Gene Autry estate of Leo J. Cremer, Sr., and put Canadian saddle bronc riding champion Harry Knight in charge of the operation. A merger with the World Championship Rodeo Company in 1956 made Autry the sole owner. He moved the entire company to a ranch near Fowler, Colorado, with Knight as the working partner in the operation. For the next 12 years, they provided livestock for most of the major rodeos in Texas, Colorado, Montana, and Nebraska. When the company was sold in 1968, both men continued to be active in rodeo. For his work as a livestock contractor, Autry was inducted
Gene Autry's Melody Ranch their gum commercials even though Doublemint gum was no longer available due to the government's rationing of sugar. The announcer would advise the audience that the program was not an endorsement of the Wrigley product by the U.S. Army Air Forces. In early August 1943, Gene Autry was transferred to the Air Transport Command. The last "Sergeant Gene Autry Show" aired August 1, 1943 from the Luke Field Recreation Hall through the facilities of the CBS network affiliate KOY in Phoenix. The program was replaced with a new Wrigley series, "America in the Air", which premiered on August 8, 1943,