On May 30, 1935, Roseville Press Tribune readers were informed that humorist Will Rogers had recently been in their town visiting Buck McKee at his horse-riding school.
McKee was Rogers’ first partner in vaudeville. In 1905, the Oklahoma natives started a riding and roping act that played in many small-town venues across the country.
Their act grew in popularity until they eventually played in Hammerstein’s, one of the largest Vaudeville houses in New York City. The pair later traveled to Europe, where they performed for crowds in London and Berlin.
In 1924, Buck and his wife, Maude, a former vaudeville dancer, sought a quieter life and moved to Roseville to open a horse-riding school. Will Rogers' career took off after vaudeville with radio programs, lectures and a regular newspaper column that was picked up by most newspapers around the country. He was America’s humorist. He also made many films. He was making a movie in Sacramento when he decided to pay a visit to his old vaudeville partner, McKee.
According to the May 30, 1935, Roseville Press Tribune: “When Rogers first appeared on the stage, he was too bashful to say a word. It was McKee who started him wisecracking, a habit which has won Rogers world fame.”
Less than three months later, on Aug. 15, 1935, Will Rogers lost his life, along with pilot, Wiley Post, when their small plane crashed during takeoff in Point Barrow, Alaska. It was a death that affected the country deeply. Buck McKee likened it to losing a brother.
Photo: Will Rogers, c. 1905
|
