 Tales & Trails of Roy & DalebyLauren Roberts
Happy trails to you, until we meet again. Some trails are happy ones, Happy trails to you, until we meet again. Happy trails to you, 'till we meet again. Roy Rogers (“King of the Cowboys”) and Dale Evans (“Queen of the West”) were among the whitest of America’s mid-twentieth century white bread entertainment. And I don’t mean that in a derogatory sense. These two people weren’t just heroes to two or three generations of American children who grew up with them—though they were that—but icons of tried-and-true values, moral honesty and strong principles. They lived as they spoke, and never betrayed their own ethics. Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye in 1911, moved to California when he was 18 to become a singer. It took four years and various groups before he found success with his western cowboy group, Sons of the Pioneers. At the time and because of Gene Autry’s film successes, nearly every studio was or wanted to make singing cowboy movies, and Columbia Pictures had signed The Sons Of The Pioneers to appear in a series of Westerns. In the meantime Autry, unhappy with his contract with Republic Pictures, was threatening to walk. Republic decided to protect themselves with auditions for a singing cowboy. As Rogers noted in a later interview, “I saddled my guitar the next morning and went out there, but I couldn’t get in because I didn’t have an appointment. So I waited around until the extras began coming back from lunch, and I got on the opposite side of the crowd of people and came in with them. I’d just gotten inside the door when a hand fell on my shoulder. It was Sol Siegel, the head producer of Western pictures.” Siegel remembered Roy from The Pioneers’ previous work, and Republic ended up signing him to a seven-year contract. When Autry did indeed fail to report for the start of his next film, the studio put Rogers into the lead role. That film, “Under Western Stars,” was an immediate hit that launched Rogers’ career. By 1943, Rogers was the top western star at the box office and remained so until his transition into television early in the 1950s. He also maintained a heavy schedule of personal appearances, most of them featuring his beloved golden palomino, Trigger, who received near-equal billing. By 1944 Rogers had starred in 39 films with a variety of leading ladies. But when the studio cast Dale Evans in the 1945 film, “The Cowboy And The Senorita,” their onscreen chemistry was instant and apparent. Evans, who had risen from Texas stenographer to celluloid cowgirl, was originally billed after Roger's beloved horse Trigger. But as fan mail poured in, Republic began developing more projects for them. Her popularity was even enough to overcome the fact that in the beginning her riding and roping skills were minimal. Over time she learned them, but at the cost of lost porcelain crowns worth several hundred dollars, numerous saddle sores and damaged dignity. But it was worth it—for them and for Republic. As Jane and Michael Stern, in Happy Trails: Our Life Story, wrote: “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 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).” Those weren’t just beliefs for the screen either. In a 1992 interview, Rogers said he personally believed in the things his screen persona stood for: character, truth, justice, virtue, civility and good winning over bad. Though they worked together on more than two dozen films, it was becoming obvious by the early 1950s that television was overtaking movies as entertainment. Rogers’ contract was up for renewal, and he wanted the right to make a certain number of television appearances. Republic refused, and they parted ways after 14 years and more than 89 films. Rogers and Evans had married on New Year’s Eve 1947 after the tragic death of Rogers’ first wife. After leaving Republic, they founded their own production company and on December 30, 1951, “The Roy Rogers Show” debuted on NBC; it lasted until 1957 and featured not only Roy, Dale, Trigger, Buttermilk and several other beloved co-stars, but the memorable song “Happy Trails.” They were fortunate that Rogers' agent had, while he was at Republic, negotiated his contract to insure that Rogers retained the rights to his name, voice and image. This clause eventually became the source of financial security for the Rogers’ family as a wide variety of products bearing his name and image were issued: hats, shirts, bandannas, cap pistols, holsters, lassos, furniture, sheets, blankets, clocks and wristwatches, even a chain of restaurants. For many children of the era the Roy Rogers lunch box was an essential part of growing up. Next to Disney characters, Rogers was the biggest individual name in product endorsements. Still, he didn’t sell out his image. Products had to be of high quality and any company that didn’t meet those standards lost its contract. Though Rogers and Evans are both dead now—he died on July 6, 1998, and she on February 7, 2001—their memories live on. But for how long is uncertain. The Roy Rogers Museum moved from its original home in Victorville, California to Branson, Missouri in 2003. When he was alive, Rogers enjoyed hanging out at the museum, shaking hands and having his picture taken with visitors. He was as nice as he had ever been, and remained true to his heroic image of a man impressed only with his own responsibility to live up to the public's image of him. This bookmark was a promotional device for their book, Happy Trails: Our Life Story, which was released on November 1, 1994. On the backside are the Roy Rogers Riders Club Rules:
Bookmark specifications:
Almost since her childhood days of Mother Goose, Lauren has been giving her opinion on books to anyone who will listen. That “talent” eventually took her out of magazine writing and into book reviewing in 2000 for an online review site where she cut her teeth (as well as a few authors). Stints as book editor for her local newspaper and contributing editor to Booklist and Bookmarks magazines has reinforced her belief that she has interesting things to say about books. Lauren shares her home with several significant others including three cats, nearly 1,300 bookmarks and approximately the same number of books that, whether previously read or not, constitute her to-be-read stack. She is a member of the National Books Critics Circle (NBCC) as well as a longtime book design judge for Publishers Marketing Association’s Benjamin Franklin Awards. Contact Lauren.
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