"I don't know if you're aware, but Daddy used two horses in his movies. The first horse he used in his earlier movies was a paint named Lucky. FYI, Lucky was his "stage" name because I guess the producers didn't think his real name was sophisticated enough for the movies. The moviegoers knew the paint as Lucky, but at home, he was plain ole' Tex. We loved Tex.

Another FYI: When Loretta Young needed a particularly gentle and smart horse for
Along Came Jones (1945) all the wranglers in town knew the one for her was our Tex/Lucky. So, Daddy loaned him to her for the film.

Do you know what happened to Lucky after his movie career ended? I don't want to go into a long story, but I think it's really interesting -- so I will -- f.y.i.

Daddy gave Lucky (man, it's so hard not to type Tex!) to the Queen on Jack Bailey's radio show, "Queen For A Day"... She was a fan, wanted a horse, etc. Anyway, years after -- and I don't know why -- but Lucky was placed at Pick Wick Stables in Burbank. He was not there as a rental horse... just boarding there, we believe. Anyway, there was a terrible fire and most of the horses were destroyed. But Lucky hadn't been brought in from a back pasture and he was one of the "lucky" ones... He was alive and well. He was lucky! And he lived out his natural life in leisure.

In Daddy's later movies, he used another horse. He was a golden red color and his name was Sonny. Sonny was friendly like a favorite pet, almost playful, sort of like an overgrown dog in personality . He'd often get out of his stall and head for the front house where he'd stick his head through the open window to see what was cooking... He played with our dogs and was just a wonderful pet.

I just looked through my notes that Daddy kept and found this (it's also in my book): 'I liked Lucky, but his replacement, Sonny, was special too. He was a sorrel pony with four white socks, face and mane, a beautiful horse. He had a calm disposition like a friendly hound dog and the kids loved him. I rode him until I quit pictures.' Sonny used to turn on the rainbird in the back pasture and "run through the sprinklers" on hot summer nights. We thought it was funny! But Daddy wasn't crazy about getting up in the middle of the night and walking to the back pasture in the dark to turn off the sprinklers and return Sonny to his stall... but he always laughed about it.

When we finally sold the ranch to move back to Toluca Lake for the last time, Daddy gave Sonny to the man he bought him from: horse trainer Fat Jones. We all missed Sonny but knew he was in good hands."