Gene Autry starring role by Levine in 1935 in the 12-part serial "The Phantom Empire." Shortly thereafter, Mascot was absorbed by the newly formed Republic Pictures Corp. and Autry went along to make a further 44 films up to 1940, all B Westerns in which he played under his own name, rode his horse, Champion, had Burnette as his regular sidekick, and had many opportunities to sing in each film. Pat Buttram was picked by Gene Autry, recently returned from his World War II service in the United States Army Air Forces, to work with him. Buttram would co-star with Gene Autry
Adrian Autry pursued a professional basketball career. He was undrafted in the NBA but had several workouts and played on the Summer Team. Autry enjoyed a more lucrative career overseas. Autry spent one year (1995-1996) playing with Besiktas Istanbul. , and then spent three seasons in Germany playing for SSV Ulm 1846. It was here that Autry and his team were the runners-up in the 1998 German Cup. Autry still holds the 1998-1999 records for points (504), assists (116), and steals (65) and was named to the All-German Imports First Team in 1999. After Germany, Autry headed to Europe where he played