When Will Rogers was in Hollywood, his ranch at Santa Monica was a place for family, friends and fun. Today, it is an historic state park open to the public.

The sprawling ranch house also was the family home during the period when Will Rogers was the nation's top male movie star. After a cook-out on the patio and warm bantering with relatives and friends, Will and Betty Rogers would retreat to their private quarters upstairs where a rustic room served as the famous "Will Rogers Den."

Betty Rogers had a nook in the adjacent bedroom where she would manage family business affairs, read or sew while Will Rogers wrote his columns, prepared his speeches or organized his thoughts at a small desk.

A portable typewriter, newspapers and crumbled copy paper characterized the desk. There were maps to plan travel. Books or a script lay on the couch. The walls were decorated with photographs of favorite friends and with some Indian and Western art. It was a cozy spot overlooking the Santa Monica Mountains with cool Pacific Ocean breezes.