Some people remember Gene Autry best as the
smiling, singing cowboy star of radio, movies and TV. For many of his fans, Gene
was our childhood hero and an inspiration.
If you've only thought of Gene Autry as
"America's Favorite Cowboy," let me share a few things with you. He was a
singer and composer with more than 635 recordings to his credit. His classic
recording of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" remains the second best
selling record of all time. Those accomplishments, plus his radio show,
"Melody Ranch," more than 90 feature films, and a hit TV series made Gene
Autry the only entertainer to be honored with five stars on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame.
He was a patriot and WWII veteran who
followed his nation into war, where he served in the Air Transport Command.
Gene flew supply planes in the China-India-Burma theater where he made
numerous flights over "The Hump," the treacherous route over the Himalayas.
When the war ended, Gene toured with a USO troupe in the South Pacific
before resuming his film career in 1946.
Outside his career as an entertainer, Gene
was an avid baseball fan and astute businessman. He lived every fan's dream
by becoming owner in 1961 of his own Major League team, the California
Angels. Fans of Gene Autry were thrilled
when the Anaheim Angels won the World Series in 2002, and banners on display during
the Series remembered and celebrated Gene's passion for the Angels.
Keeping the Legendary West
Alive
There were plenty of reasons to admire Gene
Autry, but most of all, we loved him because the Texas-born,
Oklahoma-raised Autry genuinely loved the West and all that it stood for.
Although Gene is no longer with us, his
influence will always be a part of us! We're fortunate that his enormous
legacy includes keeping the west alive for future generations. The Autry
Museum of Western Heritage, which opened in 1988, offers a rich tapestry of
the American West--both the Old West as well as the new. It features the
individuals, the lifestyle and art, the history and the myths that make the
West such a colorful place in our imagination. There's no doubt
that Gene Autry has also earned his place in American history! At America
Remembers, we're proud to honor this American hero with the Gene Autry
Tribute Revolver.
Each revolver now available in this edition
is produced for us by the master craftsmen of A. Uberti, who have expertly
created this classic firearm just as they have created so many of the
western classics since 1959, and have established themselves as the premier
maker of historical firearms recreations. For decades, their craftsmen
have combined modern high-grade materials with the time-honored methods of
finishing to create exquisite, working reproductions of history's greatest
firearms.
This edition is issued in a very limited
quantity of 150 Tributes. With a design that melds efficiency with
beauty, the Single Action Revolver is known for its smooth handling, balance
and style, characteristics that earned it a reputation as a classic Western
six-shooter, admired by lawmen and outlaws alike. Today, the Single
Action revolver remains a popular for collectors and Old West shooters.
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