Tex Fletcher

Tex Fletcher, born Geremino Bisceglia on January 17, 1910, in Harrison, New York, was an American entertainer whose career spanned recording, Broadway, film, radio, television, and nightclub performance. The fifth of eight children born to Italian immigrants Michael, a stonemason, and Josephine Bisceglia, Fletcher left home in 1924 at age fifteen and joined the Sells Floto Circus, traveling across the United States and Canada. He subsequently settled in South Dakota, where he worked with horses and cattle and absorbed cowboy traditions and songs before returning to New York in the early 1930s.

Back in New York, Fletcher took a position as a singing cowboy on radio station WFAS in White Plains. By 1934 he had moved to WOR in New Jersey, where he served as cowboy answer man, stepping into a role previously held by his close friend Tex Ritter. Fletcher remained with WOR for more than twenty years, leaving the air in 1957. The 1930s brought a concentrated period of activity: he performed at Madison Square Garden, toured as both a soloist and as a member of Tom Emerson's Mountaineers, a hillbilly group that broadcast nationally over WMCA and its affiliates, and signed a recording deal with Decca that continued well into the 1950s. He also performed for the President of the United States during this period.

In 1937, Fletcher appeared on Broadway in Howdy Stranger. The following year, his work with Tom Emerson's Mountaineers led to an appearance in the Hollywood musical production Down on the Barn, which brought him to the attention of talent scouts at Acadia Productions. He was subsequently cast as the lead in a planned series of westerns to be produced by Grand National Pictures, again succeeding Tex Ritter, who had moved to another studio. The first film in the series, Six-Gun Rhythm, was left in limited distribution when Grand National collapsed. Fletcher responded by conducting a self-financed promotional tour of the northeastern United States and Canada, driving from town to town with his own 16mm print of the film, a custom-made Martin D-42 guitar, and his costumes, screening the picture and performing songs at each stop. Ritter occasionally accompanied him on this tour.

Fletcher served in the United States Army during World War II, attaining the rank of Sergeant. After the war he married Ada Mae Henkel of Yonkers, New York, and the couple had five children: Robert, Jayne, Kathy, George, and Michael. He returned to performing full-time, working in nightclubs including the Village Barn in Manhattan, and resumed his presence on radio and television, appearing on WOR, WJZ-TV, WNBT, and WOR-TV, with WOR broadcasting coast to coast via the Mutual Network. In the early 1950s he joined the cast of Bobby Benson and the B-Bar-B Riders on the Mutual Broadcasting System. He was also featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not for his ability to recall more than 4,000 songs from memory.

Fletcher recorded for a wide range of labels throughout his career, including ARC, Decca, Vocalion, Majestic, Montgomery Ward, Flint, SESAC, Waldorf Music, Grand Award, and his own Dakota imprint. His final album, Holiday Hootenanny, was released in 1964 on Dakota. As a songwriter, he composed works including "The Lord is In The Saddle Tonight," "Tiperary (The Great Outlaw Horse)," "My Harding County Home," and the closing theme to the CBS television series The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok. His songs were recorded by Gene Autry, Ernest Tubb, Lawrence Welk, Magic Slim, Pistol Pete and Ron Hytower, and Glenn Ohrlin. In 1960, Fletcher opened a bar and restaurant in Rockerville, South Dakota, where one of his employees was future United States Senator James Abourezk. He declined all subsequent offers to return to Hollywood, including offers that continued into the 1980s, choosing instead to concentrate on radio and live performance. Fletcher died on March 14, 1987, in Newburgh, New York.