Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Plates
- Author’s Note
- Introduction
- 1 The Final Frontier
- 2 The Cherokee Kid
- 3 The Vaudeville Romance
- 4 Follies and Frolics
- 5 The Celluloid Cowboy
- 6 An Age of Publicity
- 7 The American Soul
- 8 Politics is Applesauce
- Plates
- 9 The Unfunny Business of Trying To Be Funny
- 10 The Private Man
- 11 The Little Fellow and the Great Depression
- 12 Man in Motion
- 13 The Man Talkies Were Invented For
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Notes
- Index
3 - The Vaudeville Romance
Published online by Cambridge University Press: aN Invalid Date NaN
- Frontmatter
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Plates
- Author’s Note
- Introduction
- 1 The Final Frontier
- 2 The Cherokee Kid
- 3 The Vaudeville Romance
- 4 Follies and Frolics
- 5 The Celluloid Cowboy
- 6 An Age of Publicity
- 7 The American Soul
- 8 Politics is Applesauce
- Plates
- 9 The Unfunny Business of Trying To Be Funny
- 10 The Private Man
- 11 The Little Fellow and the Great Depression
- 12 Man in Motion
- 13 The Man Talkies Were Invented For
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Notes
- Index
Summary
Chapter Three analyzes Rogers’ move into vaudeville , the national entertainment circuit that fascinated the American public during the first two decades of the twentieth century. The Oklahoman became a star attraction whose cowboy garb and tremendous roping skills delighted audiences all over the country. Rogers also gradually developed another skill that became his calling card – humorous commentary. As an emblem of the American West that was gradually disappearing in the wake of urban, industrial growth, and a natural humorist whose down-home jests and good-natured wisecracks delighted audiences, Rogers began to establish a national presence. This period also saw his stormy courtship of, and marriage to, Betty Blake, a young woman from back home. The marriage would last for the rest of his life.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Citizen CowboyWill Rogers and the American People, pp. 54 - 78Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024