Will Rogers
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.
State Fair
as Abel FrakeThe children of Iowa farmers find love, with mixed results, at the state fair.
Movie pageJudge Priest
as Judge William Pitman 'Billy' PriestJudge Priest, a proud Confederate veteran, restores the justice in a small town in the...
Movie pageUncensored Movies
as Lem SkagwillowA morals reformer returns from Hollywood to his small town, and shows his fellow citizens the...
Movie pageLaughing Bill Hyde
as Bill HydeConvict Bill Hyde and his friend, Danny Dorgan, break out of prison, but in running from the...
Movie pageScreen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
as Self (archive footage)The edition of Screen Snapshots celebrates 25 years of production. It looks at the content of...
Movie pageA Connecticut Yankee
as Hank MartinMaking a delivery to a mysterious mansion in a rainstorm, radio salesman Hank Martin is knocked...
Movie pageThe Golden Age of Comedy
as archive footageA compilation featuring comedic stars of the silent era including Will Rogers, Laurel and Hardy,...
Movie pageBrother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American...
Movie pageSteamboat Round the Bend
as Doctor John PearlyA Louisiana con man enters his steamboat into a winner-take-all race with a rival while trying...
Movie pageCupid the Cowpuncher
as Alec LloydAlec Lloyd, the foreman of the Sewell ranch, is nicknamed "Cupid" because of his propensity for...
Movie pageThe Headless Horseman
as Ichabod craneThe village of Sleepy Hollow is getting ready to greet the new schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane, who...
Movie pageThey Had to See Paris
as Pike PetersOklahoma mechanic Pike Peters finds himself part owner of an oil field. His wife Idy, hitherto...
Movie pageIn Old Kentucky
as Steve TapleyHorse trainer Steve Tapley is caught between the feuding Martingale and Shattuck families. He...
Movie pageHappy Days
as Minstrel Show PerformerMargie, singer on a showboat, decides to try her luck in New York inspite of being in love with...
Movie pageThe Legend of Rudolph Valentino
as Self (archive footage)A documentary of Hollywood's first great Latin Lover, the contradictions in his personal life,...
Movie pageA Texas Steer
as Cattle BranderLaconic cowboy Maverick Brander just happens to be a very wealthy rancher, but the money doesn't...
Movie pageTiptoes
as Uncle Hen KayeA silent film version of the Gershwin stage musical
Movie pageHollywood
as Will RogersAngela comes to Hollywood with only two things: Her dream to become a movie star, and Grandpa....
Movie pageDoctor Bull
as Dr. George 'Doc' BullIn this engaging adaptation of James Gould Cozzen's novel The Last Adam, film icon Will Rogers...
Movie pageDoubting Thomas
as Thomas BrownA husband makes fun of his wife's theatrical aspirations when she agrees to appear in a local...
Movie pageGoing Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)Robert Preston hosts this documentary that shows what people of the 1930s were watching as they...
Movie pageToo Busy to Work
as JubiloA hobo searches the countryside for the daughter he lost when his wife left him...
Movie pageTwo Wagons Both Covered
as Bill Bunian / Joe JacksonSatire on the epic Western 'The Covered Wagon (1923)'.
Movie pageWater, Water, Everywhere
as Billy FortuneCowboy Billy Fortune is in love with Hope Beecher, who prefers Billy's friend Ben Morgan, but...
Movie pageHonest Hutch
as HutchOrt Hutchins is a confirmed loafer who spends all of his time fishing while his wife toils over...
Movie pageAmbassador Bill
as Bill HarperAn American ambassador arrives in a small country that is being convulsed by political intrigue...
Movie pageThe Ropin' Fool
as 'Ropes' Reilly"Ropes" Reilly shows off his impressive roping skills, then runs afoul of the local townsfolk.
Movie pageThe Strange Boarder
as Sam GardnerHonest Arizona rancher Sam Gardner, goes with his motherless son Billy to the city, where he is...
