Champion the Wonder Horse films from 1950 to 1953 and in all 91 television episodes of "The Gene Autry Show" and all 26 episodes of "The Adventures of Champion" during the 1950s. Throughout the years, several other "Champions" served as doubles for film stunts and personal appearances, including Little Champ, Lindy Champion, and Touring Champion. In 1940, Lindy Champion became the first horse to fly from California to New York to appear with Autry at Madison Square Garden for the World's Championship Rodeo. Touring Champion, a darker sorrel with a medium blaze and four white stockings, became one of Autry's most reliable horses for
Gene Autry's Melody Ranch fire." Two episodes of the program featured notable variations from the standard format. One involved the changing of the name of Berwyn, Oklahoma, to Gene Autry, Oklahoma. From there, on November 16, 1941, the "Melody Ranch" program aired as a part of the name changing ceremony. An Oklahoma Gazette article from September 3, 2009, included the following information:He is also the namesake of an Oklahoma town, population 99. Born in Texas, Autry was raised north of the Red River near Ravia after his parents moved there in the 1920s. Autry's Flying A Ranch, where the famous cowboy kept his rodeo