[Deathwatch] Monte Hale, actor, 89

[Deathwatch Central]

Monte Hale dies at 89; 
cowboy actor helped found Autry museum in L.A.

Hale was a top B-western box office draw in the 1940s. He had his own
series of action- and song-packed films, and later had a memorable role
as Rock Hudson's lawyer in 'Giant.'

By Myrna Oliver

March 31, 2009

Monte Hale, one of the last of Hollywood's celluloid "singing cowboys"
and a founder of what is now the Autry National Center of the American
West, has died. He was 89.

Hale had been in failing health and died Sunday of age-related causes
at his home in Studio City, according to a statement from the Autry
National Center.

In the 1940s, Hale was a top B-western box office draw, right along
with Roy Rogers, Eddie Dean and Hale's friend Gene Autry. Hale made
nearly three dozen films for Republic Pictures, including 19 action-
and song-packed films as the hero Monte Hale. Later, he had a small but
memorable role as Rock Hudson's lawyer Bale Clinch in the 1956 epic
"Giant."

Hale made his debut in the small role of a singer in 1944's "The Big
Bonanza." He had similar bit parts as a cowboy or a ranch foreman in
several more westerns before he was given his own series for Republic
in 1946.

First came "Home on the Range," followed rapidly by "Sun Valley
Cyclone," "Out California Way," "The Man From Rainbow Valley,"
"California Gold Rush" and more.

FOR THE RECORD:
Monte Hale: The obituary of cowboy star Monte Hale in Tuesday's Section
A said his surviving brother's name is Dick. His brother's name is
Bill. —


Hale's westerns featured more action scenes and fewer musical
production numbers than those of Autry or Rogers, meaning he usually
sang fewer songs per film.

Because he was also less aggressive in pursuing recording contracts,
Hale's singing is less known today than that of Autry, Rogers, Dean,
Rex Allen or Tex Ritter.

But that's no reflection on Hale's talent.

According to "The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Country Music and Its
Performers," while he "sang somewhat less than the others, he did sing
as well and in a natural, appealing, down-home style."

Among Hale's better-known songs are "In My Stable There's an Empty
Stall" and "Statue in the Bay."

Hale made a significant splash too in the lucrative international comic
book market of the era. Six Monte Hale series of the dime picture books
were published in 27 languages.

Off the screen, his most lasting contribution was helping to establish
the Autry museum.

Over the years, Autry -- an astute businessman who had become a wealthy
media entrepreneur as well as the original owner of the Los Angeles
Angels baseball team -- had expressed an interest in starting a museum
dedicated to the American West.

Dining one night in the early 1980s with their wives at the Gene Autry
Hotel in Palm Springs, Hale asked Autry: "When are you going to build
the museum you wanted to start?"

Jackie Autry and Joanne Hale, both successful businesswomen, were the
driving forces. Joanne Hale held the post of executive director from
the initial planning stages until her retirement in 1999. Monte Hale
served on the board from the outset and remained active until his
death.

Hale made other contributions to the museum after its 1988 opening by
greeting guests and enabling them to chat with a real, live singing
cowboy.

He also started cajoling fellow cowboy stars to contribute their
signature memorabilia for permanent display in the museum's movie
gallery.

He donated his own white hat, guns, gun belt and other prized treasures
-- then rounded up more contributions, including Chuck Connors' shirt
from "The Rifleman" TV series, Buffalo Bill's saddle and a Lone Ranger
outfit.

The Griffith Park museum took its current name -- the Autry National
Center of the American West -- in 2003 after the merger of the
Southwest Museum of the American Indian, the Women of the West Museum
and the original components of the Gene Autry Museum.

Born Samuel Buren Ely in San Angelo, Texas, June 8, 1919, Hale grew up
loving music and trying to emulate his screen hero, Ken Maynard. With
money he saved from a childhood job picking cotton and pecans, he paid
$8.50 for his first guitar. By age 13 he was singing in local clubs.

He worked county fairs and radio stations until World War II, when he
joined the Stars Over Texas Bond Drive as a singer. Its chairman,
theater owner Phil Isley, father of actress Jennifer Jones, later
recommended Hale to Herb Yates, the head of Republic Pictures. He got a
seven-year contract.

By 1950, Monte Hale had gone back to singing in clubs around the
country, often with Ray Whitley, and appearing occasionally in guest
roles on television westerns.

There were also spots in the films "Yukon Vengeance" in 1954 and "The
Chase" in 1966 with Robert Redford as a Texas prison escapee and Marlon
Brando as the sheriff. Hale's final film was "Guns of a Stranger" in
1973, with Marty Robbins as a singing cowboy.

In 2004, Hale was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In addition to his wife of 31 years, he is survived by a brother, Dick
Hale.

Services will be private.

Instead of flowers, his widow suggests that donations be made to the
Autry National Center of the American West.


Many thanks to Deathwatch Central for posting this obituary