Biography
One of the last of the singing cowboys, Rex Allen performed on-stage and in radio (as a headliner on
The National Barn Dance) before hitching up with a traveling rodeo. Allen was brought to Republic Studios in 1949 as a potential replacement for
Roy Rogers. He appeared in several slick B-Westerns of the early '50s, usually teamed with
Slim Pickens, then worked for Republic's TV division as star of the 1958 TV series
Frontier Doctor. Filmgoers of the 1960s were more familiar with Rex Allen's voice than with his rugged physique: Allen was the laid-back narrator of such Walt Disney films as
The Legend of Lobo (1962),
The Incredible Journey (1963), and Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar (1967). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide