Autry played the role of Captain Bubba Skinner on the NBC, and later CBS, television drama series In the Heat of the Night, starring Carroll O'Connor.

In November 2000, he was elected mayor of Fresno, California, and served for two four-year terms through January 2009.

He received an athletic scholarship to the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where he was a second-string tight end in his senior year for the Tigers.

[1] His football career ended quickly when he was cut from the team by then-coach Bart Starr.

During his acting years, he struggled with drug and alcohol use, according to an interview with Pat Robertson's The 700 Club in 2007.

[5] Autry and his In the Heat of the Night co-star Randall Franks joined forces under the banner of Autry-Franks Productions to produce the charity In the Heat of the Night CD Christmas Time's A Comin', featuring the cast of the show.

[6] (Gene and Alan were distant cousins, descended from William A. Autry (5 August 1784 – 2 April 1836) and Mary Campbell of North Carolina/Tennessee.)

[7] Crimson Records released their second Autry-Franks Productions project Alan Autry and Randall Franks Mississippi Moon: Country Traditions in 2013, an Americana CD featuring both actors vocally on various classic and original songs.

The project, which incorporates country, bluegrass, and Southern gospel, includes special appearances by Bluegrass Hall of Fame members Jim and Jesse McReynolds and three-time Dove Award nominee Mark Wheeler of the Marksmen Quartet.