Will (William) Adair Rogers was a hugely popular American humorist, most recognizable in his persona as a cowboy, who appeared on the stage, in motion pictures and on the radio during the teens, the 1920s and 1930s. In addition, he hit the lecture circuit both at home and abroad, as well as writing a weekly newspaper column, all the while dispensing homespun political and social wisdom. Will Rogers was born in Oklahoma into a Cherokee Nation family, and soon established himself as a kind of “everyman†for the masses, the symbol of the American dream in which the self-made man may rise to the top. Will Rogers provided a link to an earlier time of perceived innocence in America, an image that he artfully drew and built upon throughout his career. As an advocate for the aviation industry, he was flying in Alaska with aviator Wiley Post in 1935, when their plane crashed, killing both men. Will Rogers was mourned by the nation. His most famous dictum was “I never met a man I didn’t like.†We venture no man ever met Will Rogers and didn’t like him.
