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I -- SWmulEAR TAKETH 1 mmv FOOTWEAR 6NETH BACK v- BEETLE BAILEY BRANSON Mo (AP) — It was a different time entirely says Dusty Rogers recalling those years right after World War II when he was growing up It was a tune when America seemed to produce heroes in droves and of truly heroic proportions — heroes who didn't get caught in fast cars filled with drugs or in hotel rooms filled with fast women Heroes who kept their hair dip same color every year until it either fell out or decided to change shades oo its own “I don’t think we're ever going to see that time agpin That's a time long gone and it's a very cial tune" Rogers muses “I thank God every day that I grew up in that time zone" It was an age this cowboy singer recalls joyfully when every little boy wanted to grow up to be a big cowboy hero: a Gene Autry or a Lone Ranger Maybe even a Roy Rogers And that's exactly who he was Roy Rogers Jr the eldest son of the “king of the cowboys” — which didn't always make life in die 1950s easy for him “I got thrown out of kindergarten twice for fighting with Gene Autry fans” he says laughing But he also got to live life up close and personal with die king of the cowboys watching his father ride and rope and catch bad guys on television and in the movies And he listened as his father recorded hundreds of songs with his group the Sons of the Pioneers and other Western musicuuu Songs like “Roll Along Prairie Moon” “Happy Trails” “Ridin’ Down the Canyon" “Cool Water” “Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds” Songs that would land the elder Rogers in the Country Music Hall of Fame not once but twice both as an individual and a member of the Sons of die Pioneers the first country musician so honored Now nearly a year after his death at age 87 the rest of the world can hear 94 of the songs in a four-C- D set “King of the Cowboys: The Roy Rogers Box” from the archival record label Rhino The collection is heavy on transcriptions of old radio show broadcasts auditions ana live performances never before released They trace Rogers' singing career from its beginnings in die 1930s into the '90s “Dad never threw anything away” Rogers says in an interview from die Roy Rogers-Dal- e Evans Museum in Victorville Calif which is named for his father and stepmother “That’s why we have a museum here” he continues with a chuckle “Because he never threw any- HAGAR THE HORRIBLE thing away And we've got all these recordings here and they’re in pristine condition” His father he says helped put the track list together when the project began It shows how his style developed over the years from simple acoustic music to more of a Western PEANUTS big-ba- nd swing sound progressing again in the 1990s when he would work with such modern-da- y country stars as Clint Black Randy Travis Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris And it shows that while many a childhood fan might have tuned in a Roy Rogers TV show or gone to a movie mainly to see the ruling and the roping this guy really could sing He may have been as Dale Warren leader of the Sons of the Pioneers insists one of the great yodd-er-s of all time “Jimmie Rodgers was one of his idols years ago” Warren recalls mentioning music's singing brakeman the master of the “Blue Yodel" songs “But where he really started to yodel was bade there in Ohio on the farm where he grew up where he would be way out in the hills or working on the fields and his sisters and him would yodd tack and forth That's how they'd hear each other and keep in touch “He tad his own style” Warren continues “He brought little tricks into it that only he did' Like yodeling in three-pa- rt harmony something that only the Sons of die Pioneers did And which the group now in its 65th year and in die midst of its annual eight-monrun in Branson continues to do This year the Pioneers also have their own special tribute to Rogers “This is our first year that he won't be here for us to talk to or visit with or to come to the theater and see us here in Branson” says Warren 73 who has been with the group 47 years “He'd surprise us a lot” he continues quietly recalling a memory now bittersweet “He’d just come in and sit down and someone would say ‘Roy's sitting out there in die audience’" So instead those days alive old Roy Rogers movie “People will get a dunce to see those old movies like they used to for a dime when they were kids” says Warren Tickets will cost more than that of course “But we're going to try to at least keep die popcorn at a th dime” More than just prices have changed over the years however And because of that Warren doesn't envision another Roy Rogers ever riding down the trail He recalls fondly how Rogers would open a state-fa- ir show by racing like the wind into an arena atop Trigger his golden palomino in a moment so transcendent that people who come to Sons of the Pioneers shows to this day still talk about iL “Oh you might have somebody come along and be just as big But it wouldn’t be the same" says Warren “There's Garth Brooks George Strait Clint Black and all of them today And they all wear cowboy hats and sing But it's not the same” But as long as those old records and movies exist Warren can hardly imagine a time when people won’t smile in recognition at the mention of the name Roy Rogers “We tad a bunch of young fellows from New Jersey to the show just last week — eight or 10 of them out on spring break” he says “They came tack each one of them afterward And each one of them had a CD And we autographed it for them And they talked about