Will Rogers
Will Rogers played Judge Priest. The film played a major role in earning Will Rogers the number one box office star of 1934. Rogers earned lots of critical praise for his role in Judge Priest. Many critics attend that Rogers simply fell right into the role with his heart-warming personality. Rogers managed a balance of comedic one-liners with serious dramatics. The Tulsa Daily World summed up Rogers’ performance: “The star’s portrayal of Judge Priest has the mark of authenticity upon it…the unique blending of unique talent with a rich and splendid role.”
Judge Priest is an eccentric judge. Although his wife dies 19 years before the film takes place, he shows no interest in remarrying. He sometimes stumbles his words, but he shows his wit throughout the film. The Judge, despite all his talk of being a confederate veteran, finds his best friend to be the black Jeff Poindexter. Judge Priest has pride in his tolerance for others.
Rogers was killed in a plane crash on August 15, 1935, just a year after the release of Judge Priest.
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Famous quotes containing the word rogers:
“Those of us who are in this world to educate—to care for—young children have a special calling: a calling that has very little to do with the collection of expensive possessions but has a lot to do with the worth inside of heads and hearts. In fact, that’s our domain: the heads and hearts of the next generation, the thoughts and feelings of the future.”
—Fred M. Rogers, U.S. writer and host of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. “That Which is Essential Is Invisible to the Eye,” Young Children (July 1994)
“Very early in our children’s lives we will be forced to realize that the “perfect” untroubled life we’d like for them is just a fantasy. In daily living, tears and fights and doing things we don’t want to do are all part of our human ways of developing into adults.”
—Fred Rogers (20th century)