Editing Rex Allen (section)

==Early career==
[[File:Shadows of Tombstone movie poster 1953.JPG|thumb|Poster for ''Shadows of Tombstone'', 1953]]
Allen began his singing career on radio station [[KOY]] in [[Phoenix, Arizona]], after which he became better known as a performer on the ''[[National Barn Dance]]'' on [[WLS (AM)|WLS]] in Chicago.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Luptak |first1=Gene |title=Communities to spotlight favorite sons |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54737479/arizona-republic/ |access-date=July 5, 2020 |work=Arizona Republic |date=September 30, 1983 |location=Phoenix |page=81|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

When [[singing cowboy]]s such as [[Roy Rogers]] and [[Gene Autry]] were very much in vogue in American film, in 1949 [[Republic Pictures]] in Hollywood gave him a screen test and put him under contract.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Beginning in 1950, Allen starred as himself in 19 of Hollywood's [[Western movie]]s.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> One of the top-ten box office draws of the day, whose character was soon depicted in comic books,<ref>[https://www.comics.org/series/name/Rex%20Allen/sort/chrono/ Grand Comics Database: 'Rex Allen']</ref> on screen Allen personified the clean cut, God-fearing American hero of the [[Wild West]], who wore a white Stetson hat, loved his faithful horse Koko, and had a loyal buddy who shared his adventures. Allen's comic-relief sidekick in his first few pictures was first [[Buddy Ebsen]] and then [[character actor]] [[Slim Pickens]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/>