Will Rogers

Who was Will Rogers?

William Penn Adair "Will" Rogers was an American cowboy, vaudeville performer, humorist, social commentator and motion picture actor. He was one of the world's 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. He traveled around the world three times, made 71 movies, 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 in Alaska.

Rogers' 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 aphorisms, couched in humorous terms, were widely quoted: "I am not a member of an organized political party. I am a Democrat." Another widely quoted Will Rogers comment was "I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts."

Famous Quotes:

• One ad is worth more to a paper than forty editorials.
• Politics is not worrying this country one-tenth as much as where to find a parking space.
• Lord, let me live until I die.
• People are getting smarter nowadays; they are letting lawyers, instead of their conscience, be their guide.
• America is a great country, but you can't live in it for nothing.
• The Income Tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has.
• I wonder if it isn't just cowardice instead of generosity that makes us give tips.
• Youve got to be [an] optimist to be a Democrat, and youve got to be a humorist to stay one.
• 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. And when you come to my grave you will find me sitting there, proudly reading it.
• Everybody is ignorant only on different subjects.