Full Name: William Penn Adair Rogers
Profession: Humorist and Actor
Biography: Will Rogers was a beloved American performer and humorist known as "Oklahoma's Favorite Son".
Roger began his career as a vaudeville and circus performer, eventually appearing in the Ziegfeld Follies. During the 1920 and 1930s Rogers became a Hollywood movie star in silent and later talkies in such films as "Judge Priest".
Rogers wrote hugely popular columns for various publications and from 1929 had one of the most popular radio shows with "The Gulf Headliners".
A frequent and early traveller, Rogers was an advocate for American aviation and a friend of aviator Charles Lindbergh. Rogers was to die in a plane crash in Alaska with another famous aviator Wiley Post in 1935.
Born: November 4, 1879
Birthplace: Oologah, Oklahoma, USA
Star Sign: Scorpio
Died: August 15, 1935 (aged 55)
Cause of Death: Plane crash
Acting Career
- 1931-04-06 "A Connecticut Yankee" film based on novel by Mark Twain, directed by David Butler, starring Will Rogers is released
- 1934-03-16 6th Academy Awards: "Cavalcade" and its director Frank Lloyd, Charles Laughton (The Private Life of Henry VIII), and Katharine Hepburn (Morning Glory) win; host Will Rogers announces "Come and get it, Frank" and Frank Capra gets up
- 1934-09-28 "Judge Priest" film directed by John Ford, starring Will Rogers is released
- 1935-09-06 "Steamboat Round the Bend" film directed by John Ford and starring Will Rogers released weeks after Rogers' death
- 1948-11-04 American humorist Will Rogers commemorated by US Postage Service on 3-cent stamp
- 1993-09-05 Cy Coleman, Betty Comden and Adolph Green's musical "The Will Rogers Follies" closes at The Palace Theater, NYC after 981 performances and 6 Tony Award wins
Personal Life
- 1908-11-25 Vaudeville performer Will Rogers (29) weds Betty Blake
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