sequences ever recorded on film, a testament to the skilled directors, cameramen, stuntmen, and special effects people at Republic. They were the best in the business and they took a lot of pride in their work. None of the major studios at that time could even come close to capturing on film the exciting action that was a part of every Rogers film. The musical production numbers in some of his films rivaled those of MGM. If they had been filmed in Technicolor, they would have indeed been spectacular. In 1944, after a string of leading ladies that included some of the most beautiful young actresses in Hollywood, Dale Evans joined Roy in The Cowboy and the Senorita. Together, they starred in 28 films. Roy and Trigger, along with Dale Evans, Gabby Hayes, and the Sons of the Pioneers, formed one of the greatest movie teams of all time! Roys screenplays were well written and always had a moral lesson for the legions of boys and girls who saw his films. Off screen, Roy lived by the same high standards and moral life he portrayed on screen. He had a more positive influence on the lives of boys and girls growing up in America in the 40s and 50s than any other single individual. Roy Rogers was one of the most loved, respected and honored men of this century. Roy was a man of many talents and interests and he had the time and money to pursue his varied interests. He was an outstanding athlete. Making westerns is a physically demanding job, and Roy performed many of his own stunts. He had superior hand/eye coordination and was an excellent marksman, with handguns, rifles, shotguns, bow and arrow, and even a slingshot. He became a superb horseman, perhaps the best of all the leading men in Hollywood, and he had the good fortune to own and ride the greatest horse to ever appear in motion pictures, Trigger. He was a rancher, horse breeder and trainer. He was a sportsman, outdoorsman, hunter and fisherman. He was an avid bowler and an occasional golfer. Roy was a motorcycle riding, speedboat racer. He was a successful businessman and entrepreneur, restauranteur, and real estate developer. He was a philosopher, philanthropist and raconteur. He had a way with animals and told this writer that he owned 37 coon dogs when he and Dale got married. He even raised and raced racing pigeons at one time. Roy was a 33rd Degree Mason and a true friend of everyone. He was an honorary Life Member of the Single Action Shooting Society and a major supporter of the fast growing sport of Cowboy Action Shooting. He was a genuine legend in his own time and he will be missed by all of us who follow the Code of the West - the Cowboy Way! Happy Trails Roy, Goodbye. Good luck, and may the Good Lord take a likin to you!

*Roy Rogers Jr.*
Roy Rogers Jr. Roy Rogers Jr. (better know as Dusty), was born on October 28,1946. He is the eldest natural son of famed western stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Dusty grew up with his 5 sisters and 1 brother in the San Fernando Valley. Dusty moved to Middlefield, Ohio to work at a friends grocery store. While living in Middlefield, he met and married Linda Yoder (1967). After living in Ohio for a few years they moved back to California, and are currently living in Apple Valley, CA. They are the proud parents of 2 daughters, Shawna and Kelly, and 1 son, Dustin. They are also the proud grandparents of Bryce, Kyle, Alyssa and Kelsey. Dusty's first professional taste was a small part in his fathers TV series, The Roy Rogers Show on NBC, while he was very small. At the early age of 18, Dusty appeared in his first movie with a religious theme entitled To Forgive a Thief. He also appeared in a film for Paramount Pictures-Arizona Bushwackers. In the early 1970s, Dusty starred in his own television variety show, The Roy Rogers Jr. Show. This was on WEWS, Channel 5 in Cleveland, Ohio. Dusty was also a disc jockey on Station WBKC in Chardon, Ohio. He has recorded for Chart Records in Nashville; Vistone Records in Los Angeles; RCA Records in Nashville; and Teletex Records in Texas. His last two projects have been recorded in his own studios located in the Roy Rogers Dale Evans museum, and in Apple Valley, CA. Currently Roy Rogers Jr. and his band The High Riders, are working on their 3rd CD, Wafaring Stranger. This is a dedication to the late Dale Evans as Wafaring Stranger was one of her most loved songs. Roy Rogers Jr. and The High Riders have performed a western show with several of the songs made famous by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers, for over 20 years now! Dusty has captivated audiences all over the country with beautiful renditions of western songs and humorous stories about growing up with the famous couple, that only he can tell! Performing in Branson, MO., Kentucky, Iowa, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and more, the band stays very busy all year round. TELEPHONE ORDERS & CUSTOMER SERVICE BY ASKLAND TECHNOLOGIES, INC - Privacy Policy and Use - Country and Western Music CONTACT INFORMATION © 1999 Askland Technologies, Inc - Design and Hosting by Imagination Web - Featured at Human Soup Western logo by Heartland - Internet Marketing by Search Engine Monkeys - Country and Western music at Road Records

