Will Rogers and Comanche

Oologah, Oklahoma

Will Rogers was perhaps the most famous person in America in the early 1930s. His sagebrush witticisms and aw-shucks delivery made him a familiar celebrity in print, on the radio, on the stage, and even in Hollywood. Although he was born just northeast of Oologah, Rogers always claimed to have been born in nearby Claremore, because he said that only an Indian could pronounce Oologah (Rogers was of Cherokee descent).

Oologah finally decided to claim its share of Rogers' fame sixty years after his death by having this bronze statue of Rogers and his horse, Comanche, erected downtown in 1995. The statue, by Sandra Van Zandt, depicts Rogers circa 1905, with Comanche drinking from the Oologah water pump while Rogers rubs his cheek. The pose prompts some visitors, who don't know anything about Will Rogers, to mistakenly believe that the statue is just some cowboy talking on a mobile phone.