James Blake Rogers (July 25, 1915 – April 28, 2000), commonly known as Jimmy (also spelled Jimmie), was an American actor. He played

Hopalong Cassidy Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. He w ...

's sidekick in six films. Rogers was also a horse rancher, polo player,Jim Rogers, 84, Rancher and Son of the Humorist Will Rogers, The New York Times, May 3, 2000, Section B, Page 10 and newspaperman. He was the family representative on the Will Rogers Memorial Commission, and worked with the staff at the Will Rogers State Historic Park.Jim Rogers; Son of Famed Humorist, Los Angeles Times, April 30, 2000

Early years

Rogers was born in New York City on July 25, 1915, the son of

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklaho ...

and Betty Blake. He had three siblings: Will Jr. (1911–1993), Mary (1913–1989), and Fred (1918–1920).Last surviving son of Will Rogers succumbs to cancer, Tulsa World, April 29, 2000 He spent his childhood in Beverly Hills, but moved to a ranch in the late 1920s, and grew to love working with horses.Bates, Laura, Will Rogers’ Son to Attend Hoppy Festival, The Village Reporter (Byesville, Ohio), page 1, May 2, 1996 He attended Pomona College, but left in 1935, after his father and pilot

Wiley Post Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935) was a famed American aviator during the interwar period and the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high-altitude flying, Post helped develop o ...

died in a plane crash.

Film career

As a child he had parts in four of his father's

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

s, and was billed as Jimmy Rogers. He used that

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

in all of his film roles. Rogers was more interested in raising horses, so in the 1930s he and a friend purchased a ranch in Santa Barbara County, but in the early 1940s the U. S. government bought the ranch for a new army base, which later became

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg Sp ...

. In need of a new occupation he returned to acting. He made three comedy westerns with

Noah Beery Jr. Noah Lindsey Beery (August 10, 1913 – November 1, 1994) was an American actor often specializing in warm, friendly character roles similar to many portrayed by his Oscar-winning uncle, Wallace Beery. Unlike his more famous uncle, however, ...

Hal Roach Studios Hal Roach Studios was an American motion picture and television production studio. Known as ''The Laugh Factory to the World'', it was founded by producer Hal Roach and business partners Dan Linthicum and I.H. Nance as the Rolin Film Company on Ju ...

. Rogers then went on to make six

movies with

William Boyd William, Willie, Will or Bill Boyd may refer to: Academics * William Alexander Jenyns Boyd (1842–1928), Australian journalist and schoolmaster * William Boyd (educator) (1874–1962), Scottish educator * William Boyd (pathologist) (1885–1979), ...

, playing a fictional version of himself, a character named Jimmy Rogers.

Later work

During the later part of World War II Rogers joined the Marine Corps and worked as a writer and correspondent. After the war he and his brother

Will Rogers Jr. William Vann Rogers, generally known as Will Rogers Jr. (October 20, 1911 – July 9, 1993), was an American politician, writer, and newspaper publisher. He was the eldest son of humorist Will Rogers (1879–1935) and Betty Blake Rogers (1879– ...

ran ''The Beverly Hills Citizen'', a newspaper that was published between 1955 and 1962. He appeared in documentaries about his father's life, including''The Story of Will Rogers'', a 1961 episode of the television documentary ''Project Twenty'', which was narrated by

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

,Hyatt, Wesley, Bob Hope on TV: Thanks for the Video Memories, Bear Manor Media, 2017 and ''Will Rogers'', a 2001 episode of ''California’s Gold'', which aired after Rogers’ death. Rogers was the family representative on the Will Rogers Memorial Commission, and worked with the staff at the Will Rogers State Historic Park. Michelle Lefebvre-Carter, the director of the Memorial Commission stated: "Jim Rogers referred to

affectionately as 'Dad' in family matters and 'WR' in reference to the icon." Rogers owned a California ranch, where he trained horses and operated a riding school. He attended western fan conventions, and talked about his movie career.

Personal life

Rogers married Astrea Kemmler on March 26, 1938, and they had three children – James Kemmler Rogers, Charles Edward Rogers, and Astrea Elizabeth Rogers Brandon. His first wife died on November 19, 1987. He married Judith Braun on August 31, 1995. Rogers died of cancer on April 28, 2000.

Filmography

* 1920 ''

Water, Water, Everywhere ''Water, Water, Everywhere'' is a 1920 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and written by Robert F. Hill. It is based on the 1912 novel ''Billy Fortune and the Hard Proposition'' by William Rheem Lighton. The film stars W ...

'' – uncredited bit role * 1920 '' The Strange Boarder'' – Billy Gardner * 1920 '' Jes' Call Me Jim'' – Harry Benedict * 1921 ''

Doubling for Romeo ''Doubling for Romeo'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and written by Bernard McConville, Elmer Rice, and Will Rogers. The film stars Will Rogers, Sylvia Breamer, Raymond Hatton, Sidney Ainsworth, Al Hart and ...

'' – Jimmie Jones * 1942 '' Dudes Are Pretty People'' – Jimmy * 1943 '' Calaboose'' – Jimmy * 1943 '' Prairie Chickens'' – Jimmy * 1943 ''

False Colors False Colors may refer to: * False Colors (1943 film), an American Western film * False Colors (1914 film), an American silent drama film * False colors See also * False Colours ''False Colours'' is a Regency romance novel by Georgette Heyer ...

'' – Jimmy Rogers * 1943 '' Riders of the Deadline'' – Jimmy Rogers * 1944 '' Texas Masquerade'' – Jimmy Rogers * 1944 ''

Lumberjack Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...

'' – Jimmy Rogers * 1944 '' Mystery Man'' – Jimmy Rogers * 1944 '' Forty Thieves'' – Jimmy Rogers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Jimmy (actor 1915 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American male actors Cherokee Nation actors Male actors from New York City Military personnel from New York City Pomona College alumni 20th-century Native Americans Deaths from cancer in California