*For The Good Of The Country*
Written By: Roy "Dusty" Rogers................ The Death Tax, lets call it what it really is! You dont have to pay it until youre dead. Then you dont have to deal with ityour children do. While you are still on this good earth, your struggle with whatever life deals you. You might be born into unfortunate circumstances. Your dad only has part time work and takes any odd jobs to help support the family. Your mom is crippled with polio, but cant afford a leg-brace to help her walk better. Your family (Mom, Dad, two sisters and you) shares your blind uncles cramped houseboat on a river that is constantly floodingyou occasionally go to sleep in one town and wake up in another. Each time the houseboat finds high ground you start your lives over again. What little money your dad does make is taxed to pay for World War I but he doesnt mind, it's "for the good of the country." And little Leonard Slye is taught to be thankful to live in America rather than Germany and Scotland where his ancestors had come from. Things seem to be going along okay, when the river floods and youre off to places unknown again. Your Dad finally scrapes enough money together to buy a small farm in a little community away from the river. The only problem, its too far from the town where hes finally gotten a job in a factory for him to come home more often than every other weekendyoure suddenly the "man" of the family at seven. As you get a little older, you start a real job in town and both of your paychecks reflect the taxes you pay "for the good of the country." Finally, the war debt is paid off, but then the depression sets in. The shoe factory jobs disappear but you have managed to save $90 between you, so you and your father join your oldest sister in California where you hear there is still some work. When you finally reach the Promised Land, you find everyone else had the same idea as you. You end up in an itinerant camp picking peaches for 5¢ a lug. Sitting around the campfires at night, you polish the musical skills (mandolin and fiddle) you learned as a boy on the farmplus you learn how to play a guitar, harmonica and Jews harp. Its hard work, picking crops in the heat of Southern California, but the farmers feed the work crews, so youre happy because you have a full belly, but you worry about your Mom and sisters left in Ohio. You finally get a job driving a sand and gravel truck, a truck that you load yourself with a scoop shovel and drive from the beach to the new Los Angeles Airport. It is hard backbreaking work, but you are thankful just to have a job that pays money. You and your Dad drive back to Ohio to bring the women to California. You are now in your early-twenties. To this point in your life you have not been able to save anything for your future. You are too busy trying to surviveto save is out of the question. However, you do manage to put a little aside for that pocketknife you want to give your dad for his birthday or the new apron for your mom. Your guitar playing is constantly improving, your singing voice is pretty good and, boy, can you yodel! Your fellow pickers in the camps and the guys at the sand and gravel company are encouraging. Plus your older sister is downright pushy. She wants you to try out for a talent show on a local radio stationthere is a small cash prize each weeks winner. You try it, you win and you get your prize money! "What good luck!" Someone heard you sing on that live broadcast and they want you to join their singing group. There are six guys and while the pay is not much, its a start and a chance to better yourself. Your first gig is playing at a high school dance. You all get to split $13.00 in cash and the money is "for the good of the family". Your new "career" progresses slowly. Youre working on three or four different radio shows, each with a different group of guys, each time splitting the $13.00 between five or six guys. You finally decide to form your own group. Just two of you to start with, that way there would be more money between you. You add another singer to form The Pioneer Trio, then a fiddle player because you want to be more professional and have a bigger sound. Bigger and better sound, means bigger and better jobs. The Sons of the Pioneers are now playing "paying" gigs on the local radio stations from midnight to 6 a.m. Weird hours but decent money. The group gets a call from a major motion picture studio to back some singing cowboys. You sign a contract for more money per picture than you have ever seena few hundred a picture, two or three pictures a year, split between the six of you and youre still working on radio and going on tour. You were married in 1936 and you want to start a family, but money is tight and touring with the group takes you away from home. Suddenly you learn that another studio is looking for a new cowboy hero. Through a stroke of good luck, you walk onto the lot, get an audition and you land the job. At the stroke of a pen, you sign a contract, get a new name (Roy Rogers) and $75 a week! More money than you could ever believe. Wow!!! $75 a week! In 1938 that was a whole lot of money. Your first picture is named the best Western of 1938 and is the #1 Western in box-office receipts that year. However, you are a contract player and, no matter how much money you make for the studio, you still only get $75 per week for the seven years of your contract. But its every week, you can finally support your family and you cannot believe your luck. Being successful brings new problems. Your popularity with the fans is so great that