Gene Autry the entire ranch is open to the public during the Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival, another legacy of Autry's multiple talents. From 1940 to 1956, Autry had a huge hit with a weekly show on CBS Radio, "Gene Autry's Melody Ranch." His horse, Champion, also had a CBS-TV and Mutual radio series, "The Adventures of Champion". In response to his many young radio listeners aspiring to emulate him, Autry created the Cowboy Code, or Ten Cowboy Commandments. These tenets promoting an ethical, moral, and patriotic lifestyle that appealed to youth organizations such as the Boy Scouts, which developed similar doctrines.
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