In the late 1920’s John and Molly Marvin built the Butler Hotel. It resulted in a fateful meeting. One afternoon then undiscovered Gene Autry traveled through Butler and stopped by the hostelry. Striking up a conversation with proprietress, Molly, young Autry discovered her own talented musician sons were in New York; Johnny was already playing on the radio and Frankie waiting to be discovered. She provided Autry with addresses and urged him to look them up when he went to New York City. The rest they say is show business, but the talented troubadours grew up on Butler, provided America with a wealth of talent and lightened the soul of a depression-laden nation.
John Marvin was born July 11, 1887. At the age of 12 he left home to join the circus. During World War I he saw naval service. In 1923, Johnny saw the opportunity to jump beyond his Butler roots. The Royal Hawaiian Orchestra was playing in Weatherford when their ukulele player fell ill. Marvin, never playing a ukulele, mastered the instrument and left town with the band. He moved on to vaudeville and became known as Honey Duke and his Uke, worked his way to New York City where he did a daily radio show for network NBC. He appeared on Broadway in a musical in 1927 “Honeymoon Lane.” His clear tenor voice gained him the nickname “The Great Lonesome.” Marvin almost single handedly raised the ukulele from tourist novelty to a contribution to music in the ‘30’s and ‘40’s. He had a solo career recording with Decca until the Depression ended it. He turned to songwriting. A prolific songwriter, he wrote for other country stars, but was best known for his contributions for Autry Westerns. He wrote some 80 songs including “Long as I’ve Got my Horse,” “The Old Trail,” “Old November Moon,” “I Just Want You,” “Blue Montana Skies,” “I Don’t Belong in Your World,” “Little Old Band of Gold,” and “Goodbye Little Darling Goodbye.”
In 1941 he became a writer and producer of Autry’s long running “Melody Ranch” radio show. During World War II he made several tours to entertain the troops in the South Pacific. In Papua, New Guinea, he developed Dengue fever in 1943. This led to his untimely heart attack in 1945 and his death at the age of 47.
Frankie, born January 27, 1904, in Butler, the younger brother, tried his hand at barbering, farming, and helping with the family business, but was bitten by the show bug and was off to New York City to join brother, Johnny, with guitar in hand. He found work with the “Duke of Paducah” in a vaudeville act. He also appeared in a comedy routine called “Ralph and Ace.” Soon Autry joined the brothers in New York. In Autry’s autobiography, he told how tough times were. “Frankie and I shared a hotel room. Neither one of us had any money, and it was cold. Only one of us could go out at a time because we shared the same topcoat. If we were out, we were looking for work. The other was in the room.” In late 1929 Autry cut his first recording, written by Johnny, with backup vocals and guitars by Frankie and Johnny. Autry never forgot their help.
In the early 1930’s, as Autry’s fame spread, he and the Marvin brothers packed up and went to Hollywood. Frankie was a regular in many of Autry’s movies: 1934, In Old Santa Fe; 1935, Sagebrush Troubadour and Tumbling Tumbleweeds; 1936, Guns and Guitars, Man of the Frontier, Red RiverValley, and Boots and Saddles; 1937, Oh Susanna, Public Cowboy #1; 1938, Man from MusicMountain.
Frankie never reached the prolific status of John’s writings, but he had contributions including “Cowboy Heaven” and “There’s Gold in them Thar Hills.” His steel guitar was central to Autry’s sound. Marvin’s talents ran from cowboy and cornball western to blues and jazz, including “Boogie-Woogie Blues.” He was a virtuoso of the steel guitar. Frankie acted as producer in both the radio and television of Autry’s “Melody Ranch.” He returned to the camera when “Melody Ranch” appeared on Autry’s own Los Angeles station. He retired in the early 1970’s and died in 1988. Asked why he never resumed his recording career he just shrugged, “Heck I’d rather be fishing.”
These two music giants got their start in Butler. Known in Butler for playing between reels at the local silent pictures, their home-grown fans never forgot them. The Butler Hotel still has the 'Gene Autry' suite where he stayed for extended periods.