you are receiving 600,000 pieces of mail a month but youre not making enough money to pay the postage it takes to answer all of your fan mail. You ask the studio for helpthey just laugh at you and say, "How much can all those kids matter?" You get upset and dump a months worth of fan letters on the lawn in front of the office of the head of the studio but still, no help. When the United States finds itself embroiled in another World War, you want to do your duty, so you go to enlist. They are not taking anyone over thirty with kids, you are thirty-two and have two daughters. You ask yourself how you can help your country in this time of great peril. The government provides an answer; "Because you are so popular with your fans and they trust you, why dont you go on the road and sell War and Savings Bonds to help raise the money it will take to defeat our enemy? Tell people how great our wonderful country is, how much you love Uncle Sam and that they should do everything they can to support the boys who are fighting to keep our country free." So you do what your country asks of you and you sell millions of dollars in bonds over the next couple of years. You also appear at Army, Navy and Marine bases around the country and the USO to help keep morale high. You dont get paid anything for these activities; all of this is your contribution to the war effortthis and the new taxes that have been levied to pay for the cost of the war. However, you are happy to do what you can "for the good of the country." What recognition do you get for all your efforts for your country? A small piece of paper with the picture of a patriot on the front that says, "Thank you". All the while, you are making personal appearances at rodeos, state fairs and anywhere else that offers to pay you so that you can augment your $75 per week. Because you are making a little more money, you are paying more taxes. You dont complain though because its. "for the good of the country" and you are sure that the taxes will cease when the war is over and the national debt is once again retired. Not all of your luck is good, however. As the war ends, your wife dies following the birth of your third child. By the end of the war, you finally get an increase in your contract it doubles, but now there is no partner to share your luck with. A year later you marry your favorite leading lady, herself a single mother with a son in college. As the years pass by, your work schedule keeps increasing. Name merchandising begins to appear and the first Roy Rogers jeans go to marketbut now your have employees of your own and their families are relying on you for support. You add a weekly radio show and make records to add to your income, all the time continuing the personal appearances and movies. You figure you cant afford to stay at the studio any longeryou have been the #1 box-office earner for 11 years, but Republic cant afford to pay you what stars at the other studios make. Television is just starting to get popular, so you form your own production company and put more people to work. You also now have eight children: some your own, some adopted and one foster daughter from Scotland. The government is now involved in another foreign enterprise, the Korean War. As there is still debt from World War II to be paid, the government decides that they need to raise more money by raising more taxes, and you end up in the 90% tax bracket. That means you get to keep 10 pennies out of every dollar you earn. But you are earning more and, after all, its "for the good of the country." Korea ends but, alas, the Cold War starts. We are in the Space Race, then the conflict in Vietnam flares up. The national debt has still not been retired, the communists must be defeated, and you are still paying most of what you earn in taxesbut you still dont complain because it is "for the good of the country." And, you are blessed to live in a free country and to still be able to work and earn money. Over the next several years you try to save what money you can. Not one to take chances, you dont invest in the stock market, you put your cash into savings bonds, CDs and real estate. The money you have in your accounts earns interest dollars for you, which are, of course, taxed. If you are fortunate and turn over a piece of property, you are taxed for the capitol gains. You reinvest whats left into your savings accounts and again, you are taxed on the interest earned but the money you pay in taxes is "for the good of the country." But Uncle Sam does appreciate you and your elected representatives have decreased your tax bracket, now you get to keep about half. You and your wife have shared a dreamto have a museum that will house your personal collections of things you acquired during the active years of your careers. As your television series finishes, you move where you can afford to buy some property and you put up your museum. Everything is fine because you can now earn almost as much from making guest appearances as you once did from having your own series (you no longer have to pay it all out in salaries to your cast and crew). As your earning years wane and your senior years approach, you try to decide how much you will need to survive as a senior citizenhoping all along that you remain healthy and dont become a burden to your children. You are lucky; however, the business you were in will still provide you with health insurance, even though you are no longer active in show business. You decide that you need to keep your museum going far into your senior years, as your employees are counting