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William Penn Adair "Will" Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) 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. He was referred to as "America's Favorite Cowboy" and "The Cowboy Philosopher."
Will was born in Oologah, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory; his parents, Clement Rogers and Mary Schrimsher, were both Cherokee. Cherokee Nation recently purchased the home where he was born. [1] Will appears with his parents and siblings on the 1880, 1890, and 1896 Cherokee censuses, [2] living in the Cooweescoowee District, Cherokee Nation. Rogers quipped that his ancestors did not come over on the Mayflower, but they "met the boat."
Rogers was the youngest of eight children. He was named for the Cherokee leader Col. William Penn Adair. Only three of his siblings, sisters Sallie Clementine, Maude Ethel, and May (Mary), survived into adulthood. Will was enrolled by the Dawes Commission in 1902, Cherokee by Blood, Card #4747, Roll # 11384, [3] and was approved for a share of the 1907 Eastern Cherokee {Guion Miller) payment. [4]
In 1908, Rogers married an Arkansas schoolteacher named Betty Blake, [5] and the couple had four children: Bill Rogers, Mary (Rogers) Brooks, Jim Rogers, and Fred Rogers. [6] The 1920 census lists his occupation as "Actor," (he appeared in more than seventy films) living in the City of Los Angeles but by 1930, he reported his occupation as "Newspaper Writer" (he is credited with thousands of newspaper columns) in Beverly Hills. [7]
In the 1920s, he purchased land in Santa Monica, which he developed into a ranch. This area eventually became known as Pacific Palisades. After his wife's death, it became a California State Historic Park. [8]
Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post died on August 15, 1935, when Post's aircraft crashed on takeoff from a lagoon near Point Barrow in the Territory of Alaska. Will is buried on the grounds of the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma. [9]
In 1948, the US Postal Service issued a stamp in his honor, which had been frequently requested since his death. [10]
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Categories: Writers | Cowboys | Beverly Hills, California, Mayors | Oologah, Oklahoma | Claremore, Oklahoma | This Day In History August 15 | This Day In History November 04 | Silent Movie Stars | Hollywood Actors | Santa Monica, California | Pacific Palisades, California | Vaudevillians | Ziegfeld Follies Performers | Persons Appearing on US Postage Stamps | National Statuary Hall Collection, Washington, District of Columbia | Oklahoma Project-Managed | Cherokee | Oklahoma, Notables | Notables
The Will Rogers State Historic Park, Santa Monica Mountains, Los Angeles, California..which was their home until his wife's death. The ranch became a State Park in 1944 after the death of Mrs. Rogers, and the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971
edited by Carole Taylor