Gene Autry 12 acres. A decade after he purchased Melody Ranch, a brushfire swept through in August 1962, destroying most of the original standing sets. However, the devastated landscape did prove useful for productions such as "Combat!." A complete adobe ranch survived at the northeast section of the ranch. In 1990, after his favorite horse Champion, which lived in retirement there, died, Autry put the remaining 12-acre ranch up for sale. It is now known as the Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio and Melody Ranch Studios on 22 acres. The ranch has Melody Ranch Museum open year-round; and one weekend a year,
Gene Autry The Cowboy Code consisted of rules that were "a natural progression of Gene's philosophies going back to his first "Melody Ranch" programs—and early pictures." According to the code: Beginning in 1950, he produced and starred in his own television show on CBS through his Flying A Productions studio and made several appearances on ABC-TV's "Jubilee USA" in the late 1950s. During World War II, Autry enlisted in the United States Army in 1942, and became a tech sergeant in the United States Army Air Forces. Holding a private pilot certificate, he was determined to become a military pilot and earned