Aside from my paper route, delivering the Washington Post (which needs to be the sole subject of ANOTHER blog), my first real job was at the Roy Rogers fast food joint on Wisconsin Avenue in D.C .in the 1970’s.
Wearing my country plaid shirt, western string tie and hat (all of which were completely mortifying to a teenage boy trying to get lucky), I was flipping burgers and taking out the trash in style, no?
All of this made me a bit curious about the man for whom my restaurant was named. I knew even then that Roy wasn’t in some kitchen out west trying out new recipes. Since we knew Trigger the horse was dead, we were actually grateful that Roy wasn’t in the least bit responsible for the food. The Marriott Corporation co-opted his name and reputation (at a hefty price, no doubt) in order to capture that wild west spirit. When a customer ordered their burger well done, we were told to yell out, “BRAND IT!” No, I am NOT kidding.
The last episode of Roy’s radio program aired on this day in 1955, but the new medium of television was soon to beckon Roy for even higher levels of stardom.
A long way from his roots. Born Leonard Slye in Cincinnati, he came to California as a migrant fruit picker. Soon after he joined various singing groups-including the Sons of Pioneers, he began to play bit parts for Republic Pictures-and got an early break after singing cowboy Gene Autrey quit in a dispute with the studio.
He married his costar Dale Evans after his wife passed away-and proceeded to become one of the wealthiest men in Hollywood. Rogers died in 1998.
His radio show began in 1944 and then after a couple of years off following the end of the radio gig, it was the TV version that began in 1951—and ran until 1957. Below is a clip from a Roy Rogers TV Show-enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op1xX7bPzEU
In the late 50’s, interests began to shift from cowboys to space as the imagination of kids turned to the skies with the launch of Sputnik and the dawn of the U.S. Space program-this phenomenon is playfully-yet accurately displayed in the Pixar film “Toy Story”
If you’d like my blog in your box daily, just e-mail me: tim.moore@citcomm.com
Happy Trails to you!
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