WILL ROGERS BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Will Rogers was born on November 4th, 1879 in Oologah, Indian Territory which is now the state of Indiana in the United States of America.  He was born with the birth name William Penn Adair Rogers.  His parents were, Clement Vann Rogers and Mary America Schrimsher.  They were both of Cherokee decent.
 
At the age of eleven he lost his mother, and two years later his father remarried.  He was the youngest of eight brothers and sisters, sadly only three siblings survived into adulthood.
 
Rogers father was a leader in the Cherokee community.  He was a judge and served several terms on the Cherokee Senate as well as worked as a rancher to support his family.  He had high expectations for his son, where Rogers mother was more the hands on loving and caring type, however when she passed, he was left to be raised his fathers way.
 
Even though Rogers was a good student and quite intelligent, he dropped out of school in the tenth grade.  Once he finished military school, he found employment working the Dog Iron Ranch and then along with a friend of his, they left home in search of work as gauchos in Argentina.  With no luck the two boys went there separate ways and Rogers traveled to South Africa finding work on a ranch.  While in South Africa, he gained experience appearing in Wild West Shows working with horses and lasso training.
 
Rogers then decided to relocate back to the United States and put his learned talents to work.  He found a job as a trick roper in, "Texas Jack's Wild West Circus".  After a while he moved to Australia to work in the circus there where he performed as a rider and trick roper. 
 
In 1904, again returning back to the United States, Rogers now decided to tryout for the American vaudeville circuits.  By 1917, Rogers was a Ziegfeld Follies star.  He also branched into silent films for Samuel Goldwyn's company.  His first silent was, "Laughing Bill Hyde" (1918).  He was then given a three year contract with Goldwyn and so he moved to the West Coast, bought a ranch in Santa Monica and set up his own production company.  In 1923 he made 12 pictures under the direction of Hal Roach.  Some of the more well known were, "Two Wagons Both Covered", "Going to Congress" and "Our Congressman" all 1924.
 
It was not until 1929, when he returned back to the big screen for sound films, that he really got to show off his true talents.  His first sound film, "They Had to See Paris" (1929), finally gave him the chance to exercise his verbal magic.  This foilm follwed with, "State Fair" (1933), "Dr. Bull" (1933), "County Chairman" (1935) and "Stemaboat Around the Bend" (1935) amongst others. 
 
Rogers even wrote for the "New York Times" and his articles were so popular that they were published in over 500 US papers daily.      
 
Will Rogers passed away on August 15th, 1935 near Point Barrow a territory of Alaska in a horrible plane crash in which the plane was being flown by the pilot known as the one eyed pioneer, Wiley Post.  He only married once in his lifetime to Betty Blake on November 25th, 1908 and they were together until his horrible accident.  The couple had four children together, Fred, Mary, Will Rogers Jr. and Jimmy Rogers.

Rogers is buried in Claremore, Oklahoma at the Will Rogers Memorial.  He was honored by being pictured on a 3 cent US postage stamp in 1958 and also pictured on a 15 cents commemorative postage stamp in the Performing Arts and Artist series in 1979.  Rogers was a member of the hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1955 and was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to Radio and Motion Pictures.
 
 
Filmography

1935   In Old Kentucky
1935   Steamboat Round the Bend  
1935   Doubting Thomas 
1935   Life Begins at Forty  
1935   The County Chairman 
1934   Judge Priest  
1934   Handy Andy  
1934   David Harum  
1933   Mr. Skitch 
1933   Doctor Bull  
1933   State Fair
1932   Too Busy to Work 
1932   Down to Earth 
1932   Business and Pleasure  
1931   Ambassador Bill  
1931   Young as You Feel  
1931   A Connecticut Yankee  
1930   Lightnin'  
1930   So This Is London
1929   They Had to See Paris  
1929   I Happy Days  
1927   A Texas Steer  
1927   Tiptoes  
1924   Gee Whiz, Genevieve
1924   A Truthful Liar
1924   Our Congressman
1924   Jubilo, Jr.
1924   Don't Park There 
1924   Going to Congress
1924   High Brow Stuff
1924   The Cake Eater
1924   The Cowboy Sheik
1924   Two Wagons Both Covered
1923   Uncensored Movies
1923   Hustlin' Hank 
1923   us' Passin' Through
1922   Fruits of Faith 
1922   The Headless Horseman
1922   The Ropin' Fool 
1922   One Glorious Day 
1921   A Poor Relation
1921   Doubling for Romeo 
1921   An Unwilling Hero 
1921   Boys Will Be Boys
1920   Guile of Women
1920   Honest Hutch 
1920   Cupid the Cowpuncher 
1920   Jes' Call Me Jim  
1920   The Strange Boarder  
1920   II Water, Water, Everywhere 
1919   Jubilo  
1919   Almost a Husband
1918   Laughing Bill Hyde