San
Fernando Valley, Republic Pictures, was hiring musicians to perform background music
in their films. All it took was one interview, a cursory look at the clippings in Daddy’s
portfolio of his musical history, half a song on the sax he carried with him, and he was
hired on the spot.
I have many memories of the Republic Pictures studios, but my first one stands out. It
looked like a circus to me, because literally hundreds of actors called “extras” milled
about dressed in every sort of costume. The colors and patterns were vivid, in order to
create contrasts in the black and white films. Eyes were emphasized with heavy mascara
and fake eyelashes; the lipstick was dark. My eyes were immediately drawn to those in
cowboy or Indian attire; however, the Indians weren’t half as impressive as those we’d
seen while traveling through Southwestern states in the Buick. I saw dozens of horses and
covered wagons, and streets of buildings that were only painted panels of wood or
canvas. Although I wasn’t clear about the purpose of the strange-looking equipment atop
enormous wheeled platforms, Daddy told me the men perched on them were operating
the movie cameras. He pointed at several people striding past us or across the lot and
mentioned names like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and John Wayne. He was clearly agog
by their celebrity, but I had no idea who they were at the time. I couldn’t understand why
adults wanted to play dress-up. But these three actors were Republic Pictures’ stars in the
serial B pictures they produced.
At this time of my life, I was totally fascinated with Trigger, Roy Rogers’ horse, more
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