Gene Autry's Co-Stars
Dick Jones
1927 – 2014

DICK JONES
BIOGRAPHY

Dick Jones was born in 1927, in the small west Texas town of Snyder, just south of Abilene and west of Dallas. He learned to ride about the same time he took up walking. At the age of four, he began his career by appearing in rodeos as the "World's Youngest Trick Rider and Trick Roper."

Cowboy movie star Hoot Gibson headlined the Dallas Texas State Fair in 1932 where he "discovered" little Dickie Jones. Hoot, right away, convinced Dickie's mother to put the boy into movies. A few days later, the world's youngest professional cowboy, accompanied by his mother and Hoot's manager, headed for the wide open spaces of Hollywood.

Dickie earned his first movie paycheck doing stunt work in the Warner Bros. picture Wonder Bar starring Al Jolson. He then went on to play kid roles in all types of movies, from dramatic to western at various studios, probably playing more "child star" roles than anyone in the movie industry. He also worked with practically every cowboy actor in the business, except, for some odd reason, with his mentor Hoot Gibson.

In the middle of 1938, eleven-year-old Dickie was chosen by the late Walt Disney to be the voice of Pinocchio in the animated film classic of the little wooden puppet. Between Pinocchio recordings, which took place over 19 months, Dickie completed roles in a half dozen other films.

In 1943 at age 15, Dick went to New York for two and a half years to play the lead part of Henry Aldrich on the nationally acclaimed radio show, "The Aldrich Family." His time as Henry was cut short due to World War II, in which he served a two-year hitch working for Uncle Sam as a Rifleman in the Army, stationed in Alaska. Upon his discharge from the service, Dick returned to Hollywood to resume his acting career.

In 1948, Gene Autry hired Dick for a role in his Cinecolor feature film The Strawberry Roan. Dick subsequently worked in four other Gene Autry films: Sons of New Mexico, Wagon Team, The Old West, and Last of the Pony Riders. Gene and Dick continued to work together on television in numerous episodes of "The Gene Autry Show."

In the latter part of 1950, upon completing the filming of Rocky Mountain, starring Errol Flynn for Warner Bros. Studio, Dick signed on to be the sidekick of Jock O'Mahoney in the Gene Autry produced television series "Range Rider" which aired on ABC 1951 to 1953.

Dick's popularity in the "Range Rider" series prompted Autry to create a new television series for Dick to star in, "Buffalo Bill, Jr." The series aired on NBC from 1955 to 1956 with Mars candy's Milky Way® bar as the show's national sponsor.

Dick's motion picture, radio and television career spans 55 years. He has appeared in nearly 100 movies and over 200 television productions. He was among the original 1,500 celebrities to be honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the motion picture and television industry. In 1989, Dick was presented the prestigious Golden Boot Award, given to him during the Legends Award ceremony at Walt Disney's Studio by Roy E. Disney and C.E.O. Michael Eisner.

In addition to his many television appearances, some of Dick's better known films are: Follies of 1936 and Follies of 1938 (Our Gang Comedies), Stella Dallas, Destry Rides Again, Young Mister Lincoln, Pinocchio, Brigham Young Frontiersman, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Heaven Can Wait, The Outlaw, The Strawberry Roan, Sands of Iwo Jima, Sons of New Mexico, and Requiem for a Gunfighter.

From Dick Jones and edited by Gene Autry Entertainment 11/2003