Will Rogers

Lore & Background

Will Rogers began his career as a trick roper in vaudeville, performing in Texas Jack's Wild West Circus in South Africa and later with the Wirth Brothers Circus in Australia. His rope act led to success in the Ziegfeld Follies, which brought his first movie contracts. By the 1920s, his syndicated newspaper column and radio appearances increased his visibility. Rogers was born on his parents' Dog Iron Ranch near present-day Oologah, Oklahoma. His father, Clement V. Rogers, was a Cherokee leader, attorney, judge, and Confederate veteran; his mother, Mary America Schrimsher, was one-quarter Cherokee and born into the Paint Clan. Rogers attended Willie Halsell College and Kemper Military School but dropped out after the 10th grade. He later worked as a gaucho in Argentina and a horse breaker in South Africa before returning to the United States to pursue show business. His famous epitaph, which he composed, reads: "I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I dident [sic] like."

Reader's Guide

Will Rogers's significance lies in his ability to blend humor with social commentary, reaching a national audience through vaudeville, film, radio, and newspaper columns. His folksy style and earthy anecdotes allowed him to critique gangsters, prohibition, politicians, and government programs without offending most listeners. He crusaded for aviation expansion and shared first-hand accounts of his world travels. His aphorisms, such as "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat," became widely quoted. By the mid-1930s, he was one of the highest-paid Hollywood film stars. His legacy endures as a symbol of Oklahoma and as a humorist who used wit to address serious topics. The house where he was born, known as the "White House on the Verdigris River," and Rogers County, Oklahoma, named for his father, commemorate his family's history.

Did You Know?

• Rogers was born a citizen of the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory, now part of Oklahoma.
• He made 71 films: 50 silent films and 21 talkies.
• His mother died of amoebic dysentery when he was 10 years old.
• Rogers's father, Clement V. Rogers, owned two slaves inherited from his father and fought as a Confederate captain at the Battle of Pea Ridge.