Movie pageYoung as You Feel
as Lemuel MorehouseLemuel Morehouse, the owner of a profitable meatpacking company in Chicago, bemoans the fact...
Movie pageMr. Skitch
as Ira SkitchAfter losing their Missouri home during the Great Depression, the Skitch family pulls up stakes...
Movie pageThe Cake Eater
as uncreditedA young cowboy takes a job at a ranch owned by two aging spinsters, unaware that both are...
Movie pageBusiness and Pleasure
as Earl TinkerOn a Mediterranean cruise, Earl Tinker, a manufacturer of razor blades, is the target of a femme...
Movie pageThe County Chairman
as Jim HacklerBased on George Ade's play which, in part, was based on an incident in a 1902 election in...
Movie pageLife Begins at Forty
as Keneshaw H. ClarkA small-town newspaper publisher finds himself in opposition to the local banker on the return...
Movie pageLightnin'
as Lightnin' Bill JonesLightnin' and Mary Jones are co-owners of a hotel built right on a state border, used by...
Movie pageJubilo, Jr.
as Jubilo / HimselfA young boy, determined to make money enough to buy his mother a birthday present, finds a...
Movie pageSo This Is London
as Hiram DraperHiram Draper is an all-American self-made man with a profound distaste for everything British....
Movie pageAlmost a Husband
as Sam LymanA New England schoolteacher arrives in a small Southern town. He becomes the savior of several...
Movie pageDavid Harum
as David HarumRogers plays a small town banker in the 1890s whose chief rival is the deacon (Middleton) with...
Movie pageHandy Andy
as Andrew YatesA small-town druggist is henpecked by his social-climbing wife to sell his pharmacy to a...
Movie pageJus' Passin' Through
as JubiloAt Thanksgiving, a tramp arrives in a homeless-hostile town.
Movie pageDown To Earth
as Pike PetersHusband and father Will Rogers tells his spoiled wife and children that they have to economize.
Movie pageJubilo
as JubiloJubilo, a hobo, witnesses a robbery, finds work on Judge Hardy’s farm, and foils the vengeful...
Movie pageAn Unwilling Hero
as DickAs a man travels down to New Orleans for the winter, he finds out a robbery will be taken place...
Movie pageA Poor Relation
as Noah ValeSlaving to perfect an invention, Noah Vale tries to keep two orphans--Rip and Patch--and himself...
Movie pageJes' Call Me Jim
as Jim FentonHappy-go-lucky Jim Fenton is in love with Miss Butterworth, the town milliner, who is taking...
Movie pageBoys Will Be Boys
as Peep O'DayPeep O'Day, an orphan in a small Kentucky town, falls heir to a small fortune and begins to make...
Movie pageBig Moments from Little Pictures
as uncreditedIn this short, Will Rogers introduces and concludes the movie. And, then, he acts in different...
Movie pageWill Rogers and American Politics
as uncreditedIn the 1930s, with the United States mired in the Great Depression and teetering on the brink of...
Movie pageBabe Ruth: The Man, the Myth, the Legend
as himselfMel Allen hosts this look at Babe Ruth's life and career, focusing primarily on Ruth's years...
Movie pageGuile of Women
as Hjalmar MaartensA naive young Swede is repeatedly victimized by predatory women. When finally he meets a young...
Movie pageOne Glorious Day
as Professor Ezra BottsEk is a disembodied spirit, required to wait his turn in the boring cosmos until he is allowed...
Movie pageDoubling for Romeo
as Sam Cody / RomeoSlim Cody works in the movie industry, doubling for the performers. He has a dream in which he...
Movie pageShirley Temple: America's Little Darling
as Self (archive footage)There never was a star quite like her. Adored by adults and children alike, at four she already...
Movie pageGoing to Congress
as Alfalfa DoolittleWill Rogers plays a lazy man who is chosen by a group of men to run for Congress.
Movie page