Smiley Burnette
Smiley Burnette | |
---|---|
Encino, California, U.S. | |
Genres | Country music |
Occupation(s) |
|
Instrument(s) | Accordion, guitar, banjo, many others |
Years active | 1933–1967 |
Labels | Abbott Starday Capitol Columbia ARA Rancho |
Website | Smiley Burnette.org |
Lester Alvin Burnett (March 18, 1911 – February 16, 1967), better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and other B-movie cowboys.[1] He was also a prolific singer-songwriter who is reported to have played proficiently over 100 musical instruments, sometimes more than one simultaneously.[2] His career, beginning in 1934, spanned four decades, including a regular role on CBS-TV's Petticoat Junction in the 1960s.
Biography
Lester A. Burnett (he added the final "e" later in life)
Burnette came by his nickname while creating a character for a WDZ children's program. He was reading Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" at the time, which included a character named Jim Smiley. He named the radio character Mr. Smiley and soon adopted the moniker as his own, dropping the title.[2]
Film career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Gene_Autry_and_Smiley_Burnette_singing_in_In_Old_Santa_Fe_film%2C_1934.png/220px-Gene_Autry_and_Smiley_Burnette_singing_in_In_Old_Santa_Fe_film%2C_1934.png)
His break came in December 1933, when he was hired by Gene Autry to play accordion on . Burnette sang and played accordion, and the film included two of his compositions.
He had other small parts until a secondary, but more prominent role in the 1935
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Smiley_Burnette_in_Oh%2C_Susanna%21.png/220px-Smiley_Burnette_in_Oh%2C_Susanna%21.png)
By 1940, Smiley Burnette ranked second only to Autry in a
After leaving Republic in June 1944, he became the sidekick to Charles Starrett at Columbia Pictures in the new Durango Kid series. Starrett and Burnette were paired in 56 films, from 1945 to 1952. When Starrett retired, Burnette was still under contract, so Columbia teamed him with Jock Mahoney for a new series of Westerns. A pilot film with Mahoney and Burnette was completed, but never released; Columbia then reassigned Burnette to its Gene Autry series, reuniting Burnette with his former partner.
Singer-songwriter
Smiley Burnette wrote more than 400 songs and sang a significant number of them on screen. His Western classic, "Ridin' Down the Canyon (To Watch the Sun Go Down)", was later recorded by Willie Nelson, Riders in the Sky, and Johnnie Lee Wills. Other compositions included "On the Strings of My Lonesome Guitar" (Jimmy Wakely's theme song in the 1940s), "Fetch Me Down My Trusty .45", "Ridin' All Day", and "It's Indian Summer" as well as "The Wind Sings a Cowboy Song," "The Old Covered Wagon," and "Western Lullaby." He also composed musical scores for such films as The Painted Stallion and Waterfront Lady. His songs were recorded by a wide range of singers, including Bing Crosby, Ferlin Husky, and Leon Russell. His performance of "Steamboat Bill" appeared on Billboard's country chart in 1939.
Inventor
Burnette devised and built some of his unusual musical instruments in his home workshop.
In the 1940s, he invented and patented an early home audiovisual system called Cinevision Talkies. Each package contained a
Publicity and promotion
Hollywood stars usually left their publicity and promotion to the studios that employed them, but Smiley Burnette took charge of his promotion personally. He was highly aware of his box-office value and shrewdly merchandised his name and likeness. He organized a national Smiley Burnette Fan Club, aimed mostly at the juvenile audience, and sold autographed photos and souvenirs to club members. He made additional money by making personal appearances at theaters showing his films. Burnette's base of operations was Springfield, Missouri, where he produced and hosted a nationally syndicated 15-minute radio program, The Smiley Burnette Show, through RadiOzark Enterprises. He also made regular appearances on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee from Springfield.
Gene Autry retired from motion pictures in 1953, and other cowboy stars had either left the movies or were winding down their screen careers. With the studios no longer interested in making B Westerns, Burnette turned to broadcasting and made guest appearances on many country music radio and TV shows, including Louisiana Hayride, the Grand Ole Opry, and Ranch Party.
In early 1957, when quiz shows were popular, he filmed a pilot for a proposed ABC-TV series to originate from Springfield called Pig 'N Poke, a quiz show with a country theme, although ABC did not buy the show.[5]
Burnette enjoyed cooking, and in the 1950s, he opened a restaurant chain called The Checkered Shirt, the first of the A-frame drive-ins.[2] The first location was in Orlando, Florida, and two locations still exist in California (Redding and Escondido), though they are no longer owned by the Burnette family.
As the 1960s began, Burnette continued to make personal appearances at drive-ins, fairs, hospitals, town squares, and rodeos. Among other venues, he once appeared with Dewey Brown and the Oklahoma Playboys at a Friday-night dance at Jump's Roller Rink in Fairfax, Oklahoma.