on their jobs and some have been with your museum for over 25 years of loyal service. Also, your fans continue to make their way to share their memories with you. All these years your family has sacrificed too. They were virtually raised by others, as their parents were busy earning money and taking care of children and adults in less fortunate circumstances. You told them how fortunate they were to have food, clothing and shelter, and loving parents. You taught them your love for God and country and to thank God every day for being born in a free country and they bought into the American Dream. Your family now steps up to the plate and strives to keep the business going. They know what the museum means to you, your wife and your loyal fans that come by the thousands each year to see the legacy you have left them. Because of the legacy, this world is a much better place to live in. The family believes that it is important to remind everyone of simpler times when love of God, country and freedom were really important. This is "for the good of the country." The senior health problems arrive, big time! You and your lifes partner suffer physically and emotionally but you strive to carry on. You see the future looming on the horizon and it will not include youbut you accept this because individual lives do not go on foreverbut families do! Your father and his father before him, and so on and so on, were only worried about where the familys next meal would come from. They knew that they could only count on themselves and their own family. You, on the other hand, were more than fortunate to live in a country that rewards hard work and perseverance. You have been able to leave something for your familynot a lot of jewels, cash or houses, because thats not what you believed in. You were from the old school. The one that said, "dig your hands into Gods good earththat is where your riches are. Land is foreverjust like family. You do all you can, including setting up a trust, to protect your inheritance. But is it enough? As you leave this earth you pray to Almighty God that you have done all you can. You trust says that when you pass on, all your assets are moved over to your wife for her use and charge. All is well and gooduntil your lifes partner also leaves this good earth. It is then, just when you both thought all would be well, that the government that has taken so much from you in taxes throughout your life, who has taken its share (and then some) of every dollar you have ever earned, steps in for another 55% at your death. That means 55% of everything you have worked for your entire 86 years. Everything the government has already shared in. For example: You paid $2,500 for Trigger in 1938 (an incredible amount then and it took you years to pay oft). When Trigger died, you paid $30,000 to have him mounted like they do in natural museums because you could not bear to put your partner of nearly 30 years into the ground. Now an appraiser says that, since there is only one Trigger, the horse is worth 400,000. That means that you have to pay the government $220,000 to keep Trigger. Gene Autry (a good friend of yours) had a hole dug and buried Champion when he learned from you how much it would cost to have Champion preserved. You are a sentimentalist, and Gene is a good businessman. No, the government does not want 55% ownership of Trigger, nor of the business it took you al lifetime to build. It does not want to stay up with the family nights wondering where to raise the money to pay the taxes. It does not want to explain to the employees that the business your parents built might have to close. It does not want to do anything butit wants $ash in 9 months of your last parents passing. Now you hear a lot about the "super rich" from the politicians who say we shouldnt do away with the "Death Tax." Our father and mother were not among the super richthey always took care of too many other people to amass great riches for themselves. What they left is some barren land that it might take some years to sell and an almost intangible inheritancethe memories of better times, some show clothes, movie posters and photographs. The contents of a museum where people still come to and try to recapture their youth or to show their grandchildren who their role models were and who set them on the right path. Reality is that no family-owned businesses, farms or ranches have the kind of cash or liquid assets that are required to pay a 55% tax burdenonly large corporations could possibly be able to do this, which is why when you look around most large farms and ranches are now owned by large corporations. So what can families do? The many hopes and dreams that the family shared have to be sold to cover the 55% "Death Tax." Yeah, yeah, the Senate has finally passed a bill that will do away with this unfair tax by the year 2010. That doesnt bring any relief to families now. The business and the few assets it took their parents a lifetime to earn have to be sold to cover the debt. However, everyone involved knows that the property is being offered at an IRS fire sale and the family is forced to sell for pennies on the dollar. Not only has the family suffered a staggering loss, so have all of your employees who have relied on your family for their employment for decades. Now there will be no more business to tax, no income to taxa loss of revenue for everyone in the community. But the government really does not care, for they do all of this "for the good of the country." I really wonder!!! Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr.

