Roy Rogers, “King of the Cowboys,” and Dale Evans, “Queen of the West,” were mainstays of radio, movies and television in the mid-20th century. Numerous in-person appearances at rodeos, charity events, religious rallies and talk shows kept the couple in the public eye long after their TV series, The Roy Rogers Show, was canceled. Throughout their long careers, Rogers and Evans epitomized wholesome family entertainment and Christian values to millions of fans.
Theresa Kaminski, author of Queen of the West: The Life and Times of Dale Evans (Lyons Press), recalls her enjoyment of The Roy Rogers Show reruns on Saturday mornings: “As a child growing up in the suburbs, I was mesmerized by how Dale rode a horse, ran her own business, and sang,” says Kaminski. “As an adult and a historian, I became curious about what happened to her, which led to the whole project.”
Dale Evans was far more than the wife and sidekick of Roy Rogers, as demonstrated in this first-ever biography of her life. Through meticulous research, Kaminski shows how Evans was a powerhouse in her own right as a singer, actress, songwriter, businesswoman and bestselling author.
Dale’s laser-focused ambition for stardom began in her teens as a young married woman with a son, pursuing appearances on radio as a singer. Graduating from local to national stations, Evans reached a broad audience around the country, garnering attention from 20th Century Fox for a movie career. Later switching to Republic Studios, Dale found a working formula for success as a female lead in Roy Rogers’ Westerns.
EMBRACING NEW DIRECTION IN ENTERTAINMENT
Although she had hoped for a film career in a more serious genre, Dale’s friendship with Roy helped her embrace this new direction. Westerns became a natural fit as a child from Texas: “All of Texas seemed like a grand romance in those days — so wild and free,” she recalled. Fishing and riding a pony were some of Dale’s favorite pastimes.
In 1947, a year after the tragic loss of Roy’s wife after the birth of their son, he and Dale married. Although it was Dale’s fourth and Roy’s third try at matrimony, the marriage succeeded with the couple being partners in both work and domestic life. Dale became the stepmother to Roy’s three children, and they adopted two others.
But it was the birth of their only daughter, Robin, that changed Dale’s life forever. Although Robin had Down Syndrome and a weakened heart, Dale and Roy chose to keep her at home as an active member of the family, an unusual decision for the 1940s. Robin’s death nearly two years later launched Dale’s career as a bestselling writer as she poured her grief into her first book, Angel Unaware. Dale also became an outspoken advocate for children with developmental disabilities.
EVANS’ LATE-FOUND BUT DEEPLY IMPACTFUL FAITH
Dale’s commitment to Christianity was another life-changing event, thanks to her first son, Tom, who invited her to attend his church. He then encouraged her to accept Jesus Christ as her savior, and after some hesitation, she answered the altar call from the pastor. Roy committed soon after. Their shared faith became a vital part of their lives and career. She and Roy added faith-based songs to their live events and ensured that their TV show reflected their values. Billy Graham extended an invitation for them to perform and offer their testimonies at his crusades. As a result of her conversion, Dale expressed regrets about her past marriages and her neglect in mothering her son. Although she and Roy worked as hard as ever, constantly adapting their joint careers to the times they lived in, Dale began to place much more emphasis on being a good wife and mother.
Queen of the West is an engaging and thorough study of the multi-faceted life of Dale Evans. A little slow to start, the book takes off when Dale and Roy marry. Through Dale’s experiences, I enjoyed learning about the history of the changing entertainment industry from the 1920s through the 1990s. I most appreciated the stories of family life and the couple’s commitment to adoption and disabled children. The saga about Robin is particularly moving. Dale’s personal development is inspiring, from a tough, ambitious girl driven to achieve stardom to a wiser woman, embracing and integrating domestic life while achieving incredible career success.
If you are a fan of Westerns and, in particular, the “King of the Cowboys” and the “Queen of the West,” or simply enjoy reading about the entertainment industry in the 20th century, I highly recommend Queen of the West. It is a fascinating read.
Q&A WITH THERESA KAMINSKI
Q: What motivated you to write Queen of the West? As a child watching reruns of The Roy Rogers Show, what captured your interest?
A: As a child, I was old enough to watch the reruns of The Roy Rogers Show that were shown on Saturday mornings in the 1960s. I didn’t know anything about Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, not even that they were married in real life. What fascinated me about the show was that it represented a place (the contemporary rural American West) that was totally different from where I lived (suburban Chicago). Dale Evans’ character was a single woman who ran her own business and helped Roy deal with the bad guy(s) of the week, wearing great Western togs while doing so and riding a horse when necessary. Plus she sang. I thought Dale Evans had the loveliest singing voice.
I remembered all of this in the early part of the 21st century when I was still working as a history professor at a university in Wisconsin. I had already written two books centered on women’s history, the second of which was a biography. I really liked that as a way of getting into specific historical issues. And I especially liked using the lives of ordinary women to illuminate those times and issues. I just started looking around for a new subject, and those memories of Dale Evans popped into my head. While she hadn’t lived an ordinary life, her once (and many) well-known accomplishments had faded from public consciousness. I wanted to find out why.
Q: As you explored the life of Dale Evans, what did you discover that most surprised you?
A: I did find a lot of surprising things. I hadn’t known the details of her entertainment career that pre-dated her time with Roy. I didn’t know about her previous marriages. I didn’t know about all of the children she and Roy had during their marriage — it was quite the blended family. But the biggest surprises were learning about the depth of her religious faith and about her conservative politics.
Q: Your objectivity, both toward your subject and toward the various eras that she lived through, was refreshing, creating a great story of Dale’s complex character without judgment. How did you achieve that objectivity?
A: I’ve come to realize that I like researching and writing about things I don’t know, hadn’t considered much, and/or don’t entirely agree with. That all means that I have to really think things through. I wanted readers to see Dale’s world through her eyes. Beginning in the late 1940s, her Christian faith became the foundation of her life and influenced everything: her family relationships, her political affiliations, and even her career and her celebrity. I wanted to explain that all clearly, and it’s good to know that it seems like I have!
Q: What do you hope your readers will take away from Queen of the West?
A: I hope that readers will understand how smart and how persistent Dale Evans was. She worked hard to become a star and a celebrity. She worked equally hard to achieve the kind of loving family and home life she always wanted. She was determined to be a good Christian and a patriotic American. Most women today will especially connect with that struggle to find a work/family balance. Dale Evans reminds us that that struggle has been going on for a long time, has manifested itself in many different ways, and results in different kinds of success stories.
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About Theresa Kaminski:
Formerly an academic historian, Theresa Kaminski now writes full-time about scrappy women in American history. She also reviews nonfiction for Publisher’s Weekly and The Wall Street Journal. A fan of The Roy Rogers Show since childhood, Kaminski claims that Dale Evans drew out her inner cowgirl at a young age, and later developed a fondness for country music and cowboys boots.
