Singing cowboy Sandy's elaborate costumes. While other western actors, such as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, only dabbled in singing roles, some actors became known mainly for their parts as singing cowboys. The most famous of them was Gene Autry, and the moniker "the singing cowboy" usually refers to him in particular. When Wayne declined further singing cowboy roles, Republic looked for a replacement. Former rodeo rider Autry was chosen because he was the one candidate who could both sing and ride a horse, namely Champion the Wonder Horse. The choice was so successful that, at the time of his death in
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special) Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS; the network unveiled a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the program in 2005. As with "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", "Rudolph" no longer airs just once annually, but several times during the Christmas and holiday season on CBS. Unlike other holiday specials that also air on several cable channels (including Freeform), "Rudolph" airs only on CBS. It has been telecast every year since 1964, making it the longest continuously running Christmas TV special in history. 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the television special and a series