The Papers of Will Rogers

by Rogers, Will; Gragert, Steven K.; Johansson, M. Jane; Wertheim, Arthur Frank; Bair, Barbara

• ISBN13: 9780806137049
• ISBN10: 0806137045
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-09-28
• Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr

Summary

In the early years of his performing career, Will Rogers was a vaudeville performer of limited prominence. Around the age of thirty-five, however, this Oklahoma cowboy philosopher shed his role as local stage entertainer and moved toward fame as a Broadway star and nationally beloved humorist. This documentary history, volume four in the definitive five-volume Papers of Will Rogers, reveals Rogers's personal and professional transformation during what may have been the most productive period of his diverse career. Between 1915 and 1928--the years covered by this volume--Rogers developed his unique monologues of topical humor, sampled the relatively new medium of radio, and pursued a career in silent films. He also tried his voice in sound recordings, witnessed his work as a writer reach millions of readers of daily newspapers, became one of the most sought-after speakers on the dinner circuit, and embarked on a three-year tour of the nation's lecture halls. In addition to Rogers's personal correspondence with family members and friends, editors Steven K. Gragert and M. Jane Johansson present more than one hundred letters and telegrams to and from people Rogers touched both inside and outside public life, including prominent figures in politics, show business, literature, industry, government, publishing, and the arts. Much of this material, gleaned from private collections, interviews, manuscripts, and sound recordings, has never before been published.

Table of Contents

List of Documents	ix
List of Illustrations	xvii
Acknowledgments	xix
Introduction	3	(4)
Chronology, September 1915--July 1928	7	(36)
Editorial Principles and Practices	43	(6)
Symbols and Abbreviations	49	(1)
Textual Devices	49	(1)
Descriptive Abbreviations	49	(1)
Manuscript Collection and Repository Abbreviations	50	(1)
Guide to Abbreviated Citations for Published Sources	51	(12)
Broadway Stardom
Introduction	63	(3)
Documents, September 1915--August 1918	66	(65)
From Broadway to Hollywood
Introduction	131	(3)
Documents, September 1918--June 1919	134	(49)
Back to Broadway
Introduction	183	(3)
Documents, July 1919--December 1922	186	(85)
Return to Hollywood
Introduction	271	(3)
Documents, December 1922--May 1924	274	(63)
On To Europe
Introduction	337	(4)
Documents, June 1924--September 1926	341	(106)
On to Politics---With a Smile
Introduction	447	(5)
Documents, September 1926--July 1928	452	(131)
Bibliography	583	(12)
Index	595