Dale Evans (October 31, 1912 – February 7, 2001) was an American writer, film star and singer-songwriter. She was the second wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers.

Early life

Born in Uvalde, Texas, she had a tumultuous early life. She was born in 1912 to T. Hillman Smith and Bettie Sue Wood, and was named Lucille Wood Smith at birth; the name was changed to Frances Octavia Smith while she was still an infant.

At age 14, she eloped with her first husband, Thomas F. Fox, to whom she bore one son, Thomas F. Fox, Jr., when she was 15. A year later, she found herself in Memphis, Tennessee, a single parent, pursuing a career in music. She landed a job with local radio stations (WMC and WREC), singing and playing piano. Divorced in 1929, she took the name Dale Evans in the early 1930s to promote her singing career.

She married Roy Rogers on December 31, 1947 in Davis, Oklahoma on the Flying L Ranch where they had earlier filmed the movie Home in Oklahoma. Art and Mary Jo Rush were best man and matron of honor. The marriage was Rogers' second and Evans' fourth but was successful, lasting 51 years until Rogers' death in 1998. Roy had an adopted child, Cheryl, and two biological children, Linda and Roy (Dusty) Jr., from his first marriage. Evans and Rogers together had one child, Robin, who died before her second birthday, and adopted four others: Mimi, Dodie, Sandy, and Debbie.

Early career

After beginning her career singing at the radio station where she was employed as a secretary, Evans had a productive career as a jazz, swing, and big band singer that led to a screen test and contract with 20th Century Fox studios. She gained exposure on radio as the featured singer for a time on the Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy show. During her time at 20th Century Fox, the studio promoted her as the unmarried supporter of her teenage "brother" Tommy (actually her son Tom Fox, Jr.). This deception continued through her divorce from Butts in 1946, and her development as a cowgirl co-star to Roy Rogers at Republic Studios.

Joint efforts

Evans married Roy Rogers at the Flying L Ranch in Davis, Oklahoma, on New Year's Eve 1947. Rogers ended the deception regarding Tommy. Rogers and Evans were a team on- and off-screen from 1946 until Rogers' death in 1998. Together they had one child, Robin Elizabeth, who died of complications of Down syndrome shortly before her second birthday. Her life inspired Evans to write her bestseller Angel Unaware. Evans was very influential in changing public perceptions of children with developmental disabilities and served as a role model for many parents. After she wrote Angel Unaware, a group then known as the “Oklahoma County Council for Mentally Retarded Children” adopted its better-known name Dale Rogers Training Center in her honor. Evans went on to write a number of religious and inspirational books. Roy and Dale appeared many times with Billy Graham in Crusades all over the country, singing gospel songs and giving their testimony.

From 1951-57, Evans and Rogers starred in the highly successful television series The Roy Rogers Show, in which they continued their cowboy and cowgirl roles, with her riding her trusty buckskin horse, Buttermilk. Alice Van-Springsteen served as a double for both Evans and Gail Davis, the actress who starred in the syndicated series Annie Oakley, often performing such tasks as tipping over wagons and jumping railroad tracks. In addition to her successful TV shows, more than 30 films and some 200 songs, Evans wrote the well-known song "Happy Trails". In later episodes of the program, she was outspoken in her Christianity, telling people that God would assist them with their troubles and imploring adults and children to turn to Him for guidance. In late 1962, the couple co-hosted a comedy-western-variety program, The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show, which aired on ABC. It was canceled after three months, losing in the ratings to the first season of The Jackie Gleason Show.

In 1964, Evans spoke at a "Project Prayer" rally attended by 2,500 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The gathering, which was hosted by actor Anthony Eisley, star of ABC's Hawaiian Eye series, sought to flood the United States Congress with letters in support of school prayer, following two decisions in 1962 and 1963 of the United States Supreme Court which struck down the practice as in conflict with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Joining Evans and Eisley at the Project Prayer rally were Walter Brennan, Lloyd Nolan, Rhonda Fleming, Pat Boone, and Gloria Swanson. Evans declared, "It's high time that all America stood up to be counted. Let our children learn of the Lord and be free." Eisely and Fleming added that Rogers, John Wayne, Ronald W. Reagan, Mary Pickford, Jane Russell, Ginger Rogers, and Pat Buttram would have attended the rally had their schedules permitted. In the 1970s, Evans recorded several solo albums of religious music. During the 1980s, the couple introduced their films weekly on the former The Nashville Network. In the 1990s, Evans hosted her own religious television program.

Death

Evans died of congestive heart failure on February 7, 2001 at the age of 88 in Apple Valley, California. She was interred at Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Apple Valley, next to Rogers.

Legacy

For her contribution to radio, Dale Evans has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6638 Hollywood Blvd. She received a second star at 1737 Vine St. for her contribution to the television industry. In 1976, she was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She ranked No. 34 on CMT's 40 Greatest Women in Country Music in 2002.

Cheryl Rogers-Barnett, a daughter of Roy Rogers and step-daughter of Evans, co-authored Cowboy Princess: Life with My Parents, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with Frank Thompson.

In her exhibit at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Dale Evans is quoted as follows:

'Cowgirl' is an attitude really. A pioneer spirit, a special American brand of courage. The cowgirl faces life head-on, lives by her own lights, and makes no excuses. Cowgirls take stands; they speak up. They defend things they hold dear.

In 2001, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to her and Roy Rogers.

KZ Pictures is in the development stage of two Dale Evans themed projects. The first is a documentary which focuses on the complete life of Dale Evans, her discography and filmology, and will feature numerous celebrity interviews. The second project will be a major motion picture centered on the early life of Dale Evans including her famous songs, "Happy Trails" and "The Bible Tells Me So."