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| Also Known As: | William Penn Adair Rogers | Died: | August 15, 1935 |
| Born: | November 4, 1879 | Cause of Death: | airplane crash |
| Birth Place: | Indian Territory, Oklahoma, USA | Profession: | actor, vaudevillian, circus performer, politician, writer, columnist, cowboy, lecturer |
Biography CLOSE THE FULL BIOGRAPHY
Folksy Oklahoma humorist and political pundit whose homespun philosophy and humanistic and irreverent wit struck a deep nerve in the public consciousness making him one of the most beloved performers in the nation and a box-office champion until his untimely death at age 55. A cowboy, world traveler and circus performer before he entered vaudeville as a rope twirler, Rogers added humorous commentary to his act and soon after became a headliner in the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway. The star of over sixty tailor-made films, he failed to make an impact with his first foray into silent films in 1918 which without his down-to-earth commentary could not convey his personal magnetism and charm. He returned to the Follies until the advent of sound and then catapulted to the position of number two box-office star of 1933 and 1935 and number one in 1934 with a series of charming, and (because he refused to retake scenes) seemingly spontaneous vehicles in which he played small-town individualists in opposition to big business, mechanization and hypocrisy. The public sensed the sincerity of his convictions: Rogers actually put his political philosophy into action, serving as honorary Mayor of Beverly Hills,...
Folksy Oklahoma humorist and political pundit whose homespun philosophy and humanistic and irreverent wit struck a deep nerve in the public consciousness making him one of the most beloved performers in the nation and a box-office champion until his untimely death at age 55. A cowboy, world traveler and circus performer before he entered vaudeville as a rope twirler, Rogers added humorous commentary to his act and soon after became a headliner in the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway. The star of over sixty tailor-made films, he failed to make an impact with his first foray into silent films in 1918 which without his down-to-earth commentary could not convey his personal magnetism and charm. He returned to the Follies until the advent of sound and then catapulted to the position of number two box-office star of 1933 and 1935 and number one in 1934 with a series of charming, and (because he refused to retake scenes) seemingly spontaneous vehicles in which he played small-town individualists in opposition to big business, mechanization and hypocrisy.
The public sensed the sincerity of his convictions: Rogers actually put his political philosophy into action, serving as honorary Mayor of Beverly Hills, Acting Mayor of New Orleans and unofficial Ambassador to the World (the last without portfolio); he declined to run for the Governorship of Oklahoma and was even mentioned for the Presidency. Rogers was instrumental in the 1932 election of Franklin Roosevelt. A true humanist, he barnstormed the country raising money for 1931 drought and later flood relief and contributed considerable amounts to numerous charities.
A booster of air travel, Rogers logged over 500,000 miles in seven years as a passenger and forcibly argued the safety of air travel over rail despite the fact that he was in a crack-up in 1928 prior to his fatal crash in 1935.
His son Will Rogers Jr. starred in a 1952 film biography, "The Story of Will Rogers" and also portrayed his father in "Look for the Silver Lining" (1949) and "The Eddie Cantor Story" (1953). James Whitmore has portrayed the humorist on stage in a one-man show, and in the 1991 Tony Award-winning musical, "The Will Rogers Follies" Rogers was played by Keith Carradine.
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CAST: (feature film)
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Education
Notes
Rogers jokingly suggested his own epitaph for his tombstone: "I joked about every prominent man in my lifetime, but I never met one I didn't like."--quoted in "New York Times" obituary, August 17, 1935
"Will Rogers was an American institution--a mixture of Norman Rockwell and Eleanor Roosevelt who told jokes about people and politics and did rope tricks. He represented horse sense, conformist nonconformity, rural virtues, wry humor and uncommon decency. He was to the horses that grazed what Damon Runyon was to the horses that raced."--Clive Barnes review of "Will Rogers Follies" ("New York Post," May 2, 1991)
"Will Rogers had what it takes to tickle the national funny bone. His wry countenance, with its occasionally wistful expression, was comical to see, and his consciously cultivated drawl lent a rustic savor to his sophisticated quips. Most important of all, he had the knack of translating into trenchant phrases the inchoate thoughts of masses of 'average' Americans.
"He razzed Congress unmercifully, twitted Presidents and Kings, kidded the American public for falling for the blandishments of European borrowers, and he echoed the generally held impression that politicians should do more and talk less"--"New York Times" obituary, August 17, 1935
Director Frank Borzage commented that Rogers's great quality "was his own ability to make audiences forget that he was a comedian. This quality of his was very apparent in the scenes where Rogers was called upon to portray the simple, human emotions that touch the very soul of mankind. The sincerity and conviction with which he did them is what might be expected of a great tragedian. Audiences forget Rogers the wisecracker and think of him as a human being torn with emotion." (quoted in "The Great Movie Comedians" by Leonard Maltin, 1978)
Rogers, in discussing his slight Cherokee heritage, quipped that his ancestors had not come over in the Mayflower; they had "met the boat."--("New York Times" obituary, August 17, 1935)
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