Cowboy Princess: Life with My Parents Roy Rogers and Dale Evans [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Few members of the baby-boom generation can wax nostalgic about childhood with lines like "Dad occasionally shot skeet and trap with Clark Gable." Rogers-Barnett, daughter of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, the original rhinestone cowboy couple, does just that in an uplifting tribute that will appeal to fans of the duo and that beloved coffee-drinking palomino, Trigger ("In Dad's case it was love at first sight," she writes of the horse). There's no Hollywood dish or childhood trauma worthy of the talk shows here. Instead, this warm, breezy memoir reads like an invitation to a casual supper on the ranch with Rogers and Evans's brood: five children, including the author, were adopted and two were from Rogers's previous marriage (Evans's son was an adult by then). The one child of the marriage, Robin, was born with Down Syndrome and died of encephalitis. The ordeal, the author explains, reinforced Roy and Dale's commitment to abandoned and disabled children, and this advocacy remained strong until their deaths. In between recounting a youth spent on soundstages amid Hollywood cowboys and characters like George "Gabby" Hayes, Rex Allen and The Cisco Kid, Rogers-Barnett offers a tender glimpse of the real people behind her parents' flashy duds and western warbles. Roy appears as a kinetic and musically gifted man from humble beginnings, a devoted father who had trouble showing his feelings even in times of crisis, while Dale is presented as a big-hearted Texas spitfire who talked straight but never learned to boil water or thread a needle. While Rogers-Barnett points out that life in the spotlight wasn't all happy trails, she appears to have few complaints. 75 b&w photos
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description

In Cowboy Princess, the eldest daughter of the famous Hollywood couple tells the story of America's most famous cowboy and cowgirl like nobody else can.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing; 1 edition (October 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158979026X
• ISBN-13: 978-1589790261
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #228,014 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for fans of Roy Rogers, July 14, 2004

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Cowboy Princess: Life With My Parents Roy Rogers And Dale Evans is Cheryl Rogers-Barnett's true story of growing up as the daughter of "the King of Cowboys" and "the Queen of the West", whose popular exploits on movies and TV captivated the nation. Joy, the gruelling demands of the entertainment industry, the terrible loss of three siblings, and the lively personalities of those who shared their lives with Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Cheryl Rogers-Barnett fill this highly readable and personal account. Highly recommended for fans of Roy Rogers and the western movies of yesteryear.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Wonderful Book about Two Truly Wonderful People, June 10, 2006

By	Alan Rockman (Upland, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

who enriched our lives over five decades.

Cheryl Rogers Barnett has truly written a memoir full of Love, Respect, and Admiration for her late parents, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. She writes of the people they were, before she was born, the circumstances of her adoption - yes, Cheryl was adopted by Roy and his first wife - and growing up in the Rogers-Evans* (Roy's first wife died while Cheryl was still a young pre-adolescent child, Dale lovingly took her on as her own) household. Roy, bless his soul, was in many ways, a real cowboy who eschewed the Hollywood lifestyle and could live in the great outdoors - in fact one of their early homes out at Lake Hughes was in a wooded setting - with rattlesnakes! Knowing that this wouldn't work, Roy moved in closer to Los Angeles, but always made sure that his children were grounded and did not have airs about them.

Barnett writes about her growing-up in the Rogers-Evans household, and in reading it one kind of wishes that too were put of a family that truly lived by the Cowboy Code. Roy and Dale were among the kindest folks one could ever meet, and I sure wish I did. Both Roy and Dale were unfailing kind and considerate to most people they met. It speaks volumes that in the one instance Roy ever got angry at fans was when they chose to want to visit him on the day they were burying Cheryl's little sister, Robin, and only AFTER these uncouth and rude people insisted in visiting him, having no consideration for the grief of the family.

She writes of the wonder horse Trigger, of how George "Gabby" Hayes was as different in real life as he was in the movies. Gabby, bless him, was a trained Shakespearian actor who was more accustomed to wearing tweed suits than a bandana and chaps - still, he too made the roles his very own. There are the Hollywood stories and vignettes of growing up knowing John Wayne and so many other Western heroes and other television and movie celebs, written straightforward, (the reader will never have the feeling that this book is a gossipy read) of Nudie the Famous Rodeo Tailor whom Roy helped to get established in Hollywood, and finally of the last decades when Roy and Dale, seeing how different Hollywood had become (mid-1960s), chose to move out to Apple Valley, and live out their lives there.

Throughout it all, Roy and Dale always gave deep love to the people they knew, and encouraged their children to be the best and fine folks in their own right(after learning she was adopted, Cheryl underwent a quest to learn about her real parents, with Roy and Dale supporting her every way). With the happiness there were the tragedies, first Robin, then the young son who died serving in the U.S. Army, and the adopted daughter from Korea, killed in a senseless road accident. Throughout it all, Roy and Dale's faith in God was never unwavering and was always solid. They lived the true meaning of the Cowboy and Cowgirl Codes.*

*(on their very last record together, Roy, Dale and son Dusty recorded a song written by two great friends of mine, Chris Hillman and Steve Hill entitled: "God's Plan" ...that pretty well sums up the honest and rich meaning of the lives they lived.

A warm memoir of a time when the tinsel Cowboys were so very much real - and real people too, unlike the sad imitation that Hollywood has become these days. Thank you, Cheryl Rogers-Barnett for a heartwarming read, and for signing my Roy Rogers-Dale Evans lunchpail in Wickenburg, Arizona last April.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cowboy Princess, February 24, 2006

By	Sandra K. Gorin "Colonelsandi" (Glasgow, KY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I loved this book! I became a little girl again with eyes wide open in awe of my heroes - Roy and Dale. Cheryl is very honest about the fun, the hectic schedules, the grief over the loss of her siblings, her rebellious nature in an innocent way, the strengths and weaknesses of her well-known parents who raised their family well, loved them dearly, lived a honorable life and had a lot of adventures in the way. Where the fans viewed Roy and Dale as super heroes ... Cheryl presents them as parents. I highly recommend this book!