Champion the Wonder Horse series; he was one of several horses that Autry rode in that production. After learning about the horse through stunt man and movie horse wrangler Tracey Layne, Autry paid $75 for the original Champion, whose sire was a Morgan trotting horse from Ardmore, Oklahoma. Trained to perform numerous tricks, Champion could untie knots, fall, roll over and play dead, come at Autry's whistle, bow, and shake his head yes and no. In one film he pushes Autry into the arms of his leading lady June Storey. By 1939 his reported worth was $25,000. The original Champion died in 1943, at
Gene Autry These late Prohibition-era songs deal with bootlegging, corrupt police, and women whose occupation was certainly vice. These recordings are generally not heard today, but are available on European import labels, such as JSP Records. His first hit was in 1932 with "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine", a duet with fellow railroad man, Jimmy Long, which Autry and Long co-wrote. Autry also sang the classic Ray Whitley hit "Back in the Saddle Again", as well as many Christmas holiday songs, including "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town", his own composition "Here Comes Santa Claus", "Frosty the Snowman", and his biggest hit,