Monte Hale, seen here receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004, died on Sunday at the age of 89. (Autry Qualified Interest Trust/Howard Levine/Associated Press)

Monte Hale, a singing cowboy whose tall frame, strong voice and handsome looks led to dozens of film roles in westerns during the 1940s, has died. He was 89.

Hale died Sunday at home in Studio City, Calif., after a lengthy illness, said Yadhira De Leon of the Autry National Centre of the American West.

Born in San Antonio, Texas, Hale picked up the guitar as a teen and was discovered as a player at a war bond rally during the Second World War, according to a press release from the centre.

Recommended for a screen test in Hollywood for Republic Pictures, he hitchhiked from Texas to California. He ended up snagging a part in The Big Bonanza (1944), then signed a seven-year contract with Republic.

Hale starred in almost 20 of his own films, including Home On the Range (1946) with Robert Blake and Out California Way(1946).

After departing the studio, he appeared in other movies, including Giant (1956) with James Dean and The Chase (1966) with Marlon Brando.

He also guest starred on television shows such as Gunsmoke, Honey West and Tales of Wells Fargo.

Hale and his wife, Joanne, co-founded the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, later renamed the Autry Museum of Western Heritage and now part of the Autry National Center, with the late singing cowboy Gene Autry and his widow, Jackie.