Starrett pictures was not a polished baritone and should be dubbed by other singers; and he wanted to groom Nolan to star in his own movies. Nolan grudgingly went along with Cohn's first two directives but turned down the chance to be a movie star. Movie fans (who knew Nolan's singing voice from records and radio) urged Columbia to use Nolan's own voice, which was finally heard on screen in 1940. In 1941, Columbia disbanded the close-knit Starrett unit temporarily, freeing the Sons of the Pioneers to join Roy Rogers at Republic Pictures. Nolan and the group appeared as his musical sidekicks in numerous films through 1948. Their last film together was Night Time in Nevada. In many of these films, Nolan was featured in prominent supporting roles with significant dialogue. Republic once offered Nolan his own cowboy film series, which he declined. On June 11, 1942, Nolan married Clara Brown, whose slight stature led to her being nicknamed P-Nuts. They met at the Columbia Drugstore on Sunset and Gower near the Columbia Studio lot. P-Nuts had come to Hollywood in search of stardom, but found work instead at the drugstore, where Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers frequently had lunch and where Nolan would work on his song lyrics. Later years In 1949, Nolan retired from show business and began a semi-secluded life as a songwriter. He returned to record with the Sons of the Pioneers in 1956, at the insistence of RCA Victor executives who wanted to capitalize on Nolan's TV exposure in the old Rogers westerns. In 1971, Nolan was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1980, at the age of 72, Nolan recorded his last LP album Bob Nolan: The Sound of a Pioneer. Nolan died on June 16, 1980 in Newport Beach, California of a heart attack. At his request, his ashes were scattered in Red Rock Canyon in the Nevada desert. On July 27, 1980, many of his friends and former colleagues gathered at Rex Allen's Diamond X ranch in Calabasas, California to honor him musically. Among those who attended the memorial were Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, the current Sons of the Pioneers, and the Reinsmen. Honours and awards 1971 Western Heritage Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame 1972 BMI Special Citation of Achievement for "Cool Water" 1976 Gene Autry Award 1976 Hollywood Walk of Fame