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HomeMy WebLinkAboutKey to the City ArticleCowboy to some, legend to val1P� Longtime ffaydri of Palm Springs Frank Bogert feted at charity event BY PAT Almo THE DESERT SUN RANCHO MIRAGE — Palm Springs legend Frank M. Bogert, the first elected may- or of Palm Springs, isn't a cowboy despite everyone's description of him as one. "I worked on a cattle ranch when I was young," recalled 95-year-old Bogert, who claims two belts of tequila every night keeps him young. "But now I'm not a cowboy. If I'm not working Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden presents The Key to the City to former Palm Springs Mayor Frank Bogert during the "This is Your Life, Frank Bogert" tribute dinner at the Agua Caliente Casino on Thursday night. cattle, how the hell can I call A correction is in order myself a cowboy? I'm just a here. horseback rider now." The invitation sent to lumi- 7� naves across Valley to honoCoach Bogert on Thursday eves; the Agua Caliente Casin scribes Bogert as a "m cowboy, friend to preside For sure, anyone knows Bogert knows a things about him. He's a tall Republican loves horses, speaks fl Spanish, has a salty vo ulary, and collects spun The Thursday event, derwritten by the A Caliente Band of Cah Indians, was a fund-rais which proceeds from ti sales are to go to the C munity Blood Bank in 1 cho Mirage. Please see BOGERT, THE Continued from Al The Committee of Twenty - Five was co-sponsor of the event, described as. a "This is Your Life Frank Bogert." "Laura and I are pleased to send you our best wishes," said Pres- ident George W. Bush in a pre- pared statement read at the event by a staffer of Rep. Mary Bono, R- Palm Springs. Chalk up another kudo from another president. Pictures lined cardboard displays in the rear of the bingo -room of Bogert with presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B.Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan. And then there were the stars: Rita Hayworth, Ginger Rogers, Stephanie Powers, Sammy Davis Jr., John Wayne and Herve Vil- lechaize. The salty politician is loved by ev- eryone at Palm Springs City Hall. "If you ever heard him speak, he's kind of a crusty old guy," said Velma Burrell, a deputy city clerk who once notarized a document for him. "There isn't anyone like him anymore." Nadine Fieger, a city code enforce- ment officer, saw him a week ago in a grocery story. "He looked great." Bogert still rides horses. His horse is named Chapo, named after a famous cowboy who sang of his horse, Chapo. "I'm a Republican. It's the only logical thing to be. I'm a Republican because I'm not liberal. I'm on the right side of the world, not the left." Frank M. Bogert Former Palm Springs mayor "Chapo is my pony, Chapo is my friend," sang Bogert. The movie -star like Bogert is a Palm Springs legend. A statue of Bogert riding a horse, dressed as a cowboy and waving his 10-gallon hat, is in front of Palm Springs City Hall. A few feet away is a bust of President Kennedy, clearly a democratic president Bogert wishes had come to rest some- where else. "Every day, pigeons (deposit) on my head, and never on Kennedy's head because the pi- geons are Democrats," said Bogert wryly. "I'm a Republican," he said. "It's the only logical thing to be. I'm a Republican because I'm not liberal. I'm on the right side of the world, not the left." Richard Milanovich, chairman M'NURO 1 Bom: Jan. 1, 1910, Mesa, Colo. Appointed Palm Springs Mayor: April 15, 1958 to Jan. 24, 1966. First elected mayor. April 1982 to April 1988. Son of a cattle rancher and youngest of eight children. ■ First came to the desert in 1927 as a "dude wrangler." A star of a publicity guy: He worked as a publicity man for El Mirador Hotel in the 1930s, and traveled the country promoting Palm Springs. Key positions: Served as first manager of the Palm Springs Chamber of the Agua Caliente tribe, said Bogert's contribution to regional tribes is significant. As Palm Springs mayor, Bogert lobbied for a change in federal law to enable Indians to lease their property to non -tribal members for 99 years, creating greater in- terest in the Agua Caliente tribe's downtown property. Hotels eventually developed major properties on the tribe's land, Milanovich said. "You couldn't get long-term commer- cial leasing from the (Bureau of Indian Affairs)" before Bogert added his lobbying muscle. "This was very important." Minority residents of that area were displaced to northern Palm Springs during Bogert's term, but FRANK M. BOGERT of Commerce and managed the Racquet Club. Landmark developments: After World War II, he took up real estate and land development. Bogert developed and managed the dude ranch that became the Thunderbird Country Club. He also developed the Palm Springs Municipal Golf Course. Horseman and a gentleman: He is a member of the Charros, an elite group of Mexican gentlemen riders. Multi -talented: He is a top professional announcer, former Hollywood stunt man, bilingual Bogert said businessmen had been trying to remove poor peo- ple from their retail hub since the city's incorporation in 1938. "His eyes were very penetrat- ing," Milanovich recalled. "When he looks at you, he has that glint. You just know it is Frank Bogert." Fred Hoover, a member of the Committee of Twenty -Five, a club of retired captains of corpo- rate America who meet in a club- house at the end of Alejo Road on O'Donnell's Golf Course, de- scribed Bogert as "one -of -a - kind." "You go out to lunch with him and he spends as much time talking with the Mexican help as he does talking with other peo- authority on Mexico, and serious collector of western memorabilia. Book: Wrote "Palm Springs: First Hundred Years," pictorial chronicle of the city, first published in 1987. Reissued in 2003 by the Palm Springs Public Library. A GOOD CAUSE Bogert was honored during a fund- raising event for the Community Blood Bank. For information: Or to learn more about donating blood, call 773-4190. ple at the table," said Hoover, a retired president of Continental Can Co. Does tough Frank M. Bogert cry? He placed his chin in the palm of his hand once, looking off into the audience of a few hundred friends for solace, when a video was played of his actor friend Howard Keel, who died in November, singing one of Bogert's favorite songs: "Old Man River." Cowboy Bogert, dressed in his Mexican wardrobe that he once wore to meet Spain's General Franco at a Mexico City dinner several decades earlier, clapped, clearly moved by the raspy singer's voice.