In the mid 1960s, he portrayed
Death
Just after filming wrapped for the fourth
Legacy
Burnette donated his original hat and shirt to the
For his contributions to the film industry, Burnette was inducted posthumously into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1986 with a motion pictures star located at 6125 Hollywood Boulevard.[6] In 1998, he was inducted into the Western Music Association. On May 5, 2012, he was inducted into the Cowtown Society of Western Music Hall of Fame as a Hero.
Burnette is mentioned in the
Selected filmography
- In Old Santa Fe (1934) as Lester Burnette (uncredited)
- The Marines Are Coming (1934) as Sailor Delivering Flowers to Bill (uncredited)
- Mystery Mountain (1934, Serial) as Lake Teamster [Ch. 6-7] (uncredited)
- Arizona Bad Man (1935) as Credits Singer (uncredited)
- The Phantom Empire (1935, Serial) as Oscar
- Lightning Triggers (1935) as Singer Over Opening Credits (uncredited)
- The Adventures of Rex and Rinty (1935, Serial) as Jensen
- Tumbling Tumbleweeds (1935) as Smiley
- Harmony Lane (1935) as Singer (uncredited)
- Waterfront Lady (1935) as Musician
- Melody Trail (1935) as Frog Millhouse
- The Sagebrush Troubadour (1935) as Frog Millhouse
- The Singing Vagabond (1935) as Frog Millhouse
- Hitch Hike Lady (1935) as Singer (uncredited)
- The Cheyenne Tornado (1935) as Singer Over Credits (uncredited)
- Red River Valley (1936) as Frog
- Doughnuts and Society (1936) as Mover #2
- Comin' Round the Mountain (1936) as Frog Millhouse
- The Singing Cowboy (1936) as Frog Millhouse
- Hearts in Bondage (1936) as Rammer (uncredited)
- Undersea Kingdom (1936) as Briny Deep
- The Border Patrolman (1936) as Chuck Owens
- Guns and Guitars (1936) as Frog Millhouse
- Oh, Susanna! (1936) as Frog Millhouse
- Ride, Ranger, Ride(1936) as Frog Millhouse
- The Big Show (1936) as Frog Millhouse
- The Old Corral (1936) as Frog Millhouse
- A Man Betrayed (1936) as Hillbilly
- Larceny on the Air (1937) as Jimmy
- Dick Tracy (1937, Serial) as Mike McGurk
- Round-Up Time in Texas (1937) as Frog Millhouse
- Git Along Little Dogies (1937) as Frog Millhouse
- Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm (1937) as Frog Milhouse
- Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge (1937) as Colonel Frog Millhouse
- Meet the Boyfriend (1937) as Band Leader
- Public Cowboy No. 1 (1937) as Frog Millhouse
- Boots and Saddles (1937) as Frog Millhouse
- Springtime in the Rockies (1937) as Frog Millhouse
- Manhattan Merry-Go-Round (1937) as Frog - Accordion Player
- The Old Barn Dance (1936) as Frog Millhouse
- Hollywood Stadium Mystery (1938) as himself
- Under Western Stars (1938) as Frog Millhouse
- Gold Mine in the Sky (1938) as Frog Millhouse
- The Man from Music Mountain(1938) as Frog Millhouse
- Billy the Kid Returns (1938) as Frog Millhouse
- Prairie Moon (1938) as Frog Millhouse
- Rhythm of the Saddle (1938) as Frog Millhouse
- Western Jamboree (1938) as Frog Millhouse
- Home on the Prairie (1939) as Frog Millhouse
- Mexicali Rose (1939) as Frog Millhouse
- Blue Montana Skies (1939) as Frog Millhouse
- Mountain Rhythm (1939) as Frog Millhouse
- Colorado Sunset (1939) as Frog Millhouse
- In Old Monterey (1939) as Frog Millhouse
- Rovin' Tumbleweeds (1939) as Frog Millhouse
- South of the Border (1939) as Frog Millhouse
- Rancho Grande (1940) as Frog Millhouse
- Gaucho Serenade (1940) as Frog Millhouse
- Carolina Moon (1940) as Frog Millhouse
- Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride (1940) as Frog Millhouse
- Ridin' on a Rainbow (1941) as Frog Millhouse
- Back in the Saddle (1941) as Frog Millhouse
- The Singing Hill (1941) as Frog Millhouse
- Sunset in Wyoming (1941) as Frog Millhouse
- Under Fiesta Stars (1941) as Frog Millhouse
- Down Mexico Way (1941) as Frog Millhouse
- Sierra Sue (1941) as Frog Millhouse
- Cowboy Serenade (1942) as Frog Millhouse
- Heart of the Rio Grande (1942) as Frog Millhouse
- Home in Wyomin' (1942) as Frog Millhouse
- Stardust on the Sage (1942) as Frog Millhouse
- Call of the Canyon (1942) as Frog Millhouse
- Bells of Capistrano (1942) as Frog Millhouse
- Heart of the Golden West (1942) as Frog Millhouse
- Idaho (1943) as Frog Millhouse
- King of the Cowboys (1943) as Frog Millhouse
- Silver Spurs (1943) as Frog Millhouse
- Beyond the Last Frontier (1943) as Frog Millhouse
