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Who was the voice of that coyote?
By Ken Byler
Did you know that the only horse ever to win an Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was sold recently? At an auction, the famous stallion brought $266,500 dollars. That's a great price for a horse that's dead -- and has been for more than 45 years.
Trigger was his name, and he appeared in 80 movies, 101 TV episodes and countless road shows with his master, Roy Rogers.
I'm proud to say Roy was a man that I knew up-close-and-personal. I met him through a mutual friend named Cal Baker. Baker owned a pawn shop -- antique and used furniture store on old Route 66 in Victorville California. He and Roy were fellow Apple Valley Church of Christ members.
In 1931, Slye, Bill Nichols and a Venice Beach lifeguard named Bob Nolan formed the singing group the Rocky Mountaineers. By 1933, the group was singing with the O-Bar-O Cowboys. After a singing tour of the southwest left them near starvation, the O-Bar-O Cowboys disbanded.
Slye, Tim Spencer and Bob Nolan began singing with Jack and the Texas Outlaws on radio station KFWB in Los Angeles. They renamed themselves The Pioneer Trio. The first song they sang on radio was Nolan's original, "Way Out There."
After hearing The Pioneer Trio sing "The Last Roundup," the station manager gave them their own spot on the radio show. The trio was surprised when the announcer introduced them as The Sons of the Pioneers because, as he later said, they didn't look old enough to be pioneers. They began each broadcast singing Nolan's "Tumbling Tumbleweeds".
The Sons of the Pioneers made their film debut in the movie "The Old Homestead" and appeared with Bing Crosby in "Rhythm on the Range," singing "I'm An Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)". They performed at the 1936 Texas Centennial celebration at Fair Park in Dallas and appeared in Gene Autry's film "The Big Show," which was partially filmed in Fair Park.
Slye appeared as Roy Rogers for the first time in western movies as one of the Three Mesquiteers. He and Trigger first appeared together in 1938 in the movie "Under Western Stars." Smiley Burnette, Roy's sidekick in the movie, said the palomino stallion was "quick on the trigger." The name stuck, and Roy bought Trigger for $2,500, which was paid out on an installment plan.
Trigger died in 1965, shortly after Roy and his wife, Dale Evans moved from the San Fernando Valley to Apple Valley. They had bought the Apple Valley Inn and planned on becoming innkeepers in their retirement years.
The first time I met Rogers was in the back room of Cal Baker's store. After the handshakes and "pleased-to-meetchas," I didn't ask for an autograph. But I did ask a question:
Who was the voice of that coyote in The Sons of the Pioneers song "Blue Shadows on the Trail?"
Roy's eyes twinkled and he smiled. I had struck a chord. He never tired of talking about the old days as a singer. He considered himself a singer first and a cowboy actor second. He never thought of himself as a movie star. He gave his wife and his horse more credit for his fame than he gave himself.
I last saw Roy at the open house that he and Dale held for their friends and neighbors in Apple Valley. Their new home had been built by their son Dusty, a general contractor, on the Apple Valley golf course. Roy was setting behind a table that held a punch bowl and trays of cookies. When I asked what he thought of the beautiful new place, his answer was, "Didn't need one this big for just me and Dale." As I was leaving, I thanked him for the hospitality. "Good seeing you again Kenny," he said.
It's hard to explain the feeling that comes when I think about seeing Roy Rogers that last time. There was the King of the Cowboys, an original member of the group that almost single-handedly put the "western" in country and western music and an American icon saying that it was good to see me.
Ken Byler is a Star columnist, an author and artist. Email him at kbyler@tx.rr.com.
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