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Thirty miles northeast of Tulsa on Route 66, CLAREMORE , the birthplace of Will Rogers , populist comedian, journalist and Twenties film star, is a shrine to a man being slowly forgotten as his films are no longer seen. His career began with a vaudeville show that included lassoing a horse and its rider, while giving a witty commentary, and he was renowned for his pithy and good-natured one-liners. Incredibly, when he died in a plane crash in 1935 there was a nationwide thirty-minute silence. One of his most famous declarations, "I never met a man I didn't like," is inscribed on his statue at the Will Rogers Memorial , 1720 Will Rogers Blvd (daily 8am -5pm; free), which displays his possessions, such as his "gag book," together with stills and clips from his films. In September, the Chili Cookoff and Bluegrass Festival comes to town with its spicy chili competitions, clogging and bluegrass gigs.