how much they liked this music I guess it's still alive if you put it out in front of folks” Best bets for TV viewing this week By Scrlpps Howard News Service MONDAY: “American Playhouse” 8 pm PBS “Fast Cheap A Out of Control” is filmmaker End Morris’ humorous account from two years ago of the daily lives of four men with unusual occupations: a lion tamer a topiary gardener a mole-ra- t photographer and a robot scientist Although some people might consider them oddballs Morris sees them ss dreamers with unusual obsessions The four are interviewed with Morris’ oddball “interrotron” a patented device the filmmaker developed TUESDAY: “Free Speech for Sale” 8 pm PBS The way in which the wealthy control the media often allowing them to sway public opinion in their favor Bill Mayers anchors a report that takes a look at the whole issue of free speech in America and who really gets to exercise that constitutionally guaranteed right He conies to the conclusion that more often than not free speech is only assured for major corporations that can spend millions of dollars to insure that their message is heard while opposing views are not The story unfolds through Moyers’ coverage of a number of different issues including an election campaign in North Carolina where a state legislator dared to challenge the powerful hog firming industry Another segment covers the $40 million ad campaign by the tobacco industry against passage of the McCain Tobacco BilL WEDNESDAY: “The Sopranos” 8 pm HBO If you know a place where you can make a wager on the Emmys plunk down a few bucks on this series as one of the major winners for the 1998-9- 9 TV season This is part one of the series that aired earlier this year and (prickly established itself as the best show on television for the season It MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM 13-p- art REAL LIFE ADVENTURES CLOSE TO HOME YELLOW ONES? THOSE SUGGESTIONS TO HELP YOU ARE PARK YOtR CAR SO THAT OTHERS CAN FARR NEAR YOU UflTHMT EXITING SEE THE revolves around contemporary mob boss Tony Soprano (Janies Gandolfini) who's dealing with different kinds of problems inside his two families Win What according to Dr Samuel Johnson is the happiest part of a man's life? For many it is while sitting at the bridge table Today’s declarer was a happy man — until noticing he tad misplayed The deal was described by David Huggett in the April issue of Bridge Plus What would you have done? West Against three leads the heart six: three king (curses!) 10 East returns the suit your queen and dummy’s ace falling with a silent thunderclap What now? Needing to take the next eight no-tru- tricks South logically went after At the Institute (or the Study of That Scary Feeling You Get When You Start to Fad Backward In Your Chair but Catch Youraaif at ttia Laat Second angel Be advised however that the series is packed with language violence and plenty eleof nudity But despite these gritty ments the series was the most intelligent and original new drama of the season THURSDAY: “48 Hours” 9 pm CBS As part of its ongoing series “Class of 2000” the newspay-cab- le magazine presents an hour called “Driven to Extremes” which seeks some context and perspective in the wake of the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado FRIDAY: “NBA Basketball Playoffs" 6 pm NBC If all four teams are still playing in conference finals that opened with plenty of drama and sizzling emotion this could be a memorable night for pro basketball fans Opens with Game 6 in the Eastern Conference finals with the Indiana Pacers rt the New York Knicks Continues at about 8:30 with Game 6 of the Western Conference finals as the San Antonio Spurs take on the Portland Trail Blazers SATURDAY: “Larry King Weekend” 8 pm CNN On a night when you would be better served by finding something else to do King devotes his call-i- n show to the fifth anniversary of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman SUNDAY: “Silent Predators” 7 pm TBS If just the thought of seeing a snake is enough to have you searching for real estate somewhere near the North Pole this won’t be on your Must See TV list Harry Hamlin ("LA Law") stars as a fire chief in a small California town who must help tattle an infestation by hybrid rattlesnakes He finds an ally in Shannon Sturges and an opponent in a ruthless real estate developer (played by Jack Scalia) at bridge By PhHIip Alder through their sunroofs On one hand he’s facing woes with mobsters who don't know the traditions or die code of the underworld and who misquote essential lines from “The Godfather” At home he’s confronted by children who aren't perfect and a wife who knows he’s no five clubs and three diamonds He led the club two to his ace then finessed dummy's eight There was good news — the finesse won — and tad news — East discarded South played a the diamond to his ace repeated the club finesse and ran the rest of the suit But now declarer was stuck in the dummy unable to marnin: 01 by NEA Inc take the diamond finesse In desperation he cashed the diamond king but the queen didn’t fall: one down Did you spot South’s error? At trick three he must lead the club eight (or nine) to his ace When the 10 drops declarer can contin- ue with his seven When that wins he is still in hand to take a second club finesse After running the dubs declarer crosses to his diamond ace then takes the successful diamond finesse squeaking home with an overtrick not an undertrick when the diamonds split 3--3 Dr Johnson churned “The happiest part of a man's life is what he puses lying awake in bed in Opening lead: v I i v |