- Raiders of Sunset Pass (1943) as Frog Millhouse
- Pride of the Plains (1944) as Frog Millhouse
- Beneath Western Skies (1944) as Sheriff Frog Millhouse
- The Laramie Trail (1944) as Frog Millhouse
- Call of the Rockies (1944) as Frog Millhouse
- Bordertown Trail (1944) as Frog Millhouse
- Code of the Prairie (1944) as Frog Millhouse
- Firebrands of Arizona (1944) as Frog Millhouse / Beefsteak Discoe
- Roaring Rangers (1946) as himself
- Gunning for Vengeance (1946) as himself
- Galloping Thunder (1946) as himself
- Two-Fisted Stranger (1946) as Deputy
- The Desert Horseman (1946) as himself
- Heading West (1946) as himself
- Landrush (1946) as himself
- Terror Trail (1946) as himself
- The Fighting Frontiersman (1946) as himself
- South of the Chisholm Trail (1947) as himself
- The Lone Hand Texan (1947) as himself
- West of Dodge City (1947) as himself, editor
- Law of the Canyon (1947) as himself
- Prairie Raiders (1947) as himself
- The Stranger from Ponca City (1947) as himself
- Riders of the Lone Star (1947) as himself
- Buckaroo from Powder River (1947) as himself
- Last Days of Boot Hill (1947) as Deputy
- Six-Gun Law (1948) as himself
- Phantom Valley (1948) as himself
- West of Sonora (1948) as himself
- Whirlwind Raiders (1948) as himself
- Blazing Across the Pecos (1948) as Marshall
- Trail to Laredo (1948) as himself
- El Dorado Pass (1948) as himself
- Quick on the Trigger (1948) as himself
- Challenge of the Range (1949) as himself
- Desert Vigilante (1949) as himself
- Laramie (1949) as himself
- The Blazing Trail (1949) as Marshall
- South of Death Valley (1949) as himself
- Bandits of El Dorado (1949) as Sheriff
- Horsemen of the Sierras (1949) as himself
- Renegades of the Sage (1949) as himself
- Trail of the Rustlers (1950) as himself
- Outcast of Black Mesa (1950) as himself
- Texas Dynamo (1950) as himself
- Streets of Ghost Town (1950) as himself
- Across the Badlands (1950) as himself
- Raiders of Tomahawk Creek (1950) as himself
- Frontier Outpost (1950) as himself
- Lightning Guns (1950) as himself
- Prairie Roundup (1951) as himself
- Ridin' the Outlaw Trail (1951) as himself
- Fort Savage Raiders (1951) as himself
- Whirlwind (1951) as himself
- Snake River Desperadoes (1951) as himself
- Bonanza Town (1951) as himself
- Cyclone Fury (1951) as himself
- The Kid from Amarillo (1951) as himself
- Pecos River (1951) as himself
- Smoky Canyon (1952) as himself
- The Hawk of Wild River (1952) as himself
- Laramie Mountains (1952) as Sergeant Smiley Burnette
- The Rough, Tough West (1952) as Fire Chief
- Junction City (1952) as himself
- The Kid from Broken Gun (1952) as himself
- Winning of the West (1953) as himself
- On Top of Old Smoky (1953) as himself
- Goldtown Ghost Riders (1953) as himself
- Pack Train (1953) as himself
- Saginaw Trail (1953) as himself
- Last of the Pony Riders (1953) as himself
References
- ^ New York Times. Associated Press. February 18, 1967.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Burnette, Elizabeth. "Smiley Burnette – Cowboy Comic". Smiley Burnette Interprises. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
- ^ "Smiley Burnette". All Movie.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
- ^ Gurr, Bob (December 11, 2013). "DESIGN: Those Were The Times - No.24 1943 Movie Stars and Paper Routes". MiceChat. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
- ^ Billings, Jim "Comes Long Way from Dwarf Role" (January 20, 1957), Springfield News & Leader, p. D2
- ^ "Hollywood Walk of Fame - Smiley Burnette". walkoffame.com. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-8061-6990-3.
- ^ Mullins, Jesse, Jr. (October 2004). American Cowboy. Vol. 11. Active Interest Media, Inc. p. 28.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Further reading
- Billings, Jim "Comes Long Way From Dwarf Role," (January 20, 1957), Springfield News & Leader
- Burnette, Elizabeth. "Smiley Burnette – Cowboy Comic". Smiley Burnette Interprises. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
- Sikes, 0. J. "Smiley Burnette". Western Music Association. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - "Smiley Burnette". All Movie.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
External links
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