Will Rogers

Will Rogers (1879-1935) was a humorist and comedian and one of America's most beloved entertainers for two decades. Of mixed Native American Cherokee ancestry (a famous quip was that his ancestors didn't come over on the Mayflower but were there to greet it), Rogers hailed near Oklahoma, and with experience in rodeos and on ranches, he entered show business with a rope act, including a horse, and performed in vaudeville. 
By the time Rogers dropped the horse in 1911, he was noted more for his humorous monologues, which ranged from self-deprecating comments on his rope tricks to political commentary. The latter arguably reached its peak in 1928, when he became the first comedian to launch a mock campaign for President of the United States (to be followed in later years by the likes of Gracie Allen, Pat Paulsen, and even various Muppets). His only predecessor was comic strip character A. Mutt in 1908. 
Rogers' stage success, including a stint in the Ziegfeld Follies, extended to contributing a regular newspaper column and pieces to The Saturday Evening Post, his own radio series, and starring in first silent film comedies and then the talkies (playing similar homespun but philosophical types, notably in State Fair and Judge Priest). His best known line had its roots in a 1926 article following his visit to Russia and reached its apex as a self-composed epitaph as delivered in 1930: "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 didn't like.'" Popular memory reduced the quote to the last half. 
The Will Rogers Institute, an outgrowth of a memorial commission and fund formed after Rogers' death in 1935, engages in medical research related to pulmonary diseases and disorders. The Muppets appeared in a PSA and print ads for the Institute.
==References==
* A clip of Rogers driving in the 1924 Hal Roach silent two-reeler Don't Park There was used (along with other Roach clips) in a Sesame Street insert about traffic lights. 
* Don't Park There footage was used again, by itself, as the feature presentation in the Guy Smiley hosted "Dialing for Prizes Movie." 
* Vincent Price, in his The Muppet Show episode, tells Kermit, " I never met a monster I didn't like."
* The Koozebanian Phoob recites a version of Rogers' famous line which is unique to the Planet Koozebane in The Muppet Show episode 205: "I never met a Phoob I didn't like, especially with mushroom gravy."
* Gonzo outdoes his fellow Muppets by actually attributing the line while paraphrasing it, in a July 13, 1999 TV Guide online chat: "To paraphrase Will Rogers 'I never met a chicken I didn't like.'" 
==Notes==
* Rogers' eldest son Will Rogers, Jr. hosted the morning series Good Morning which featured early appearances by the Muppets.
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Category:Movie References
Category:Historical References