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 Gene Autry died of lymphoma on October 2, 1998, three days after his 91st birthday at his home in Studio City, California. He was buried at the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. His epitaph read, "America's Favorite Cowboy ... American Hero, Philanthropist, Patriot and Veteran, Movie Star, Singer, Composer, Baseball Fan and Owner, 33rd Degree Mason, Media Entrepreneur, Loving Husband, Gentleman". In 1932, Autry married Ina May Spivey, the niece of Jimmy Long. After she died in 1980, he married Jacqueline Ellam, who had been his banker, in 1981. He had no children by either marriage. Autry