I suppose being the last of the silver screen' singing cowboys is a nice if somewhat dubious distinction. As Gene Autry and Roy Rogers had left or were leaving Republic Pictures, Herbert J. Yates signed country singer Rex Allen as a new singing cowboy and he was a straight arrow in the tradition of the gentleman mentioned above. When he came on board however Republic was a sinking ship and it barely stayed afloat after John Wayne terminated his long term contract.
Rex made his last film in 1954 and even with no more big screen exposure he still had a recording career which lasted several more years. He moved to the small screen in 1958 with Frontier Doctor which lasted two seasons. Rex was your old fashioned country doctor and while occasionally he had to resort to gunplay, he carried his doctor's bag and drove in a horse and buggy instead of a saddled horse.
Sadly Frontier Doctor did not last longer, but it had and still has its fans who preferred seeing a more positive aspect to the west instead of violence and killing. The concept was revived somewhat in the Nineties with Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.
Then again Jane Seymour had assets Rex Allen couldn't match.
