The Singing Cowboy (1936 film) The Singing Cowboy (1936 film) The Singing Cowboy is a 1936 American Western film directed by Mack V. Wright and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Lois Wilde. Based on a story by Tom Gibson, the film is about a cowboy who decides to sing on television in order to raise money for the orphaned daughter of his former boss who was murdered. Ranch owner Steve Stevens (John Van Pelt) is shot by his greedy partner, Martin (Lon Chaney, Jr.), who then sets fire to Stevens' barn. Stevens' last request is for cowboy Gene Autry (Gene Autry) to look after
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Gillen, to draw "cute reindeer", using zoo deer as models. The alert, bouncy character Gillen developed convinced management to support the idea. Maxton Books published the first mass-market edition of "Rudolph" in 1947 and a sequel, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Shines Again", in 1954. In 1992, Applewood Books published "Rudolph's Second Christmas", an unpublished sequel that Robert May wrote in 1947. In 2003, Penguin Books issued a reprint version of the original "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" with new artwork by Lisa Papp. Penguin also reprinted May's sequels, "Rudolph Shines Again" and "Rudolph's Second Christmas" (now retitled "Rudolph to the Rescue").