Will Rogers State Historic Park

William Penn Adair Rogers was born on Nov. 4, 1879 near Oologah, Indian Territory, now OK; quit school and joined a Wild West show in Argentina in 1902; in 1905 he performed at Keith's Union Square Theatre in NY; began to interject witticisms between his lasso routines; in 1915 he played in the revues Hands up and Town topics, and featured in Ziegfeld's Midnight frolic (1921) and several Ziegfeld Follies; began writing a newspaper column in 1926; appeared in motion pictures including A Connecticut Yankee (1931), State fair (1933), and David Harum (1934); published books include The cowboy philosopher on prohibition (1919), The cowboy philosopher on the peace conference (1919), What we laugh at (1920), The illiterate digest (1924), Letters of a self-made diplomat to his president (1927), and Will Rogers' political follies (1929); he died in a plane crash near Point Barrow, AK on Aug. 15, 1935.

From the description of Collection of scrapbook material about Will Rogers, ca. 1914-1944. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 40352646

Biography

William Penn Adair Rogers was born on November 4, 1879 near Oologah, Indian Territory, now Oklahoma; quit school and joined a Wild West show in Argentina in 1902; in 1905 he performed at Keith's Union Square Theatre in New York; began to interject witticisms between his lasso routines; in 1915 he played in the revues Hands up and Town topics, and featured in Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic (1921) and several Ziegfeld Follies; began writing a newspaper column in 1926; appeared in motion pictures including A Connecticut Yankee (1931), State Fair (1933), and David Harum (1934); published books include The Cowboy Philosopher on Prohibition (1919), The Cowboy Philosopher on the Peace Conference (1919), What we Laugh at (1920), The Illiterate Digest (1924), Letters of a Self-Made Diplomat to his President (1927), and Will Rogers' Political Follies (1929); he died in a plane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska on August 15, 1935.

From the guide to the Will Rogers State Historic Park Collection of Scrapbook Material about Will Rogers, ca. 1914-1944, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)