Popular Humorist, Author, Actor. Born William Penn Adair Rogers, the youngest of eight children of Mary America Scrimsher and Clem Rogers, a successful rancher in the Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory which would later be known as Oologah, Oklahoma. As a boy, he was taught the lariat by a former slave and became an expert horse rider and roper. He would later star in wild west shows, vaudeville acts and in 1905 a roping act at Madison Square Gardens in New York City. He left formal schooling in the tenth grade, which he stated he regretted doing. He married Betty Blake in November of 1908, and they had three children who survived to adulthood. He joined the Ziegfeld Follies in 1917, which showcased his lariat skills, but gradually the act evolved to include a humorous dialogue about his observations of life, the nation, and the government. He went to Hollywood in 1918, and appeared in such films as "Laughing Bill Hyde" in 1918, "The Ropin' Fool" in 1921, "They Had to See Paris" in 1929, and "State Fair" in 1934. He eventually starred in over 70 features and short films. In 1934 he was voted the most popular actor in Hollywood. In addition, he wrote a popular syndicated newspaper column as well as 68 books. He became a prominent radio broadcaster and political commentator basing a large part of his humor upon politics, which he called the best show in the world, describing the United States Congress as the "national joke factory." He is often quoted as saying: "I joked about every prominent man in my lifetime, but I never met one I didn't like." He once declined a nomination for the governorship of Oklahoma, but served as the mayor of Beverly Hills, California. Wiley Post, a prominent aviator of the time, was a great friend of Roger's, and shared his love of flying. The pair set off in Wiley's bright red Lockheed Orion Sirius Explorer equipped with floats in the summer of 1935. Most experts now believe that a combination of miscalculations in the design and pilot error with the heavily customized aircraft, resulted in the uncontrollable spin that occurred right after takeoff. They crashed at Point Barrow, Alaska, on August 15, 1935, both men were killed on impact. A memorial stands today in Nehalem, Alaska, near where their plane crashed.