When he was a young man, Gene received an offer from a professional baseball team to become a player. Gene turned down the offer because it would have meant a fifty-dollar-a-month pay cut from his telegrapher's job.
Maxine Hansen, Executive Assistant to Jackie and Gene Autry, passed away on March 7, 2026, at her home in Sunland, California. She was 74.
Posted March 14, 2026
Maxine Joy Hansen
Maxine Hansen, Gene Autry & Karla Buhlman
Maxine Hansen in Oklahoma
Born Maxine Joy Singer on June 21, 1951, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, she moved to Florida in 1975, eventually settling in Los Angeles. Maxine became a United States citizen on October 2, 1998.
Alex Gordon, Sabina Marquez, Karla Buhlman & Maxine Hansen
Holly George-Warren, Mabel Slear, Karla Buhlman & Maxine Hansen
Maxine Hansen & Karla Buhlman
Since 1981, Maxine worked closely with Gene and his media legacy, starting at Golden West Broadcasting and eventually becoming his Executive Assistant in the mid-1980s. This also began her longstanding relationship with Gene’s fans, managing fan mail and requests for autographs. Around this same time, the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum was founded, and Maxine took on the role of Museum Secretary for Co-Founders Joanne Hale and Jackie Autry alongside her existing role working with Gene.
As Executive Assistant, Maxine was the first point of contact for the business world and personal relations of both Gene and Jackie Autry. Whether it was the CEO of the Walt Disney company, the President of the United States, or Gene’s many co-stars, Maxine was known for the positivity and kindness she brought to her profession. As the main contact between the Autry Office and the Los Angeles Angels, Maxine’s loyalty and commitment to the Angels baseball players, staff, and broadcasters on behalf of the Autrys was legendary.
Karla Buhlman & Maxine Hansen
Maxine Hansen, Kim Mansfield & Karla Buhlman
Maxine Hansen, Karla Buhlman & David McLees
Gene held his fans in high importance, and Maxine continued that relationship with Gene’s fans and fan club after his passing in 1998. She organized fan club conventions, including the 1998 convention and the 2007 convention for Gene’s 100th birthday. Maxine maintained active correspondence with Gene’s fans throughout her life, notably composing the annual Christmas letter to the fans from the Autry Office.
Maxine Hansen & Holly George-Warren
Maxine in Gene Autry, Oklahoma
Holly George-Warren, Maxine Hansen & Karla Buhlman
Having worked closely with the Autrys, Maxine was a valuable source of information on their history and legacy. Maxine authored many magazine articles on Gene’s life and career and was a featured speaker at Western film and television gatherings. Maxine did extensive research on Gene’s personal life and early career for the official biography of Gene Autry, Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry by Holly George-Warren. In 2012, Maxine spearheaded the Western Film & TV Oral History project and conducted interviews with more than sixty subjects who worked directly with Gene Autry, including actors, colleagues, and industry figures.
Maxine Hansen, Michael Dante & Bob Fisher
Boyd Magers, Maxine Hansen & Darby Hinton
Maxine Hansen, Boyd Magers & Robert Colbert
In addition to her work with Gene Autry, Maxine occasionally pursued acting, appearing as a background player in episodes of NYPD Blue, Frasier, and Seventh Heaven. She also wrote two novels.
Front on knee Boyd Magers. Back L to R Jan Merlin,
Jeff Osterhage, Donna Martell, Don Quine, Maxine Hansen, Darby Hinton, Jan Shepard, unknown, Rudy Ramos,
Clu Gulager, Mike McGreevey, Diane Roter, Unknown &
Ray Boyd (Dirk London)
Maxine was among the subjects included in the Western Film & TV Oral History project, and when asked how she would like to be remembered, she said, “As someone who loved the West, loved people, preserved history, and tried to make the world a better place. That’s my whole game — just to make the world a little better place.”
Maxine Hansen
at the Autry Museum
Maxine Hansen
Maxine Hansen & Debby Smith (wife of stuntman Dean Smith)
She is survived by her husband, John Hansen, her companion for over 50 years.
Maxine & John Hansen
John & Maxine Hansen
Special Letters about Maxine
Click to enlarge and read
Remembering Maxine
Updated March 16, 2026
I’ll never forget her warmth and that beautiful smile: when I met Maxine Hansen in 1997, those qualities immediately helped me feel at ease when I entered Gene Autry Entertainment for the first time to interview her “boss” for the New York Times. Little did I know it was the start of a nearly 30-year relationship. In 2002, when I began work on my biography of Gene Autry, who died in 1998, Maxine couldn’t have been more helpful. She contacted Gene’s musicians, fellow actors, and colleagues, vouched for me, and accompanied me on some of the interviews. She had great enthusiasm for my biography and offered so much help through the years of my research, much of which I conducted at the Autry office. She was always so sweet and courteous to the numerous callers and visitors to that office. It was a wonderful experience. Maxine and I had adventures all over the country, from Gene Autry, Oklahoma, to Kenton, Ohio, to Memphis, Tennessee. She had a particularly special relationship with Autry fans, and she tirelessly put so much of herself into celebrating his legacy, particularly his centennial in 2007 – and included me and my book in all the festivities. During the final years of her life, she showed such courage and perseverance. I’ve never met anyone like Maxine – her joyous spirit, kindness, and generosity made this sad old world a better place.
– Holly George-Warren
It is not often that you get to work side by side someone for over three decades. I was lucky enough to do that with Maxine, first at Gene Autry's Golden West Broadcasters office on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, then later at Gene Autry Entertainment in Studio City. We had many amazing adventures together, most notable researching and celebrating Gene Autry’s Centennial. Christmas time was especially fun together, promoting Gene's holiday classics, researching the right image for the annual Christmas Card, and proof reading Maxine's joyous holiday letter to the fans. Maxine was like a sister to me and aunt to my daughters. I will miss her positive energy, her never ending optimism, but most of all her kindness. - Karla Buhlman
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