'Queen of Cowgirls' Dale Evans dead at 88

Dale Evans, shown in this 1993 file photo, teamed with husband Roy Rogers in popular Westerns and co-wrote their theme song, "Happy Trails"

February 8, 2001
Web posted at: 9:18 a.m. EST (1418 GMT)

In this story: 'Happy Trails' and Buttermilk Life together RELATED STORIES, SITES

(CNN) -- Dale Evans, who was "Queen of the Cowgirls" to "King of the Cowboys" husband Roy Rogers, a star who parlayed Western charm into a multifaceted career, died Wednesday. She was 88.

She died of congestive heart failure at her home in Apple Valley, California, in the desert east of Los Angeles, said Dave Koch, son-in-law of Evans' stepson, Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr.

Born Frances Octavia Smith on October 31, 1912, in Uvalde, Texas, Evans changed her name sometime after going into show business, though accounts of her name change vary. According to one version, she was a young, divorced staff singer at a radio station in Memphis, Tennessee, where a station manager gave her the new moniker. Another story states her name was an amalgam of that of her third husband, Robert Dale Butts, and actress Madge Evans.

VIDEO CNN's Gloria Hilliard reports on the death of Country singer and actress Dale Evans, the widow of Roy Rogers Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     ALSO Dale Evans' filmography

Regardless of the source of her name, by the mid-1930s the former Frances Smith was widely known as Dale Evans and was an in-demand big-band singer for several Chicago orchestras. While on tour with one group, she earned a screen test for the 1942 movie "Holiday Inn." She didn't get the part, but ended up signing with the nationally broadcast "Chase and Sanborn Hour," and soon signed a contract with Republic Pictures -- B-movie home of Western hero and white-hat-wearing Roy Rogers.

The two were paired in the 1944 film "The Cowboy and the Senorita." The rest is cinematic and TV history.

'Happy Trails' and Buttermilk

"I liked him," she recalled in a 1992 interview. "We hit it off together because he's so much like my brother. I mean, Roy's like I am, and that's it."

They made several Westerns together and were married on New Year's Eve, 1947. It was her fourth marriage, and Rogers had been married before, too.

The union worked. The two became Western icons, co-starring in 35 movies and "The Roy Rogers Show," a one-hour TV series which ran from 1951 to 1957. Millions became as familiar with their horses, Trigger (Roy) and Buttermilk (Dale), as they were with their own pets.

Later small-screen incarnations included "The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show," which aired in 1962, and "Happy Trails Theatre," (1986-89) a show of repackaged Rogers and Evans movies on cable TV's Nashville Network.

Evans also co-wrote their theme song, "Happy Trails." The two recorded more than 400 songs over their careers.

Life together

The family was no stranger to tragedy. One child, Robin, died of complications associated with Down syndrome. An adopted child, Debbie, died in a bus accident when she was 12; another adopted youngster, Sandy, died accidentally while serving in the military in Germany.

Robin's death inspired Evans to write the first of her more than 20 books, "Angel Unaware."

"We have survived lots of tragedies," Evans recalled in 1992.

The two bore up with a stoicism that underscored their frontier personas. As Rogers once noted, "In the Bible, it doesn't say you're going to get by without having troubles."

In later years, Evans hosted a religious program, and she and her husband routinely greeted fans at their museum in Victorville, California.

Evans is preceded in death by her husband, who died in 1998 after 51 years of marriage. Evans, who had family members at her side when she died, is survived by 16 grandchildren and more than 30 great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Western contributors lasso Golden Boot Awards
August 7, 2000
Roy Rogers, 'King of the Cowboys,' dead at 86
July 6, 1998

Roy Rogers/Dale Evans
Yesterdayland.com: Interview with Dale Evans
Cowgirls.com: Dale Evans
Roy Rogers & Dale Evans Happy Trails Children's Foundation

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.