Rogers, Will, 1911-1993

ROGERS, William Vann, Jr., a Representative from California; born in New York City October 20, 1911; attended the grade and high schools at Beverly Hills, Calif.; B.A., Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif., 1935; owner and publisher, Beverly Hills Citizen, 1935-1953; second lieutenant in the Field Artillery, Reserve Officers Training Corps 1935-1940; enlisted as a private in the United States Army in June 1942; commissioned a second lieutenant of Field Artillery in July 1942; assigned to the Eight Hundred and Ninety-ninth Tank Destroyer Battalion and served until December 1942; elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-eighth Congress and served from January 3, 1943, until his resignation May 23, 1944, to return to the United States Army, serving as a lieutenant in the Eight Hundred and Fourteenth Tank Destroyer Battalion until March 1, 1946; unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1946; delegate, Democratic National Conventions in 1948, 1952, and 1956; writer, active in radio and television programs; member, California State Park Commission 1958-1960, chairman, 1960-1962; appointed Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1967-1969; was a resident of Tubac, Ariz., until his death there on July 9, 1993; interment in Tubac Cemetery.

<p>William Vann Rogers, generally known as Will Rogers Jr. (October 20, 1911 – July 9, 1993), was an American politician, writer, and newspaper publisher. He was the eldest son of humorist Will Rogers (1879–1935) and his wife, the former Betty Blake (1879–1944). He was a Democratic U. S. Representative from California from January 3, 1943, until May 23, 1944, when he resigned to return to the United States Army.</p>

<p>Rogers was born in New York City, where his father was performing. He grew up in Los Angeles, and attended school there. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University in 1935. On completing his studies, he served as publisher of the <i>Beverly Hills Citizen</i> newspaper, a role in which he continued until 1953. He had been commissioned a second lieutenant through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, but did not go on active duty. With U.S. entry into World War II, however, he enlisted as a private in June 1942, and was commissioned in the field artillery the following month and assigned to the 893rd Tank Destroyer Battalion.</p>

<p>While on active duty, Rogers was elected to the House of Representatives from California, and was sworn into office on January 3, 1943. He served in the 78th Congress. He did not complete his term, however, returning to active duty in the Army after resigning from Congress on May 23, 1944.</p>

<p>Born in New York in 1911 when his famous father, the humorist Will Rogers, was starring in the Ziegfeld Follies, William Vann Rogers Jr. grew up in the house that is the centerpiece of Will Rogers State Historic Park. While his brother Jim raised horses and ran a cattle ranch, Will Jr. focused on his father’s other interests: journalism and acting. Will Jr. practiced rope tricks so he could play his father starring opposite Jane Wyman in The Story of Will Rogers in 1952 and Boy from Oklahoma in 1954. Tubac school children were delighted with his special performances.</p>

<p>Will Rogers Jr. graduated from Beverly Hills High School and Stanford University. Polo was the passion of both father and son and Will Jr. hoped it would get him into Princeton. He started at Stanford, then transferred to the University of Arizona to play on its polo team, but he “damn near flunked out.” He went to Nogales, Mexico where he got drunk and that was the end of any Princeton hopes. He returned to Stanford and in 1935 acquired a degree in philosophy and met his future wife, Collier Connell, who, as women’s editor of the college daily, had given Will Jr. a job as a cub reporter.</p>

<p>Unable to find work during the Depression, Will Jr. turned for help to his father, who got him a job aboard a tanker as an engine room swabber. While he was waiting to leave San Pedro harbor and praying no one would recognize him, a cousin rushed on board and delivered crushing news that Will Rogers and Wiley Post had died in a plane crash at Point Barrow, Alaska in 1935.</p>