BRANSON, Mo. (AP) – The owners of the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum in Branson announced that it will close in December.

The nonprofit group that runs the museum announced Monday that it is closing because of declining attendance and an uncertain economy. It opened in California in 1967 and operated in Branson for six years.

The memorabilia and artifacts on display will be sold.

Roy Rogers Jr. said he will look for a new location in the Branson area to continue live shows, but offered no other details.

Roy Rogers, widely known as “King of the Cowboys,” was featured in more than 100 films and starred in The Roy Rogers Show on television from 1951-1957. The show first aired on radio for nine years.

As the front man for the Sons of the Pioneers, a Western music group, Rogers emerged as a leading singing cowboy star in the late 1930s.

Rogers married actress and singer-songwriter Dale Evans in 1947. She co-starred in the TV series and wrote the theme song Happy Trails.

Rogers acquired the rights to his name and likeness for merchandising purposes early in his career. Among the collectibles bearing his name are playsets, gun and holster rigs, lunch boxes, cowboy adventure books and a long-running Dell Comics series.

Roy Rogers died in 1998 at the age of 86. Dale died in 2001 at the age of 88.

The Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum was moved from Victorville, Calif., to Branson in 2003.

___

Information from: Springfield News-Leader,
http://www.news-leader.com

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-CS-10-06-09 0833EDT