*Our Beloved Roy & Dale*

*Roy Rogers Limited Edtion Guitar*
Here's my precious(Limited Edition)Roy Rogers Guitar. Believe Painted Pony, pal on the *Official Roy Rogers & Dale Evans Website* (Message Board member) got on delivered to her by the UPS people. Now did she order it? Reckon not!! Hum.......!! Now I wonder who coulda sent it?

Tribute Toy Guitar For * Queen Of The West *
Here's my Dale Evans Queen Of The West, Toy Tribute guitar! It matches my Roy Rogers guitar. Now I'll have "the matched set!!"

*Roy Rogers Lunch Box & Thermos, Salt & Pepper Shakers**
Here's my "lunch box & thermos" salt & pepper shakers. I "collect salt & pepper shakers besides "ROCKS," Cowpokey D, Lucy,Ethel Betty,Shirley, & Mrs Trumbull!! Ya 'll know who ya are!!!

*Queen of the West*
the Queen of the West is modelin' one of her favorite western outfits.

*King of the Cowboys*
The King of the Cowboys, is ready for the bad guys to reappear.He's got his guns ready for 'em!!

**2002 Roy Rogers & Dale Evans Film Festival**
Wild Wesat Treat for fans Dressing up for festivals and watching old movies, reenactments becoming a lifestyle By DEBRA LEMOINE/Staff Writer VICTORVILLE Despite the passing of the stars the festival honors, the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Film Festival is becoming a popular stop for the die-hard Old West fans who travel the circuit of similar festivals around the country. They gather to dress in costumes, sometimes as their favorite stars, to watch the old movies as they did as kids in the 1950s on the big screen or participate in reenactments of life in the 1880s. At the film festival Saturday, the dress code was pretty casual: the classic cowboy hat and boots with spurs. Some ladies insisted on calico and lace as they browsed western memorabilia, talked to favorite actors and stunt doubles, and made bids for the silent charity auction. For a lot of fans, it has become a real lifestyle, said Joel Dortch, executive director of the Happy Trails Childrens Foundation and festival organizer. In its fifth year, the two-day festival has grown to about 1,000 participants, and about 20 celebrities showed up to talk with fans and sign autographs. The new Lone Ranger (Scott Shepard) was there with the new Tonto (Micki Free). William Smith, an actor who has appeared in more than 500 television shows and 150 films, hung out with Robert Fuller, who starred in three different TV shows including Wagon Trail and Emergency. Andrew Pine, who starred with John Wayne in Chasm, was also there. Theyve (the actors) started recruiting us, Dortch said. Theyve heard about us. They just want to come. Even minor actors and stunt doubles not formally signing autographs in booths come to these events. They come to catch up on old times as much as they do to reconnect with their fan base. Its interesting, Dortch said. Its a pretty close fraternity. They all know each other. Theyve all worked with each other. They come to see each other as much to see the fans and support the Happy Trails Childrens Foundation. And to Old West fans, even a stunt double is a hero, Dortch said. For Gail Schleifer of Phelan, meeting the actors is a dream come true. I grew up watching them on TV in black and white, she said. I waited 30, 40 years to see them (in person). Its fantastic. When youre young, you never expect to meet these people. Perhaps the growing popular reflects a yearning for a simpler time. With whats going on in this country with Sept. 11, I think theres just a great enthusiasm for a return to these values, Dortch said. Old Westerns idealized stars like Rogers who played the good guys in white hats always doing the right thing and reminds the fans of a world they used to live in as children. Yet the popularity of these shows may not last. The Old West lifestyle has been slow to catch the interest of younger generations. Most fans grew up watching western television shows in the 1950s. We have more people here this year than we ever had, Dortch said. I dont see it shrinking at this point. Obviously, some day it will. The problem may be that the newer Westerns coming out of Hollywood just arent as entertaining as the old ones. Shepard, who is negotiating a deal for a cable network to bring back the Lone Ranger, said todays Westerns are often too realistic and end up not fulfilling a movies ultimate goal to entertain. We are the new young guard coming up, Shepard said about himself and Free. Its a tough challenge (but) we can overcome some of that. Free said cowboys and Native Americans are unique to American culture and should be preserved for the younger generation. Where else can you get paid to dress like this and ride horses? he said. Debra Lemoine can be reached at debra_lemoine@link.freedom.com or 951-6233.