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, Oklahoma of families and 30.0% of the population living below the poverty line, including 39.3% of those under 18 and 22.2% of those over 64. The Academy of Western Artists is located in Gene Autry but holds its annual awards presentations in Dallas-Fort Worth. Home to the Gene Autry Historical Society which maintains the Gene Autry Oklahoma Museum. Re-opened on September 26, 2015. Gene Autry, Oklahoma Gene Autry is a town in Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 158 as of the 2010 census, up from 99 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan