Oklahoma’s Will
How does Will Rogers still keep an eye on national politics, in a way?
Recently, with so many interviews originating from Capitol Hill, you might occasionally have noticed a familiar figure in the background.
The Hill, a political website at thehill.com, wrote on Oct. 22, 2013:
While camera crews gather and members of Congress pass by on their way to the House chamber, the bronze of Will Rogers stares down at them with the corners of his mouth turned up. His hair is parted to the side, and his hands are in the pockets of his loose-fitting suit. The statue, which Oklahoma gave to the National Statuary Hall collection in 1939, stands in the secondfloor corridor between the rotunda and the House chamber — a stakeout location for camera crews looking to catch House members during voting. It’s also a common meeting place for reporters and lawmakers, with staff often directing the media to be at the “Will Rogers stakeout” at a certain time.
When the dedication was held for the Will Rogers Museum on Nov. 4, 1938, Gov. E.W. Marland’s explanation of the statue’s creation appeared in The Oklahoman the following day.
Drama more moving than any on the stage was unfolded inside the memorial building as immediate friends of the Rogers family gathered for the unveiling of the bronze statue created by Jo Davidson, world-famous sculptor and close friend of Rogers.
Governor Marland told the small group that Davidson was visiting at his home at the time the sixteenth legislature appropriated $200,000 for the memorial.
“Davidson deplored the fact that Will Rogers had never sat for a bust by him, although Will had often been in his studio in Paris. Jo deplored it because now it was too late to do a bust or figure from life. But an idea came to that little group in my home — Jo was to go to California, borrow reels of films of Rogers’ pictures — take them to Paris, study them and do Will Rogers for the Hall of Fame in Washington.
“I had the temerity then to ask him to present a replica of that figure to the Oklahoma Will Rogers memorial commission. That he most generously did.”
The governor then asked Mary Rogers, the daughter, to pull the cord that unveiled the statue of Oklahoma’s son who showed the world how to laugh.
The canvas dropped from about the bronze figure. There stood Will Rogers in startling likeness. He had the old quizzical grin. He slouched with his hands in his pocket. On the foundation were the words “I never met a man I didn’t like.”
Mrs. Betty Rogers, the widow, had never seen the figure before. Her lips trembled, she looked almost frightened. Then she smiled . ... Then Davidson, the famous sculptor, said:
“It was a labor of love. I put in this bronze likeness, everything I had to give. I hope you’ll like it.”
On June 7, 1939, The Oklahoman described the unveiling of the statue in Washington.
In the greatest dedication ceremony conducted in the national capitol in the last half century, Oklahoma’s bronze statue of Will Rogers was unveiled in Washington Tuesday afternoon . ...
With the Rogers’ family in attendance, the statue was presented to the nation by state Governor Leon C. Phillips who said: “Will Rogers earned the love of the nation. He left the world better than he found it.”
Will Rogers once said: “I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.” And, for 78 years, his statue has stood in the Capitol, watching.
If you would like to contact Mary Phillips about The Archivist, email her at gapnmary@gmail.com