Born on a farm in Oklahoma's Cherokee Nation in 1879, Will Rogers went on to become one of the most celebrated people of the 20th century, hobnobbing with the rich and famous while entertaining millions in movies, on radio and through his newspaper column.
George Clayton Anderson, an accomplished author (previous books focus on Sitting Bull and the Indian Southwest), offers a portrait of Rogers and his rise to fame and fortune.
"Over 100,000 people attended his funeral in Hollywood, an event that was broadcast live on radio," noted Clayton after Rogers died in a plane crash along with friend and pilot Wiley Post in 1935.
Starting with rope tricks, Rogers perfected a stage act that involved a monologue citing news events of the day and gently chiding leading politicians and celebrities with a folksy drawl.
He also wrote a weekly newspaper column. "He dominated the press. Everyone got the Friday paper to read his column, often on the front page," Clayton told Steve Tarter.
Established journalists of the day were somedays irritated by Rogers' "down home" success. H.L. Mencken, one of the leading columnists of that time, was particularly irritated at the fact that, while Mencken's column ran in 200 papers across the country, the Rogers column was carried by 400, said Clayton.
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