Will Rogers
Acting • Born 1879-11-03 – Died 1935-08-15
Biography
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.
Filmography
67 credits
Judge Priest
Movie • 1934
Judge William Pitman 'Billy' Priest
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12
Movie • 1922
Self
State Fair
Movie • 1933
Abel Frake
Steamboat Round the Bend
Movie • 1935
Doctor John Pearly
Doctor Bull
Movie • 1933
Dr. George 'Doc' Bull
A Texas Steer
Movie • 1927
Cattle Brander
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
Movie • 1961
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood
Movie • 1923
Will Rogers
Ambassador Bill
Movie • 1931
Bill Harper
A Connecticut Yankee
Movie • 1931
Hank Martin
The Ropin' Fool
Movie • 1922
'Ropes' Reilly
Happy Days
Movie • 1929
Minstrel Show Performer
Down To Earth
Movie • 1932
Pike Peters
Don't Park There
Movie • 1924
Jubilo
Two Wagons Both Covered
Movie • 1924
Bill Bunian / Joe Jackson
Big Moments from Little Pictures
Movie • 1924
Doubting Thomas
Movie • 1935
Thomas Brown
Life Begins at Forty
Movie • 1935
Keneshaw H. Clark
They Had to See Paris
Movie • 1929
Pike Peters
Mr. Skitch
Movie • 1933
Ira Skitch
Business and Pleasure
Movie • 1932
Earl Tinker
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
Movie • 1942
Self (archive footage)
David Harum
Movie • 1934
David Harum
Will Rogers and American Politics
Movie • 2010
Self (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Movie • 1984
(archive footage)
Jus' Passin' Through
Movie • 1923
Jubilo
Tiptoes
Movie • 1927
Uncle Hen Kaye
Almost a Husband
Movie • 1919
Sam Lyman
Jubilo, Jr.
Movie • 1924
Jubilo / Himself
Jubilo
Movie • 1919
Jubilo
Water, Water, Everywhere
Movie • 1920
Billy Fortune
Jes' Call Me Jim
Movie • 1920
Jim Fenton
Cupid the Cowpuncher
Movie • 1920
Alec Lloyd
Honest Hutch
Movie • 1920
Hutch
Guile of Women
Movie • 1921
Hjalmar Maartens
Boys Will Be Boys
Movie • 1921
Peep O'Day
The Biggest Little Star of the 30's
Movie • 1976
Self(archive footage)
Doubling for Romeo
Movie • 1921
Sam Cody / Romeo
Laughing Bill Hyde
Movie • 1918
Bill Hyde
Too Busy to Work
Movie • 1932
Jubilo
Winging Around Europe with Will Rogers
Movie • 1927
Himself
Shirley Temple: America's Little Darling
Movie • 1993
Self (archive footage)
In Old Kentucky
Movie • 1935
Steve Tapley
The Cowboy Sheik
Movie • 1924
'Two Straw' Bill
Babe Ruth: The Man, the Myth, the Legend
Movie • 1990
himself
Lightnin'
Movie • 1930
Lightnin' Bill Jones
Going to Congress
Movie • 1924
Alfalfa Doolittle
A Truthful Liar
Movie • 1924
Ambassador Alfalfa Doolittle
Uncensored Movies
Movie • 1923
Lem Skagwillow
So This Is London
Movie • 1930
Hiram Draper
Handy Andy
Movie • 1934
Andrew Yates
The County Chairman
Movie • 1935
Jim Hackler
Exploring England with Will Rogers
Movie • 1927
Young as You Feel
Movie • 1931
Lemuel Morehouse
If I Forget You
Movie • 1940
Will Rogers (uncredited/archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Movie • 1975
Self (archive footage)
Hustlin' Hank
Movie • 1923
Hank
The Cake Eater
Movie • 1924
The Golden Age of Comedy
Movie • 1957
archive footage
A Poor Relation
Movie • 1921
Noah Vale
The Headless Horseman
Movie • 1922
Ichabod crane
An Unwilling Hero
Movie • 1921
Dick
With Will Rogers in Dublin
Movie • 1927
Self
One Glorious Day
Movie • 1922
Professor Ezra Botts
The Strange Boarder
Movie • 1920
Sam Gardner
Voice of Hollywood (Series 2, No. 3)
Movie • 1931
Himself
The Parrott Chase
Movie • 2009
Himself - archival footage