Rex Elvie Allen Sr. (December 31, 1920 – December 17, 1999),
Early life
Allen was born to Horace E. Allen and Luella Faye Clark on a ranch in Mud Springs Canyon, forty miles from Willcox in Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, United States. As a boy he played guitar and sang at local functions with his fiddle-playing father, until high-school graduation when he toured the Southwest as a rodeo rider. He got his start in show business on the East Coast.
Early career
thumb|Poster for Shadows of Tombstone, 1953
Allen began his singing career on radio station KOY in Phoenix, Arizona, after which he became better known as a performer on the National Barn Dance on WLS in Chicago.
When singing cowboys such as Roy Rogers and Gene Autry were very much in vogue in American film, in 1949 Republic Pictures in Hollywood gave him a screen test and put him under contract. on screen Allen personified the clean cut, God-fearing American hero of the Wild West, who wore a white Stetson hat, loved his faithful horse Koko, and had a loyal buddy who shared his adventures. Allen's comic-relief sidekick in his first few pictures was first Buddy Ebsen and then character actor Slim Pickens.
Later career
Allen wrote and recorded many songs, a number of which were featured in his own films. Late in coming to the industry, his film career was relatively short as the popularity of series westerns faded by the mid 1950s. But he starred in a number of B-Westerns during the 1950s. In 1961, he was one of five rotating hosts for NBC-TV's Five Star Jubilee.
Allen had a rich, pleasant voice, ideally suited for narration, and was able to find considerable work as a narrator in a variety of films, especially for Walt Disney Pictures wildlife films and television shows. He had collapsed in his driveway after suffering a heart attack and was then accidentally run over by his caregiver. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at Railroad Park in Willcox.
Legacy
thumb|left|Rex Allen Museum in Willcox|250px
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Allen was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6821 Hollywood Boulevard.
In 1983, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
In 1989, his life story was told in the book Rex Allen: My Life, Sunrise to Sunset – The Arizona Cowboy, written by Paula Simpson-Witt and Snuff Garrett.
The Rex Allen Arizona Cowboy Museum and Willcox Cowboy Hall of Fame in Willcox features an Allen's collection of memorabilia, including photos, movie posters, cowboy outfits, records and musical instruments. His cremated ashes were scattered in Railroad Park, across the street from the museum, near a bronze statue of Allen.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Album
! width="45"| <small>US Country</small>
! Label
|-
| 1956
| Under Western Skies
| align="center"| —
| rowspan="2"| Decca
|-
| 1958
| Mister Cowboy
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1960
| Rex Allen Sings
| align="center"| —
| Hacienda
|-
| 1961
| Say One for Me
| align="center"| —
| rowspan="2"| Buena Vista
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1962
| 16 Golden Hits
| align="center"| —
|-
| Faith of a Man
| align="center"| —
| rowspan="2"| Mercury
|-
| Sings and Tells Tales of the Golden West
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1964
| Western Ballads
| align="center"| —
| Hilltop
|-
| 1968
| The Smooth Country Sound of Rex Allen
| align="center"| 42
| rowspan="2"| Decca
|-
| 1970
| Touch of God's Hands
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1973
| Boney Kneed Hairy Legged Cowboy Song
| align="center"| —
| JMI
|-
| 1980
| Love Gone Cold
| align="center"| —
| Longhorn
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Single
! colspan="2"| Chart Positions
! rowspan="2"| Album
|-
! width="50"| <small>US Country</small>
! width="50"| <small>US</small><br>
|-
| 1949
| "Afraid"
| align="center"| 14
| align="center"| —
| rowspan="5"| singles only
|-
| 1951
| "The Roving Kind"
| align="center"| –
| align="center"| 20
|-
| 1951
| "Sparrow in the Treetop"
| align="center"| 10
| align="center"| 28
|-
| 1953
| "Crying in the Chapel"
| align="center"| 4
| align="center"| 8
|-
| 1961
| "Marines, Let's Go"
| align="center"| 21
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1962
| "Don't Go Near the Indians"
| align="center"| 4
| align="center"| 17
| Sings and Tells Tales of the Golden West
|-
| 1964
| "Tear After Tear"
| align="center"| 44
| align="center"| —
| single only
|-
| 1968
| "Tiny Bubbles"
| align="center"| 71
| align="center"| —
| The Smooth Country Sound of Rex Allen
|}
Partial filmography
- The Arizona Cowboy (1950) as himself
- Hills of Oklahoma (1950) as himself
- Redwood Forest Trail (1950) as himself
- Under Mexicali Stars (1950) as himself aka Mike Jordan
- Trail of Robin Hood (1950) as himself
- Silver City Bonanza (1951) as himself
- Thunder in God's Country (1951) as himself
- Rodeo King and the Senorita (1951) as himself
- Utah Wagon Train (1951) as himself
- Colorado Sundown (1952) as himself
- The Last Musketeer (1952) as himself
- Border Saddlemates (1952) as himself
- I Dream of Jeanie (1952) as Mr. Tambo
- Old Oklahoma Plains (1952) as himself
- South Pacific Trail (1952) as himself
- Old Overland Trail (1953) as himself
- Iron Mountain Trail (1953) as himself
- Sweethearts on Parade (1953) as Jim Riley (singing voice, uncredited)
- Down Laredo Way (1953) as himself
- Shadows of Tombstone (1953) as himself
- Red River Shore (1953) as himself
- Phantom Stallion (1954) as himself
- The Wetback Hound (1957, Short) as narrator (voice)
- The Hound That Thought He Was a Raccoon (1960) as narrator (voice)
- For the Love of Mike (1960) as himself
- Tomboy and the Champ (1961) as himself
- The Legend of Lobo (1962) as narrator
- The Saga of Windwagon Smith (1961) as narrator (voice)
- Yellowstone Cubs (1963) as narrator (voice)
- The Incredible Journey (1963) as narrator (voice)
- Swamp Country (1965) as Sheriff Jim Turner
- Run, Appaloosa, Run (1966) as narrator
- Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar (1967) as narrator
- Last of the Log Drives, 1970 (1970) as narrator
- The Virginian (TV series) (1971) season 9 episode 20 (Tate: Ramrod) : as Square Dance Caller
- Charlotte's Web (1973) as narrator (voice)
- Starbird and Sweet William (1973) as narrator (voice)
- Vanishing Wilderness (1974, Documentary) as narrator
- The Secret of Navajo Cave (1976) as narrator
See also
- List of actors with Hollywood Walk of Fame motion picture stars
References
Bibliography
- Green, D.B. (1998). "Rex Allen." In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. P. Kingsbury, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 10.
External links
- Rex Allen Arizona Cowboy Museum and Willcox Cowboy Hall of Fame Web site
- Rex Allen Days Web site
- City of Willcox Web site
- Rex Allen in action at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Frontier Doctor
- Iverson Movie Ranch: History, vintage photos.
- Rex Allen recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.