Gene Autry 1946 to 1955. That title was changed to "Gene Autry and Champion", and ran an additional 20 issues from 1955 to 1959, making it the longest-running (by number of issues) cowboy actor comic book. Meanwhile, Autry was the subject of an "Air-Western-Adventure Strip" comic strip syndicated by General Features from 1952–1955. The strip was produced in association with Whitman Publishing. The Mexican publisher Editorial Novaro released 423 issues of "Gene Autry" comics from 1954 to 1984. Autry retired from show business in 1964, having made almost 100 films up to 1955 and over 600 records. He was elected to the
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