Will Rogers
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Nov 3, 1879
- Died
- Aug 15, 1935 (aged 55)
- Place of birth
- Oologah, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma)
- Credits
- 67
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer and actor and one of the best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s.
Known as Oklahoma's favorite son, Rogers was born to a prominent Cherokee Nation family in Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma). He traveled around the world three times, made 71 movies (50 silent films and 21 "talkies"), wrote more than 4,000 nationally-syndicated newspaper columns, and became a world-famous figure. By the mid-1930s, Rogers was adored by the American people. He was the leading political wit of the Progressive Era, and was the top-paid Hollywood movie star at the time. Rogers died in 1935 with aviator Wiley Post, when their small airplane crashed near Barrow, Alaska.
His vaudeville rope act led to success in the Ziegfeld Follies, which in turn led to the first of his many movie contracts. His 1920s syndicated newspaper column and his radio appearances increased his visibility and popularity. Rogers crusaded for aviation expansion, and provided Americans with first-hand accounts of his world travels. His earthy anecdotes and folksy style allowed him to poke fun at gangsters, prohibition, politicians, government programs, and a host of other controversial topics in a way that was readily appreciated by a national audience, with no one offended. His short aphorisms, couched in humorous terms, were widely quoted: "I am not a member of an organized political party. I am a Democrat."
Rogers even provided an epigram on his most famous epigram:
When I die, my epitaph, or whatever you call those signs on gravestones, is going to read: "I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I dident like." I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Will Rogers, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Judge Priest
1934Movie
Judge William Pitman 'Billy' Priest
State Fair
1933Movie
Abel Frake
Steamboat Round the Bend
1935Movie
Doctor John Pearly
The Golden Age of Comedy
1957Movie
archive footage
Doctor Bull
1933Movie
Dr. George 'Doc' Bull
The Headless Horseman
1922Movie
Ichabod crane
Filmography
Will Rogers and American Politics
2010Movie
Self (archive footage)
The Parrott Chase
2009Movie
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Shirley Temple: America's Little Darling
1993Movie
Self (archive footage)
Babe Ruth: The Man, the Myth, the Legend
1990Movie
himself
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984Movie
(archive footage)
The Biggest Little Star of the 30's
1976Movie
Self(archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975Movie
Self (archive footage)
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
1961Movie
Self (archive footage)
The Golden Age of Comedy
1957Movie
archive footage
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
1942Movie
Self (archive footage)
If I Forget You
1940Movie
Will Rogers (uncredited/archive footage)
In Old Kentucky
1935Movie
Steve Tapley
Steamboat Round the Bend
1935Movie
Doctor John Pearly
Doubting Thomas
1935Movie
Thomas Brown
Life Begins at Forty
1935Movie
Keneshaw H. Clark
The County Chairman
1935Movie
Jim Hackler
Judge Priest
1934Movie
Judge William Pitman 'Billy' Priest
Handy Andy
1934Movie
Andrew Yates
David Harum
1934Movie
David Harum
Mr. Skitch
1933Movie
Ira Skitch
Doctor Bull
1933Movie
Dr. George 'Doc' Bull
State Fair
1933Movie
Abel Frake
Too Busy to Work
1932Movie
Jubilo
Down To Earth
1932Movie
Pike Peters
Business and Pleasure
1932Movie
Earl Tinker
Voice of Hollywood (Series 2, No. 3)
1931Movie
Himself
Ambassador Bill
1931Movie
Bill Harper
Young as You Feel
1931Movie
Lemuel Morehouse
A Connecticut Yankee
1931Movie
Hank Martin
Lightnin'
1930Movie
Lightnin' Bill Jones
So This Is London
1930Movie
Hiram Draper
They Had to See Paris
1929Movie
Pike Peters
Happy Days
1929Movie
Minstrel Show Performer
Exploring England with Will Rogers
1927Movie
A Texas Steer
1927Movie
Cattle Brander
Winging Around Europe with Will Rogers
1927Movie
Himself
Tiptoes
1927Movie
Uncle Hen Kaye
With Will Rogers in Dublin
1927Movie
Self
A Truthful Liar
1924Movie
Ambassador Alfalfa Doolittle
Jubilo, Jr.
1924Movie
Jubilo / Himself
Don't Park There
1924Movie
Jubilo
Going to Congress
1924Movie
Alfalfa Doolittle
Big Moments from Little Pictures
1924Movie
The Cake Eater
1924Movie
The Cowboy Sheik
1924Movie
'Two Straw' Bill
Two Wagons Both Covered
1924Movie
Bill Bunian / Joe Jackson
Uncensored Movies
1923Movie
Lem Skagwillow
Hustlin' Hank
1923Movie
Hank
Jus' Passin' Through
1923Movie
Jubilo
Hollywood
1923Movie
Will Rogers
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12
1922Movie
Self
The Headless Horseman
1922Movie
Ichabod crane
The Ropin' Fool
1922Movie
'Ropes' Reilly
One Glorious Day
1922Movie
Professor Ezra Botts
A Poor Relation
1921Movie
Noah Vale
Doubling for Romeo
1921Movie
Sam Cody / Romeo
Boys Will Be Boys
1921Movie
Peep O'Day
An Unwilling Hero
1921Movie
Dick
Guile of Women
1921Movie
Hjalmar Maartens
Honest Hutch
1920Movie
Hutch
Cupid the Cowpuncher
1920Movie
Alec Lloyd
Jes' Call Me Jim
1920Movie
Jim Fenton
The Strange Boarder
1920Movie
Sam Gardner
Water, Water, Everywhere
1920Movie
Billy Fortune
Jubilo
1919Movie
Jubilo
Almost a Husband
1919Movie
Sam Lyman
Laughing Bill Hyde
1918Movie
Bill Hyde