Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-08-16
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
Will Rogers was given the imposing
name of William Penn Adair Rogers
but everybody called him Will. He
was cowboy, humorist, writer, lee
turer, philosopher, polo player, world
traveller and flyer, but he went up in
the air only as passenger.
He was born at Oolagah, Indian
Territory. November 4, 1879, but he
called Claremore, Okla, his home
town" and he was a legal resident OF
Oklahoma although he spent most of
his time at his ranch between Beverly
Hills and Santa Monica, Calf.
He had Indian blood in his veins
and was proud of it. One of his best
wisecracks was based upon this an
cestry as he said that his ancestors
did not come over on the Mayflower,
but they met the boat.
Education in Easy Stages.
His education came, he said, by
easy stages. II studied the fourth
reader for 10 years." he told an inter-
viewer, but he was a "kidder" on and
OF the stage and many Of his boasts
of being ignorant" could be taken
with q grain Of salt.
After he left the fourth reader be-
hind him he went through the VIII
low Hassell School at Neosho, Mo-,
and Kemper Military Academy at
Bonneville and If he did not make q
remarkable record for scholarship, he
did not fail.
His mother wanted him to become
a Methodist minister, but Will had
learned to ride horse and throw a
rope on his fathers ranch, so he
went back to the range. Then start
ing with medicine shows and carni-
walls he went on along the road that
finally brought him to the very top Of
his profession as an actor.
Jained wild West Show.
A rancher, Zach Mulhall. organized
q Wild West show and Will joined it,
finally reaching New York. There is
. tradition that he first attracted
public notice on a large scale when
he lassoed a wild steer that broke
loose at Madison Square Garden and
was about to dash through the crowd.
Certainly shortly. after his first ap-
pearance at "tlBarden" he was on
the vaudeville We. Charley Mack
of Moran and Mack told of Wills
initial efforts in Vaudeville. He was
pretty bad, said Mack, and grew dis
couraged. He talked it over with
Charley.
where are you going?" asked Mack.
Back to Oklahoma"
"Been fired YETI"
1.-THE manager said I was pretty
punk" '''
"Yeh, you're all Of that; but has he
actually told. you that you are fired?"
"Well, no."
Don't quit till he tells you; maybe
you can stick it out to Saturday night.
That viii be three days more pay"
Wisecracks Made" Him.
Before the week was out, Will hap
pened to make wisecrack about
something he saw in a newspaper. az.
observation shyly delivered Of some
thing that struck his fancy. The
audience laughed, Rogers tried some
other joshing remarks. and was
made"
It was short step to Hammerstein's
Roof at $50 a week and then he spent
six years as the star of Ziegfeld's
Follies.
He ventured into motion pictures
but failed to score the success expected
The silent screen gave the comedian
no chance to convulse his audiences
with his homely observations rendered
in drawl that only Rogers knew. But
when talking pictures appeared, Rogers
became . box ONCE riot and there
after the legitimate theater saw little
Of him.
Subbed "for Old Fred"
When his friend, Fred Stone, wal
injured In IN airplane accident. u,