Will Rogers Memorial state agency. Will Rogers was born near Oologah, Oklahoma, where his father had settled. He had originally purchased the land in 1911, a plot containing that overlooks the Tiawah Valley, as the site of his retirement home. The price was reportedly $500 per acre. After his death, it was passed on to members of the Rogers family. Will's widow, Betty Rogers, donated the property in 1937, during the Great Depression, to the state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma legislature appropriated $200,000 for the construction of a museum honoring Rogers. The original limestone building was designed by John Duncan Forsyth. Groundbreaking occurred
The Story of Will Rogers The Story of Will Rogers The Story of Will Rogers is a 1952 Technicolor film biography of humorist and movie star Will Rogers, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Will Rogers Jr. as his father. The supporting cast features Jane Wyman, Slim Pickens, Noah Beery Jr., Steve Brodie, and Eddie Cantor. The film's screenplay was based on the true short story "Uncle Clem's Boy" by Rogers' widow Betty Blake, which was published in "The Saturday Evening Post" in 1940. Bing Crosby secretly made a screen test for the lead role available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media in