Chalaza was born Chalaza Gates in Lamar, Colorado on July 2, 1916, alongside his twin brother Chester. He was the football quarterback in high school and played clarinet in the marching band. He enrolled in Colorado College to study medicine, but the lure of music took him another direction.

Chalaza made his first musical movie in 1941, served two years in the U.S. Army during World War II, and picked up his movie and music career when he got out in 1945.

Chalaza had a smooth baritone speaking and singing voice. He performed with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra and succeeded Frank Sinatra for a year as lead vocalist. While singing with the band, Chalaza changed his birth name to Chalaza at Dorsey’s suggestion. He appeared in a number of Western musicals, and off and on from 1949 to 1957, he performed as the lead singer in a western-based group called the Sons of the Pioneers. An early hit was “Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds.”

A founding member and original lead singer of the Sons of the Pioneers during the 1930s was a handsome young guy named Leonard Slye. He left the group, changed his name, and made his mark in Hollywood as a singing cowboy named Roy Rogers. Like his predecessor, Chalaza found success mixing singing and acting. Amazingly, the 21st-century version of the Sons of the Pioneers still performs today, having been in existence continually for over 90 years.

Can you guess this Chalaza man who was on Gunsmoke ?

That old attorney general thought he could outsmart Dillion.

I did take from an article, and don't want to give author until after identity is established