Will Rogers
William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma), and is known as "Oklahoma's Favorite Son". As an entertainer and humorist, he traveled around the world three times, made 71 films (50 silent films and 21 "talkies"), and wrote more than 4,000 nationally syndicated newspaper columns. By the mid-1930s, Rogers was hugely popular in the United States for his leading political wit and was the highest paid of Hollywood film stars. He died in 1935 with aviator Wiley Post when their small airplane crashed in northern Alaska. Rogers began his career as a performer on vaudeville. His 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 found general acclaim from a national audience with no one offended. His aphorisms, couched in humorous terms, were widely quoted: "I am not a member of an organized political party. I am a Democrat." One of Rogers's most famous sayings was "I never met a man I didn't like" and he even provided an epigram on this famous epigram:
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Birth and Death Data: Born November 4, 1879 (Oologah), Died August 15, 1935 (Point Barrow)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1922 - 1931
Roles Represented in DAHR: speaker, author
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | B-27457 | 10-in. | 2/6/1923 | A new slant on war | Will Rogers | Comic monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-27458 | 10-in. | 2/6/1923 | Timely topics | Will Rogers | Comic monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-27459 | 10-in. | 2/6/1923 | The United States Senate and government | Will Rogers | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-27460 | 10-in. | 2/6/1923 | Prohibition | Will Rogers | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-28043 | 10-in. | 5/31/1923 | Will Rogers talks to the bankers | Will Rogers | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-28044 | 10-in. | 5/31/1923 | Will Rogers' first political speech | Will Rogers | Comic monologue | speaker, author | |
Victor | B-28045 | 10-in. | 5/31/1923 | Will Rogers nominates Henry Ford for President | Will Rogers | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-28049 | 10-in. | 6/2/1923 | Will Rogers tells traffic chiefs how to direct traffic | Will Rogers | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | MVE-70856 | 16-in. | 10/18/1931 | Broadcast on unemployment relief | Herbert Hoover | Radio broadcast : Speeches and vocal and instrumental performances | speaker | |
Victor | MVE-70857 | 16-in. | 10/18/1931 | Broadcast on unemployment relief | Herbert Hoover ; Will Rogers | Radio broadcast : Speeches and vocal and instrumental performances | speaker | |
Victor | MVE-70858 | 16-in. | 10/18/1931 | Broadcast on unemployment relief | Herbert Hoover ; Will Rogers | Radio broadcast : Speeches and vocal and instrumental performances | speaker | |
Victor | MVE-70859 | 16-in. | 10/18/1931 | Broadcast on unemployment relief | Herbert Hoover ; Will Rogers | Radio broadcast : Speeches and vocal and instrumental performances | speaker | |
Victor | [Trial 1922-12-12-02] | Not documented | 12/12/1922 | What I read in the newspapers | Will Rogers | Monologue, unaccompanied | speaker |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Rogers, Will," accessed November 5, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102308.
Rogers, Will. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 5, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102308.
"Rogers, Will." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 5 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Will Rogers
Discogs: Will Rogers
IMDb: Will Rogers
Britannica: Will Rogers
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Rogers, Will, 1879-1935 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79022274
Wikidata: Will Rogers - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q457840
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/15573384
MusicBrainz: Will Rogers - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e3b5ee16-cfa7-4cd3-8661-2760b14908d4
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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