Champion the Wonder Horse series; he was one of several horses that Autry rode in that production. After learning about the horse through stunt man and movie horse wrangler Tracey Layne, Autry paid $75 for the original Champion, whose sire was a Morgan trotting horse from Ardmore, Oklahoma. Trained to perform numerous tricks, Champion could untie knots, fall, roll over and play dead, come at Autry's whistle, bow, and shake his head yes and no. In one film he pushes Autry into the arms of his leading lady June Storey. By 1939 his reported worth was $25,000. The original Champion died in 1943, at
Gene Autry Country Music Hall of Fame in 1969 and to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. After retiring, he invested widely in real estate, radio, and television. He also invested in ownership of the KOOL-TV CBS-affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona, which created local shows such as the weekly bilingual children's show "Ninos Contentos". He also purchased the rights from the dying Republic Pictures for films he had made for the company. In 1952, Autry bought the old Monogram Ranch in Placerita Canyon (Newhall-Santa Clarita, California,) and renamed it Melody Ranch. Numerous "B" Westerns and TV shows were shot there during