Music career After 19-year-old Len's return to Lawndale, his sister Mary suggested that he audition for the
Midnight Frolic radio program, which was broadcast over
KMCS in
Inglewood. A few nights later, wearing a Western shirt that Mary had made for him, he overcame his shyness and appeared on the program playing guitar, singing, and yodeling. By September 1931, Len hired the Canadian-born
Bob Nolan, who answered the group's classified ad in the
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner that read, "Yodeler for old-time act, to travel. Tenor preferred." Nolan stayed with the group only a short time, but Len and he stayed in touch. Nolan was replaced by
Tim Spencer. In the spring of 1932, Len, Spencer, and another singer, Slumber Nichols, left the Rocky Mountaineers to form a trio, which soon failed. Throughout that year, Len and Spencer moved through a series of short-lived groups, including the International Cowboys and the O-Bar-O Cowboys. When Spencer left the O-Bar-O Cowboys to take a break from music, Len joined Jack LeFevre and His Texas Outlaws, who were a popular act on a local Los Angeles radio station. In early 1933, Len, Nolan, and Spencer formed the Pioneers Trio, with Slye on guitar, Nolan on string bass, and Spencer as lead vocalist. They rehearsed for weeks refining their vocal harmonies. During this time, Len continued to work with his radio singing group, while Spencer and Nolan began writing songs for the trio.
Film career '', 1938 From his first film appearance in 1935, Len worked steadily in
Western films, including a large supporting role as a singing cowboy while still billed as Leonard Slye in a Gene Autry movie. In 1938, Autry demanded more money for his work, so there was a competition for a new singing cowboy (whom they could pay less). Many singers sought the job, including
Willie Phelps of the Phelps brothers, who appeared in early Western movies. Len ended up winning the contest and was given the stage name Roy Rogers by
Republic Pictures, suggesting the western-sounding name Roy and combining it with the surname of the popular western comic entertainer
Will Rogers. He was assigned the leading role in
Under Western Stars. He became a matinee idol, a competitor with Autry as the nation's favorite
singing cowboy. In addition to his own movies, he played a supporting role in the
John Wayne classic
Dark Command (1940), which also featured one of his future sidekicks, George "Gabby" Hayes. He became a major box-office attraction. Unlike other stars, the vast majority of his leading roles allowed him to play a character with his own name, in the manner of Autry. for
Shine On, Harvest Moon, 1938 In the
Motion Picture Herald Top Ten Money-Making Western Stars poll, Rogers was listed for 16 consecutive years, from 1939 to 1954, holding first place from 1943 to 1954 until the poll ceased. He appeared in the similar
BoxOffice poll from 1938 to 1955, holding first place from 1943 to 1952. In the final three years of that poll, he was second only to
Randolph Scott. These two polls are only an indication of the popularity of series stars, but Rogers also appeared in the
Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll of all films in 1945 and 1946. Rogers was an idol for many children through his films and television shows. Most of his postwar films were in
Trucolor during an era when almost all other
B westerns were black and white. Some of his movies would segue into animal adventures, in which his horse, Trigger, would go off on his own for a while with the camera following him. With money from Rogers's films and from his public appearances going to
Republic Pictures, he brought a clause into his 1940 contract with the studio where he would have the right to his likeness, voice, and name for merchandising. There were Roy Rogers
action figures, cowboy adventure novels, and
playsets, as well as a comic strip, a long-lived
Dell Comics comic book series (
Roy Rogers Comics) written by
Gaylord Du Bois, and a variety of marketing successes. Rogers was second only to
Walt Disney in the number of items featuring his name. The Sons of the Pioneers continued their popularity and have not stopped performing from the time Rogers started the group, replacing members as they retired or died (all original members are dead). Although he was no longer an active member, they often appeared as his backup group in films, radio, and television, and he would occasionally appear with them in performances up until his death. He met Dale Evans in 1944 when they were cast in a film together. They were well known as advocates for
adoption and as founders and operators of children's charities. They adopted several children. Both were outspoken Christians throughout their marriage. Beginning in 1949, they were part of the Hollywood Christian Group, founded by their friend, Louis Evans Jr., the organizing pastor of
Bel Air Church. The group met in Henrietta Mears's home and later in the home of Evans and
Colleen Townsend, after their marriage.
Billy Graham and
Jane Russell were also part of this group. In 1956, the Hollywood Christian Group became Bel Air Church. In
Apple Valley, California, where they later made their home, streets, highways, and civic buildings have been named after them in recognition of their efforts on behalf of homeless and handicapped children. In 1967 Rogers established the
Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum there. Rogers was also an active
Freemason and a
Shriner and was noted for his support of their charities. , 1948 Rogers and Evans' famous theme song, "Happy Trails", was written by Evans; they sang it as a duet to sign off their television show. In fall 1962, they cohosted a comedy-Western-variety program,
The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show, aired on
ABC. It was canceled after three months, losing in the ratings to
The Jackie Gleason Show on
CBS. Rogers made numerous appearances on television, starring as himself or other cowboy-types, including an episode of
Wonder Woman, and he starred in two episodes of
The Fall Guy that were written around him in the mid-1980s. Rogers owned a Hollywood production company, which produced his TV series. It also filmed the 1955–1956 CBS Western series
Brave Eagle. In 1968, Rogers licensed his name to the
Marriott Corporation, which converted its Hot Shoppes restaurants into Roy Rogers Restaurants, with which he otherwise had no involvement. Rogers returned to Lubbock in 1970 to headline the
Texas Tech University Intercollegiate Rodeo with Evans. In 1975, his last motion picture,
Macintosh and T.J. was filmed at the 6666 Ranch in
King County, 90 miles east of Lubbock and near the O- Bar-O Ranch in
Kent County. ==Personal life==