Show Information compiled from John Dunning's book Tune In Yesterday
The Roy Rogers Show came to radio November
21, 1944. Never in all his 80-odd Republic Pictures did Rogers face an owlhoot as frightening as that first Mutual microphone.
Just before his first broadcast, Rogers had a severe case of mike fright. Although he became a veteran of hundreds of radio shows between 1944 and 1955, he never quite lost the fear of the microphone.
Actually, his mike career began in 1931. But in those days his voice was part of a blend, when he sang on the air as a member of Uncle Tom Murray's Hollywood
Hillbillies. He spent several of his early years organizing cowboy bands, worked for a time on a New Mexico ranch, and traveled with Okies through depression-era California. It wasn't until 1937 that he got his first big movie break, taking over as in-house star at Republic after former star Gene Autry, had had a spat with the boss.
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