Will Rogers photograph   Save
Columbus Dispatch Photograph Collection
Description: This photograph shows Will Rogers (1879-1935) shaking hands with bellboy in front of the Deshler Hotel, Columbus, Ohio, April 9, 1928. During the 1920s and 1930s Rogers was a beloved vaudeville performer, humorist, social commentator, world traveler, and actor. William Penn Adair Rogers was born into a Cherokee Nation family in Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma). He became a cowboy and expert roper who augmented his demonstrations with folksy humor. His roping talent and wit earned him a place in the Ziegfield Follies, which in turn launched his show-business career. He and pilot Wiley Post died in a 1935 plane crash in Alaska. One of his most famous quotes is: "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 [sic] like.' I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05619
Subjects: Rogers, Will, 1879-1935; Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Entertainers
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)