In 1935, popular cowboy actor, Gene Autry, was set to appear in a western film. Like many cowboy movies in the ‘30s, Republic Pictures studio, which produced, the film wanted to hire the charismatic, manly, horse riding Autry, who could also sing and dance. The actor was very popular at the time and began asking for more and more money, until the studio eventually said “enough”, and started looking for a new singing cowboy that would not be as expensive. When Leonard Slye saw the opportunity, he immediately auditioned for the part.
Out of the many cowboys that auditioned for the part, Slye was chosen as the lead actor in the film, in part due to his charisma, charming smile and variety of talents. When the film, called ‘Under Western Stars’, was finally released, Leonard Slye’s name was changed in the credits to Roy Rogers. The name was inspired by combining the popular western first name, Roy, with the family name of the popular western comic, Will Rogers.
The Rocky Mountaineers
While many youngsters move to California to find opportunities in the entertainment and fame industries, Leonard Slye’s family moved to La-La-Land when he was 19 years old, so his father would be able to provide for their family through driving food trucks and picking fruits. In 1931, not long after moving to Cali, Leonard decided to give his entertainment skills a chance and set out to work for the Midnight Frolics radio show, in Los Angeles. The crew loved Leonard and he was immediately offered a job opportunity with The Rocky Mountaineers, a short-lived Western singing group.
Leonard wasn’t used to getting a lot of attention, because he grew up on a small farm and spent most of his time with his family and the animals. That’s why it took him a while to get over his introversion and become able to use his skills to perform in front of an audience. The young entertainer began touring with The Rocky Mountaineers in the middle of summer, with the group performing in locations such as New Mexico and Arizona on a very small budget. The band was very frugal and despite their popularity, the often struggled to even pay for food.
First Steps Into Fame
While The Rocky Mountaineers traveled New Mexico and Arizona, Leonard Slye became good friends with the other members of the band, Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer. Eventually, the group disbanded, but the friends remained close and decided to start a new group called “The Pioneers Trio”. Tim Spencer was the lead singer of the group, Bob Nolan played the bass, and Slye was the guitarist. In addition to Nolan and Slye playing the instruments, both of them also helped Spencer with vocal harmonies.
In 1934, the group expanded by adding Hug Farr, the fourth member of the group, with his signature bassy voice. When the group began appearing on radio, they were referred to as “Sons of the Pioneers”, probably because they were found to be too young to be actual pioneers of anything. The name was loved by both the band’s members and its fans, leading to them officially adopting the new name. The Sons of the Pioneers were quite popular and their fans in the US kept asking for more.
The Horse That Changed Roy’s Life
The studio wanted to find Roy Rogers a strong and noble steed that would compliment him in his leading role, as a populist singing cowboy who helps a group of ranchers get their water rights back, during the Dust Bowl of the ‘30s. In order to find the right horse, Republic Pictures studio gave the lead actor a choice between five rented horses that were lined up for him. Rogers immediately knew which one would be the perfect sidekick for him, and picked a yellow-haired palomino stallion, whose name was Golden Cloud. In fact, Rogers loved the steed so much that he decided to buy it just a few years later.
Everything about this beautiful and powerful steed was perfect, except one thing - his name. Rogers felt Golden Cloud just didn’t get across his uniqueness and talents properly, so he changed his name to the now iconic name, Trigger. The horse was already a veteran in the western film industry, and even appeared in The Adventures of Robin Hood, as the mount of actress Olivia de Havilland’s.
Trigger’s Incredible Talents
Roy Rogers made one of the best decisions of his life when he picked his steed. Trigger was born in 1934 and was 1.6 meters long. The famous horse knew about 150 trick cues, and according to Rogers' friends, was able to walk 50 feet on his hind legs. Trigger's other skills included sitting in a chair, signing his name "X" with a pencil and even lying down for a nap (including covering himself with a blanket).
Despite his incredible personality and entertaining tricks, Trigger had one Achilles heel that could ruin every performance he did — the steed was a huge attention lover and would bow for his audience every time he heard applause, even if he heard it during a trick. One of the horse's most impressive abilities turned out to be exceptionally useful throughout its long career, which involved traveling to hotels, theaters and more. The horse was able to hold his needs while indoors!