Sunday, we decided to take a ride to Claremore, Oklahoma to see the Will Rogers Memorial Museum.
William Penn Adair Rogers was born on November 4, 1879 at Rogers Ranch in Oologah, Indian Territory (what is now Oklahoma). His parents, Clement Vann Rogers and Mary Schrimsher, were partly of Cherokee descent.
Will became famous for his work with a rope and is in the Guiness Book of World Records for throwing 3 lassos at once. One went around the horse’s neck, another around the rider and the third flew under the horse, looping all four legs together. He toured with vaudeville circuits and Ziegfeld Follies. In November 1908, Will married Betty Blake, with whom he had four children (Will Jr., Mary, Jim and Fred).
Throughout his career, Will starred in 71 films and several Broadway productions. In 1934, he was voted the most popular male actor in Hollywood. He wrote 4,000 syndicated columns and six books, becoming a prominent radio broadcaster and political commentator. He called politics "the best show in the world" and described Congress as the "national joke factory."
Will's life was cut short at the age of 55. In 1935, he planned a vacation with aviator Wiley Post, flying around Alaska stopping in many places. Tragically, on August 15, 1935, Will and Wiley's flight crashed near Point Barrow, Alaska, taking both of their lives. The land that the Museum is on, was to have been Will and Betty’s retirement home. Instead, she started the memorial in Claremore and they are all buried there. Claremore is approximately 16 miles from Oolagah where he was born.
He’s most famous for his line….”I never met a man I didn’t like”. But others where just as good.
“Everytime Congress makes a joke, it becomes a law and every law they make becomes a joke.”
“On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter what it does."
“Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
"The only way to solve the traffic problems of the country is to pass a law that only paid-for cars are allowed to use the highways. That would make traffic so scarce we could use the boulevards for children's playgrounds."
People say that when Will Rogers died, radios went silent for a full 30 minutes. The only actor of his time that made more money than Will Rogers, was Shirley Temple!!
