Gene Autry starring role by Levine in 1935 in the 12-part serial "The Phantom Empire." Shortly thereafter, Mascot was absorbed by the newly formed Republic Pictures Corp. and Autry went along to make a further 44 films up to 1940, all B Westerns in which he played under his own name, rode his horse, Champion, had Burnette as his regular sidekick, and had many opportunities to sing in each film. Pat Buttram was picked by Gene Autry, recently returned from his World War II service in the United States Army Air Forces, to work with him. Buttram would co-star with Gene Autry
Gene Autry at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard. His first four stars were placed during the initial inductions of 1960 while the final one was placed in 1987, in the additional category named "Live theatre"—later renamed "Live performance"—introduced in 1984. The Museum of the American West in Los Angeles' Griffith Park was founded in 1988 as the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum featuring much of Autry's personal collection of Western art and memorabilia as well as collections of his friends and other Western film stars. Since 2004 the museum is partnered with the Southwest Museum of the American Indian and is divided into two