About
Will Rogers, full name William Penn Adair Rogers, was born in 1879 in the Cherokee Nation (present-day Oklahoma). Of partial Cherokee descent, he began as a trick roper in Wild West shows, then gained fame at the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway (1916-1925) with his ad-libbed political commentary. He appeared in 71 films, became Hollywood's most popular male actor in 1934, and wrote about 4,000 syndicated newspaper columns. He died in 1935 in a plane crash in Alaska. His famous quip: 'I never met a man I didn't like.'
* 1879-11-04 — † 1935-08-15
Major works
- A Connecticut Yankee (1931)film
- State Fair (1933)film
- Judge Priest (1934)film
Key milestones
- 1916Begins at the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway, where his ad-libbed political commentary becomes his trademark.
- 1934Voted Hollywood's most popular male actor.
- 1935Dies in a plane crash in Alaska with aviator Wiley Post.
Themes
PoliticsHumorAmerican lifeSimplicityCherokee heritage
Sources: okhistory.org · npg.si.edu