Will Rogers

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Although Will Rogers may not be that well-known these days, the impact he had in America in the 1920s and 30s is still evident.  Airports, municipal buildings, concert halls and other venues still carry his name even in cities that had no overt connection to Rogers.

This book, published a few months after his death in 1935, is an unapologetic tribute and eulogy to Rogers. 

Author P.J. O’Brien utilized an interesting and effective structure for the book. He began with the deaths of Rogers and pilot Wiley Post in a plane crash in far north Alaska.  Then he begins following Rogers’ life chronologically from his boyhood through his development as a young adult. 

From there, his attention to the timelines of Rogers’ life is not quite as precise.  He focuses instead on various aspects of Rogers’ career:  his life on Broadway, in the movies, as a writer and as a broadcaster.  He has chapters on Rogers’ philanthropy, his interest in political commentary, and his support of aviation. 

He starts to wrap it up by going back to Rogers’ death and describing the memorial services.  Then he provides a chapter with nuggets of Rogers’ broadcasts and newspaper articles.  The final chapter is sprinkled with reminiscences from friends, celebrities and dignitaries. 

This book is an immersion into a time when heroes had more substance than many of today’s athletes, actors and entertainers. 

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Quotes

Rogers never signed a contract with Ziegfield or with anyone else on Broadway.  “My word is good,” Will said, “and the other feller’s ought to be, too.”

[Will Rogers] “The movies is the grandest show business I know anything about.  It’s the only place where an actor can act and at the same time sit down in front and clap for himself.”

[Will Rogers] “The movies is the grandest show business I know anything about.  It’s the only place where an actor can act and at the same time sit down in front and clap for himself.”

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