KENNY ROGERS: THE GAMBLER - Official Super Cut Trailer 2020

For the first time ever, all five of THE GAMBLER films starring GRAMMY Award-winning worldwide music icon Kenny Rogers are being released in one DVD collection—KENNY ROGERS: THE GAMBLER—available exclusively at Walmart starting October 6, 2020 from Shout! Factory. This 6-film box set (featuring the movie COWARD OF THE COUNTY as a bonus) is essential for Kenny Rogers fans.

THE GAMBLER series generated five Emmy Award nominations. Rogers made his acting debut in the original film THE GAMBLER, which was a massive ratings hit that achieved critical success for CBS upon its original release on April 8, 1980. It was nominated for two Emmy Awards.

The film is an Old West tale inspired by one of Rogers’ most beloved songs of all time. Brady Hawkes (Kenny Rogers) is a gamblin’ man who has seen it all...except for the son he never knew. When Hawkes receives a surprising letter from his child, he sets off on a journey to finally meet the boy. In the course of his travels, Hawkes crosses paths with the impetuous Billy Montana (Bruce Boxleitner - TRON, HOW THE WEST WAS WON), and the two become fast friends. Billy considers himself to be a professional gambler, but he’s got a lot to learn – and Hawkes has got some very familiar advice for him.

By popular demand, Rogers returned as Brady Hawkes in THE GAMBLER: THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES, which premiered in November 1983 on CBS. The film was an even bigger ratings success than the first and was nominated for an additional two Emmy Awards. THE GAMBLER PART III: THE LEGEND CONTINUES followed in 1987 (also on CBS), and the Emmy-nominated fourth installment of the series, THE GAMBLER RETURNS: THE LUCK OF THE DRAW, starring Rogers and Reba McEntire, aired on NBC in 1991. The series moved back to CBS for the 1994 finale, GAMBLER V: PLAYING FOR KEEPS. The first four movies of the series were directed by Dick Lowry and the last was directed by Jack Bender.

“The Gambler,” written by GRAMMY®-winning Country Music Hall of Fame songwriter Don Schlitz, was Kenny's fourth #1 solo hit and one of five consecutive songs by the music icon to hit No. 1 on the Billboard country music chart. “The Gambler" also went to #3 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the first #1 hit Schlitz had written. The song won a 1978 Grammy for Best Country Song and became CMA’s 1979 Song of the Year. Kenny won a 1979 Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for “The Gambler,” and also earned CMA’s 1979 Male Vocalist of the Year. In addition, the album, THE GAMBLER, won CMA honors as 1979 Album of the Year, among other accolades.  

In 2018, “The Gambler” was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or artistically significant.” Following Kenny’s death on March 20, 2020, “The Gambler” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart.

In a career that spanned more than six decades, Kenny Rogers left an indelible mark on the history of American music. His songs have endeared music lovers and touched the lives of millions around the world. Chart-topping hits like “The Gambler,” “Lady,” “Islands In The Stream” (with Dolly Parton), “Lucille,” “She Believes In Me,” and “Through the Years” are just a handful of Kenny’s songs that continue to inspire new generations of artists and fans alike. With twenty-four number-one hits to his credit, Rogers miraculously charted a song within each of the last seven decades. He was inducted as a Country Music Hall of Fame member in 2013 and was a twenty-one-time American Music Awards winner, eleven-time People’s Choice Awards winner, ten-time ACM Awards winner, six-time CMA Awards winner, three-time GRAMMY® Award winner, recipient of the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013, a CMT Artist of a Lifetime Award honoree in 2015 and was voted the “Favorite Singer of All Time” in a joint poll by readers of both USA Today and People.