Rogers, Will (1879-1935), was an American humorist and social critic. He began his career as a cowboy and rose to international fame as an author; lecturer; and star of vaudeville, motion pictures, and radio. Rogers was known for his homespun humor, his down-to-earth philosophy, and his generosity.
Rogers gained much of his popularity as an easygoing lecturer on current events. During his lectures, he chewed gum and performed rope tricks while kidding about business, government, people, and politics. Rogers also wrote a column that appeared in more than 350 daily newspapers. He began most of his lectures and columns by saying, “All I know is what I read in the papers.” This expression became a byword during the 1920’s. Rogers appeared in 50 silent movies and 21 talking films and was popular on radio. He also wrote six books.
William Penn Adair Rogers was born on Nov. 4, 1879, on a ranch near Oologah in the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). He was partly of Cherokee ancestry, of which he frequently expressed pride. “My ancestors may not have come over on the Mayflower, but they met ’em at the boat,” he drawled. Rogers disliked school, and he went to work in 1898 as a cattle driver in Texas. Rogers soon returned home and tried ranching, but he disliked it as well.
In 1902, Rogers left home to seek adventure in Argentina. That same year, he went to South Africa and joined Texas Jack’s Wild West Show as a trick roper. He later toured Australia and New Zealand with the Wirth Brothers’ Circus. Rogers returned to the United States in 1904 and began his vaudeville career in 1905 as a trick roper and humorist. He gained fame while appearing on Broadway in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1916.
Rogers died on Aug. 15, 1935, in a plane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska. He was killed while flying with Wiley Post, a pioneer American aviator. A statue of Rogers stands in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Another statue, at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma, bears the statement for which he was best known: “I never met a man I didn’t like.”
