MATT LAUER, co-host:
We are back at 8:45 with a taste of the
Wild West
right here in
Manhattan
. Starting tomorrow,
Christie's
is auctioning off items once owned by the
King of the Cowboys
and the
Queen of the West
,
Roy Rogers
and
Dale Evans
.
Al
is just down the block at the auction house with a preview.
Al
:
AL ROKER reporting:
Hey, thanks a lot,
Matt.
Joining me is
Roy Rogers Jr
.,
Dusty
. Good to see you. Mr.
ROY ROGERS
Jr.:
Al
.
God bless you
. Good to see you, sir.
ROKER:
You know, over 1,000 items, this was in your family's museum...
Mr. ROGERS:
Yes.
ROKER:
...and how come you're letting it go?
Mr. ROGERS:
Well, we're not really letting it go, we're passing history on to other people.
Mom and Dad
kept it for 42 years.
Dad
said when it gets to the point where it's causing you kids a problem just, you know, move it out, so that's what we're doing. And
Mom and Dad
left us a lot of legacies, the museum and their things were one,
music
was the next and their books, and we're still able to continue that
music
in
Branson
...
ROKER:
Mm-hmm.
Mr. ROGERS:
...with my band the
High Riders
at the
Gilley Theatre
, but these things have to go out into the public.
ROKER:
So let's take a look at some of this. And you designed this.
Mr. ROGERS:
I did.
ROKER:
This is the
Shooting Gallery
.
Mr. ROGERS:
Yeah. We had it made in
England
and shipped over here. I designed it, you know, because I thought I had to have all the elements with
Gabby
and
Pat
, which was
Dad
's other sidekick for years.
ROKER:
Sure.
Mr. ROGERS:
And the fellow behind the bars and the one behind the window, the bad guys...
ROKER:
Mm-hmm.
Mr. ROGERS:
...you know, you got to have the bad guys.
ROKER:
Of
course
.
Mr. ROGERS:
But it's a very active gun...
ROKER:
A little gun -- a little gunplay.
Mr. ROGERS:
Everybody wants to play guns.
ROKER:
Now as far -- as we take a look up here, this -- besides
Trigger
and
Buttermilk
and
Bullet
being the centerpiece of this exhibit and this auction, this
Bonneville
designed by
Nudie
, the guy who did all your...
Mr. ROGERS:
Yes.
ROKER:
...your folks' costumes.
Mr. ROGERS:
He made all of the -- yeah -- all of the outfits for
Mom and Dad
, all the rhinestones.
ROKER:
And this -- tell me about this car. This is unbelievable.
Mr. ROGERS:
It's a -- it's a '63
Bonneville Pontiac
and completely done with all leather interior.
ROKER:
Mm-hmm.
Mr. ROGERS:
There's like 20 different guns on here, there's over 300 silver dollars. And every handle or knob or door handle is a gun, so.
ROKER:
And there are some -- there are some famous names on -- signed on the back of this thing.
Mr. ROGERS:
Elvis Presley
, yeah, and
John Wayne
and
Jim Davis
, Governor
Jim Davis
, and
Mom and Dad
signed it, and so a lot of great names.
ROKER:
You know, what's fascinating also, your dad drove around in this thing.
Mr. ROGERS:
He used to hunt with it, yeah. Hey, I've seen him with bobcats on the hood of it, so.
ROKER:
Oh, my gosh.
Mr. ROGERS:
Yeah.
ROKER:
And of
course
a cowboy is known for his boots.
Mr. ROGERS:
Absolutely. Yeah. This was his very first pair, you know, and you got to have your baby shoes bronzed, so
Dad
was no different, he had to have his first boots bronzed, so.
ROKER:
And he -- and he worked on all of his boots himself.
Mr. ROGERS:
He did. Because he was -- he -- his first job was at the
United States Shoe Company
in
Cincinnati
, that's what his first job was.
ROKER:
Wow.
Mr. ROGERS:
So he knew how to build boots
from the ground up
.
ROKER:
That is fascinating. As we head on into here, you know, one of the things that your folks were known for, their costumes.
Mr. ROGERS:
Yes.
ROKER:
I mean, they had some amazing costumes.
Mr. ROGERS:
Yeah.
And I
think a lot of that had to do with coming to
Madison Square Garden
because the kids couldn't see them in the middle of the arena so they started putting rhinestones on things...
ROKER:
Mm-hmm.
Mr. ROGERS:
...and made them pop out in the middle of the arena.
ROKER:
OK, we would see them in public in this, but when...
Mr. ROGERS:
Yes.
ROKER:
...when you were home with them, what would they wear?
Mr. ROGERS:
Oh,
Dad
was usually in a pair of jeans, an old -- an old striped shirt and sneakers.
That's what
he did. That was
Dad
at home, but...
ROKER:
Tell me about your mom.
Mr. ROGERS:
Mom Dale
, I'll tell you, she had her hands full with nine children, you know, they adopted four and had one
foster child
.
ROKER:
Mm-hmm.
Mr. ROGERS:
And then they had the children between
the two of them
, and how they survived nine children. I mean, she was the greatest Christian lady you'd ever want to meet.
ROKER:
Tell me about this piece here.
Mr. ROGERS:
Very special piece to mom. It's a -- it's a charm bracelet that
Ralph Edwards
and "This is
Your Life
" gave to Mom in
1952
...
ROKER:
Mm-hmm.
Mr. ROGERS:
...when they -- when they surprised
Dad
with that -- with that show. It has -- it completely chronicles
Roy
and
Dale
's life from the time that
Dad
was in
Duck Run
, Mom was in
Texas
, and then it chronicles their life all through in charms that actually work and...
ROKER:
Wow, that's...
Mr. ROGERS:
...it's made right here in
New York
.
ROKER:
It's beautiful.
Mr. ROGERS:
Yeah.
ROKER:
And of
course
, the
music
collection here of instruments.
Mr. ROGERS:
Guitars.
ROKER:
Your dad was -- had a beautiful voice.
Mr. ROGERS:
Oh, absolutely. Well, he started as a
Sons of the Pioneers
1934
, and of
course
they went on and just --
Dad
signed his first contract '38 and went on to be
King of the Cowboys
.
ROKER:
Well, it's a -- it's a piece of
Americana
.
Mr. ROGERS:
It is.
ROKER:
We don't have the cowboys to idolize anymore.
Mr. ROGERS:
Not the same heroes we had.
ROKER:
Yeah.
Mr. ROGERS:
No.
ROKER:
Well,
Roy Rogers
Jr.
Mr. ROGERS:
Al
, thank you, sir.
ROKER:
Thank you so much
. People want more information, go to our
Web site
, todayshow.com, to find out about the
Roy Rogers
and
Dale Evans
collection that's being auctioned off at
Christie's
.
Matt
:
“ ”