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 after his 1939 hit and signature tune. He is also featured year after year, on radio and "shopping mall music" at the holiday season, by his recording of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." "Rudolph" became the first No. 1 hit of the 1950s. In 2003, he was ranked No. 38 in CMT's list of the 40 Greatest Men of Country Music. When the Anaheim Angels won their first World Series in 2002, much of the championship was dedicated to him. The interchange of Interstate 5 and State Route 134, near the Autry National Center in Los Angeles, is signed as the