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