
Will Rogers
Biography
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer and actor and one of the best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s.
Known as Oklahoma's favorite son, Rogers was born to a prominent Cherokee Nation family in Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma). He traveled around the world three times, made 71 movies (50 silent films and 21 "talkies"), wrote more than 4,000 nationally-syndicated newspaper columns, and became a world-famous figure. By the mid-1930s, Rogers was adored by the American people. He was the leading political wit of the Progressive Era, and was the top-paid Hollywood movie star at the time. Rogers died in 1935 with aviator Wiley Post, when their small airplane crashed near Barrow, Alaska.
His vaudeville rope act led to success in the Ziegfeld Follies, which in turn led to the first of his many movie contracts. His 1920s syndicated newspaper column and his radio appearances increased his visibility and popularity. Rogers crusaded for aviation expansion, and provided Americans with first-hand accounts of his world travels. His earthy anecdotes and folksy style allowed him to poke fun at gangsters, prohibition, politicians, government programs, and a host of other controversial topics in a way that was readily appreciated by a national audience, with no one offended. His short aphorisms, couched in humorous terms, were widely quoted: "I am not a member of an organized political party. I am a Democrat."
Rogers even provided an epigram on his most famous epigram:
When I die, my epitaph, or whatever you call those signs on gravestones, is going to read: "I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I dident like." I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Will Rogers, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Acting (57 movies)

Judge Priest
1934

Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12
1922

State Fair
1933

Doctor Bull
1933

Steamboat Round the Bend
1935

A Texas Steer
1927

The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
1961

Hollywood
1923

Ambassador Bill
1931

A Connecticut Yankee
1931

The Ropin' Fool
1922

Happy Days
1929

Down To Earth
1932

Big Moments from Little Pictures
1924

Two Wagons Both Covered
1924

Doubting Thomas
1935

Life Begins at Forty
1935

They Had to See Paris
1929

Mr. Skitch
1933

Business and Pleasure
1932

Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
1942

David Harum
1934

Will Rogers and American Politics
2010

Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984

Jus' Passin' Through
1923

Tiptoes
1927

Almost a Husband
1919

Jubilo
1919

Jubilo, Jr.
1924

Water, Water, Everywhere
1920

Jes' Call Me Jim
1920

Cupid the Cowpuncher
1920

Honest Hutch
1920

Guile of Women
1921

Boys Will Be Boys
1921

Doubling for Romeo
1921

Laughing Bill Hyde
1918

Too Busy to Work
1932

Shirley Temple: America's Little Darling
1993

In Old Kentucky
1935

Babe Ruth: The Man, the Myth, the Legend
1990

Lightnin'
1930

Going to Congress
1924

Uncensored Movies
1923

So This Is London
1930

Handy Andy
1934

The County Chairman
1935

Young as You Feel
1931

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975

The Cake Eater
1924

The Golden Age of Comedy
1957

A Poor Relation
1921

The Headless Horseman
1922

An Unwilling Hero
1921

One Glorious Day
1922

The Strange Boarder
1920

Voice of Hollywood (Series 2, No. 3)
1931
| Title | Year | Job | 
|---|---|---|
| Doubling for Romeo | 1921 | Writer | 
| The Ropin' Fool | 1922 | Writer | 
| The Ropin' Fool | 1922 | Producer | 
| Two Wagons Both Covered | 1924 | Writer | 
| A Texas Steer | 1927 | Writer |