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 widely parodied and imitated in the decades since its original airing. The success of the special led to two sequels "Rudolph's Shiny New Year" (premier air date December 10, 1976) which continued the reindeer's journeys, and the series was made into a trilogy with the 1979 feature-length film "Christmas in July", which integrated the "Rudolph" universe into that of Rankin/Bass's adaptation of "Frosty the Snowman". "" (1998) is an animated feature film. It received only a limited theatrical release before debuting on home video. Its inclusion of a villain, a love interest, a sidekick, and a strong protector are more