William Penn Adair â Willâ Rogers ( November 4 1879 â `` August 15 1935 ) was a Cherokee-American cowboy , comedian , humorist , social commentator , vaudeville performer and actor . William Penn Adair Rogers ( better known as `` Will '' Rogers ) ( November 4 , 1879 â `` August 15 , 1935 ) was an American cowboy , comedian , humorist , social commentator , vaudeville performer and actor and one of the best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s .