WILL ROGERS
(Part 1)
"There was only one Will Rogers. His generation never produced a man with such a wide variety of talents. His genius was unique and it led him on to where he was sought by Princes and Presidents, but he always remained the plain, unassuming man to whom a lowly stage hand was just as important as a powerful statesman."
So reads the first paragraph of the last chapter of a most interesting book I recently read—WILL ROGERS: AMBASSADOR OF GOOD WILL, PRINCE OF WIT AND WISDOM. The book was authored by P. J. O'Brien and copyrighted in 1935, the year Rogers and his aviator friend, Wiley Post, died in the latter's small plane near Point Barrow, Alaska. In this and a following "News & Views," I hope to set forth some of the highlights of this delightful book about an unusual man. Page numbers for quotes from the book will be in parentheses. (Note: Let it be remembered that not all of my "News & Views" deal with biblical, religious, or spiritual matters; occasionally I will address matters of a social, historical, political, sports, entertainment, or personal nature. Such is the case with this and the following issue of "News & Views.")
The book opens with the account of the plane crash and the deaths of Rogers and Post. Originating in Seattle for what had been planned as a trip around the world in Post's small plane with him at the controls (Post had already flown two such trips by himself), the two friends had touched down in Juneau and Fairbanks, but fifteen miles out of Point Barrow the plane crashed. An Eskimo seal hunter heard the crash, made his way to the wreckage and shouted loudly to the men in the plane. There was no answer. The Eskimo then walked and ran the fifteen miles to Point Barrow, arriving three hours later. Reaching his destination, he gasped, "Bird men dead. Red bird blow up" (14). Thus ended the life of two great Americans: Will Rogers, star of stage, screen, radio, and newspaper, and Wiley Post, one of the true pioneers in American aviation, the first to fly around the world solo. Rogers was 55, Post was 35.
Will Rogers was born in Oologah, Indian Territory (later, Oklahoma) on November 4, 1879. Rogers said he was born "halfway between Claremore and Oologah, before there was a town in either place." Being born on election day, he said he had "the natural right to poke fun at those who sat in the high chancelleries of government all over the world" (23). And he did just that! No one was off limits to Rogers. He poked good-nature fun at Presidents, Senators, Congressmen, Princes, Kings, business tycoons (including Henry Ford, Andrew Mellon, John D. Rockefeller), and others. The subjects of his jibes laughed as heartily as the rest. There was nothing mean about Will Rogers or his humor which came naturally to him. He remained a political partisan and spared neither Democrat or Republican where his jokes were concerned. Concerning his personal politics, Will said, "I am not a member of any organized party. I am a Democrat!" (With this statement, was he a prophet of later times?).
By the time Will was five years old he was riding a horse and spinning a lariat. He said: "like other Oklahoma kids, I was born bowlegged so I could set on a horse" (27). His mother wanted him to be a Methodist preacher, but she gave up this dream when Will ran away from home. He later returned home, but soon was working on various nearby ranches, punching cattle, engaging in roundups, and performing in local rodeos. He roped calves and wrestled steers. He had "the gift of gab" and was a master storyteller. As a result, his name and fame grew.
While still a young man, Rogers traveled much of the world. As a prerequisite for a trip to Europe, Will needed a passport, and in order to get a passport, he needed a birth certificate. He told the young lady clerk that he "had no birth certificate; and as for someone present at my birth and can swear to it, I think that's going to be rather difficult. You know the old-time ladies of which I am a direct descendant were of a retiring nature and being born was a private affair, not a public function. In the early days of the Indian Territory, where I was born, there were no such things as birth certificates. You being there was certificate enough. We generally took it for granted if you were there you had been born. That was about the only thing we didn't dispute" (26).
In November, 1908, Will married Betty Blake, a school teacher from Rogers, Arkansas. They had three children: Will, Jr., Mary, and Jimmy. Before they could walk, the children were put on horses' backs and taught to ride. It was said that when he wasn't writing or reading or sleeping, he was riding horseback with his children on his 1,500 acre ranch in Santa Monica, California. Will loved every foot of the ranch on which he kept 100 head of horses, many of them tough little polo ponies. He paid $3,000 for the first section of it, and when he died in 1935, the ranch was valued at more than $500,000 (between $11 and $12 million in today's dollars). He also owned a modest bungalow in Beverly Hills, and because he spent so much time in New York, he had a home out on Long Island (whether owned or rented was not made clear).
In his earliest years, Will worked in rodeos and circuses. In time, he caught on with the Zeigfield Follies. From there he graduated to stage productions. When moving pictures were developed he became an actor, first in silent movies, later in the talking movies. He was the most popular movie star of his time. In 1934 and 1935, he was rated as the actor who had drawn the largest number of patrons to the movie houses across the country. At one point, he signed a contract to appear in ten movies at a salary of $200,000 each, a handsome sum in those days. It was estimated that he brought $25 million into the Fox Company while in their employ.
On the movie set everyone loved Will Rogers and no one was envious of him. "Never did he demand anything as the highest salaried star in the business" (85). It was said that he spent half of his time on the movie lots "gabbing" with $5 and $10 a day "extras."
Will had a strict code of morals as to what he would do or not do in the movies. He would not portray smoking or drinking, although he did not object if other characters in his pictures did so when such was necessary to the plot. In one movie Will was supposed to take a cigar from his pocket and hand it to another actor. He refused to do so on the ground that he did not smoke and the action would be unlike him. "It was a mystery to many at the studio how a man who neither drank, smoked, played cards, golf, nor tennis could enjoy his fame as a host. The secret was in his conversational ability" (89). He bought chewing gum in large quantities which he handed out to young actresses to keep them from taking up the habit of smoking.
In March of 1930, Will signed a contract for fourteen radio talks of 15 minutes each for which he was paid a total of $72,000. Some protested that the sum of almost $350 per minute was far too much and Rogers could not possibly be worth that much money. Rogers also wrote regular columns for daily newspapers, and was in demand on the lecture circuit and as an after dinner speaker. He was a member of the Friars Club in New York City and often spoke at their dinners. At various times he was encouraged to run for public offices all the way from Mayor of Beverly Hills, to the governorship of both Oklahoma and California, Congressman, Senator, and President. He was a man of the people and all people seemed to universally love him. He was extremely charitable, the Red Cross and The Salvation Army being his two favorite charities. He often spoke on their behalf.
When Rogers died, it is estimated that between 100,000 and 150,000 persons filed past the catafalque on which his casket rested in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles. "On the roads leading to the memorial park automobiles were jammed for miles, and thousands were unable to reach the cemetery" (231). Among those attending his funeral were Stepin Fetchit, who played in films with Will, Eddie Cantor, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Walt Disney, and more than 100 others of Rogers' closest friends. Four Indians from Oklahoma came in a dilapidated car with cards inviting them to attend the private services in the church for their friend. "Held simultaneously with the private services, a public memorial program was conducted in the Hollywood Bowl, where 25,000 persons gathered" (234) Memorial services were conducted at all the movie studios. "It was one of the rare occasions in theatrical history when the time-honored watchword, 'The show must go on,' was forgotten" (235). The movie industry came to a halt the day Will Rogers was buried. He was originally buried in a vault at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles. In 1942, a sunken garden was built in front of the Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore, Oklahoma, and in 1944 Rogers' body was moved to the family plot in that garden.
In Part 2, I will attempt to capture some of Will Rogers' humor.
(To Be Continued)
Hugh Fulford
