BBQ, ‘Movies’ in the Face of Threat of Will Rogers Park Closure

Saddle up, cinephiles! The Will Rogers Ranch Foundation (WRRF) will host an outdoor movie event at Will Rogers State Historic Park on Friday, August 14 at 7:30 p.m. The 4th annual ‘Movies in Will’s Backyard’ will present the 1935 comedy ‘Doubting Thomas,’ starring the Foundation’s namesake actor/cowboy philosopher and co-starring Billie Burke (good witch Glinda from ‘The Wizard of Oz’). Attendees are invited to picnic on the lawn at the free event. The WRRF will provide popcorn and drinks. ‘Movies’ is the latest WRRF event staged in the face of a statewide crisis. During the magic hour on the evening of July 3, on the cusp of what turned out to be a robust Independence Day celebration in Pacific Palisades, the WRRF held a barbecue at Will Rogers Park. But this was no mere picnic or walk in the park: it was a fundraiser prompted by the threat of the state park’s closure, with the additional purpose of increasing membership. ‘That was the first time they held it for the race and parade sponsors,’ says WRRF president Jennifer Rogers-Etcheverry, Will Rogers’ great-granddaughter, who, on the following morning, sounded the horn to commence the 32nd annual Palisades-Will Rogers 5/10K Run. The barbecue proved to be a nexus of WRRF and Palisades Americanism Parade supporters. ‘The genesis of the thing is that Brian Shea had asked me to help him put on the event,’ says co-organizer Jimmy Klein, whose father, Bob Klein, started the race with Shea over three decades ago. ‘We got my peers, Palisadians, and we only had a month to put the whole thing together.’ The goal was ‘to raise awareness of the dire state the State’s in regarding the closure of the parks.’ ‘It was nice to see some young people get involved,’ Shea says. Klein adds that Rogers-Etcheverry, WRRF board member Trudi Sandmeier, Lynette Hernandez, park services superintendent for the Topanga sector (which includes Will Rogers Park), and Corpus Christi School were instrumental in mounting the barbecue, which attracted 400 guests (including 100 new WRRF members). Among those greeting new members: Todd Vradenburg, executive director of the Will Rogers Motion Pictures Pioneer Foundation; Sandmeier, whose grandparents were personal caretakers of Will and Betty Rogers; Wyatt McCrea, grandson of actor Joel McCrea; Rogers-Etcheverry’s daughter, Meeghan Etcheverry; and Bob and Jim Klein. ‘It was nice to see new faces,’ Rogers-Etcheverry says. ‘But I was overwhelmed by how many had never been through the house.’ Tours of the Will Rogers house, adorned with art by Charles Russell and Howard Chandler Christy, were conducted between servings of chicken and beer. ‘We raised approximately $10,000,’ Rogers-Etcheverry says. ‘We’re already talking about holding the event again.’ In the meantime, Rogers-Etcheverry is looking forward to the ‘Doubting’ screening. Her cowboy/philosopher great-grandfather starred in some 71 movies (including 50 silent films) before his death in 1935. ‘The event began when the WRRF was in its beginning stages,’ Rogers-Etcheverry says. ‘The Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore, Oklahoma, hosts an annual event on August 15 marking the anniversary of Will Rogers’ death. We wanted to have our own annual event. Fox had just released four Will Rogers movies on DVD and we thought, Why not show a movie on the lawn? ‘We like to think of it as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to the community and foundation members for all their support. The Will Rogers Motion Pictures Pioneer Foundation has graciously sponsored the event for the past three years and California State Parks donates their time for the event.’ In previous years, ‘Will’s Backyard’ has screened ‘Ambassador Bill,’ ‘Steamboat ‘Round the Bend,’ and, last year, ‘Life Begins at 40”’all starring Rogers. Rogers-Etcheverry summarized the plot of this year’s selection. ‘Paula (Burke) plays Rogers’ wife, who craves the life of stage lights,’ she says. ‘Thomas (Rogers), bound on keeping his wife home with the family, puts a plan into action by hiring a vaudeville player to impersonate a Hollywood director who’ll dash her hopes…by signing Thomas to a studio contract instead!’ So how does Rogers-Etcheverry feel about her famous ancestor’s films? ‘My grandfather, Jim [Will’s youngest offspring], always said, ‘Dad wasn’t much of an actor,” Rogers-Etcheverry says. ‘I have not seen all of Will’s films, but as for the ones I have seen, I find him funny. He always comes across as himself. I believe that is why so many people liked him. My personal favorite is ‘In Old Kentucky.” Last year, Rogers-Etcheverry had the chance to attend an Oklahoma event, which featured a screening of ‘Lightning,’ starring Will Rogers and Joel McCrea, grandfather of WRRF board member Wyatt McCrea. Rogers-Etcheverry: ‘It was so much fun to watch it together and see that, after 75 years, the family friendships have remained and are working to carry on the families’ legacies. ‘And nice to know that so many people remember who Will Rogers was!’ Admission: Free. Parking: $8. Contact: www.willrogersranchfoundation.org