Actor, Will Rogers, Succeeded in Silent Films and Talkies...
The 1930s were known for many things, one of the biggest being the movement from
silent films to talkies which is what the first films with script and other sound effects
were called. When film was first being produced everything had to be acted out with no
sound, meaning there was no music, talking, laugh track, nothing. While there were
people who excelled at acting in silent films, not many were able to make the transition
to talkies easily. However the ones who did, flourished. One such star was Will Rogers.
He was a ranch hand, rodeo rider, vaudeville performer, film star, columnist and author,
radio personality, pioneer of aviation, tireless master of ceremonies, friend to presidents,
and unofficial ambassador of good will under... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
(The Almanac of American History. Page 445) In November of 1908, Rogers married
Betty Blake and they had four children; Will Junior, Mary, Jim, and Fred. (Chronicle of
the 20th Century. Page 600) In 1918, he acted in many silent films and when talkies
started being produced, Rogers became a national star. Audiences liked his simple
language and country roots, seeing him as one of their own. (Page 445) He starred in
seventy one films overall and several Broadway shows. (Will Rogers Biography. Web)
He was voted the most popular male actor in Hollywood in 1934. A couple of his later
works included Doctor Bull, Judge Priest, and Steamboat Round the Bend. Rogers
wrote six books and an estimated four thousand syndicated columns, soon becoming a
prominent radio broadcaster and political commentator. (Will Rogers SHP. Web) A
few of his books were such as The Cowboy Philosopher on Prohibition, There s Not a
Bathing Suit in Russia, and Wit and Philosophy from the Radio Talks of America s
Humorist. His honest and intelligent views about the government and America along
with his folksy humor won him the nations respect. He would write his weekly little
piece for the papers until his death in 1935. In 1926 he began writing a daily column
Will Rogers Says . He had a skill for showing the hilarious side of current events;
exaggerating the facts to the amusement of his readers. He declined a nomination to be
governor of