Monte Hale dies at 89

[George Kincaid]

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/ ... 8662.story

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.


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.

In Griffith Park, the 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, the 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.

[email protected]

Oliver is a former Times staff writer. Staff writer Jon Thurber contributed to this report.

[silentfilm]

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/content/2 ... s-opinion/

Cowboy hero rides off to the Last Roundup

By Larry Clark | Hickory Daily Record

Published: April 11, 2009

One of the last old-time cowboy heroes has galloped off to the Great Roundup in the Sky.

Monte Hale, one of Republic Pictures' stable of cowboy stars, died last Sunday. The old gent was 89.

Hale was a top draw in 1940s and '50s. His wide smile belied his skill with a sixgun.

He was like the cowboy heroes of the time, fighting only when necessary.

Talking came first. If that didn't work, fisticuffs were in order. The gun was a last resort, and shooting to wound or kill was absolutely the last thing cowboys and peace officers would do.

You tipped your hat to the ladies, greeted gentlemen warmly. You loved your mother, respected your father and stuck to the law.

You did what was right, lived by the Golden Rule and turned to violence only when there was no other option.

Unfortunately for the settlers and city folks — and fortunately for movie-goers — there were a lot of bad guys in the Old West, and they'd pillage, rustle, cheat, steal, lie, bully and shoot with complete disdain for their victims and the law.

If they respected their daddy, it was because he was meaner than them.

That made of a lot of work and action-packed adventures for the good guys like Monte Hale.

He rode tall in the saddle with men like Bob Steele, Buck Jones, Tom Mix, Tex Ritter, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Lash LaRue, Bill Elliott and many more.

You could recognize the bad men right off. They wore black hats. Monte and the boys wore white hats. Mostly.

Lash LaRue and Sunset Carson dressed in black. Sometimes, the hero came decked out with a black hat.

Monte often work a double-breasted red shirt that had more buttons than he had bullets.

He and the legends wouldn't be caught riding the range without elaborate, superbly tooled holsters, belts and saddles. Often, the horses were as gussied up as the cowboys.

Hale was an actor of considerable skill. His best-known roles were from horse operas, including guest appearances on "Gunsmoke," "Tales From Wells Fargo" (remember Jim Hardy?), and other TV shows.

But look closely and you'll see him as the lawyer in the Rock Hudson-James Dean classic "Giant."
He even appeared with Robert Redford and Marlon Brando in "The Chase."

Hale has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Throughout his life, he worked to preserve Hollywood Western lore.

He played a large role in selling millions of dollars in war bonds during World War II.

And he had a great voice. Yep, pardners, ol' Monte was a singing cowboy. He didn't reach the stature of Ritter or Autry, but he could turn a tune that would make you smile and still not lose his cowpoke toughness.

Speaking of cowpoke, do you know where the term came from? It's a short form of cowpuncher.

The Brasada region of Texas has some of the most impenetrable, notorious underbrush anywhere.

Back in the free-range days, cattle would take refuge in the thickets. The brush is so dense and thorny, ropes are useless.

So, the cowhands borrowed a trick from the Mexican vaqueros and used long, lance-like poles to gouge the stock out of the brush and into the open where they could be properly rounded up.

They literally punched the cows out of their prickly havens.

And don't argue with me. I learned that from Roy Rogers.

Thus the words cowpuncher and cowpoke. They're a lot better than "cattle attendant," "moo dude" or "bovine buster."

Hale had all the qualities of a cowboy star. He went around doing good because doing good is good to do — it's a western hero's job. Our pistol-packing heroes didn't know how to do anything but good, and it never occurred to them to turn their backs on someone in trouble.

Hale was the same way in real life. It was his job to do good and bring happiness to as many people as he could.

Sounds like a lot of other guys we knew back when Westerns ruled the matinees.

There's something to be said for the morality plays we saw every Saturday.

Monte the action hero wouldn't let a wrong go unrighted, couldn't stand to see a girl cry and dispensed justice no matter what it took.

He'd yank that Colt and shoot when he had to.

Violence must be met with violence from time to time, regardless how unsavory the prospect might be.

When he did draw, Monte Hale didn't miss. He gave us one of the best lines a cowboy ever had when an encounter with the bad guys was imminent:

"Shoot low, they may be crawlin'."

That's something good ol' Monte won't have to worry about while ridin' high in his well-earned place in the Great Roundup.

Larry Clark is a Record staff writer. Reach him at lclark(at)hickoryrecord(dot)com.