Many people in Los Angeles today do not know about Leo Carrillo, though some may remember him as Poncho in the 1950s hit TV show The Cisco Kid.
However, I know Leo Carrillo as an environmentalist who made huge contributions to the Santa Monica Mountains and California during his 18-year tenure as a Commissioner on the California State Beach and Parks Commission.
Leopoldo Antonio Carrillo, known as Leo Carrillo, was a native Californian, born on August 6th,1880. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was a child, and the Santa Monica Mountains became his playground.
In the 1930s, he moved to a 14-acre-ranch with his wife and daughter. Living nearby in the Santa Monica Mountains, with his own family, was Will Rogers. They were close friends.
Will Rogers and Leo Carrillo enjoyed a long friendship that began when they performed in the same Vaudeville show on the New York stage, Rogers as a rope twirler and Carrillo as a monologist at the beginning of their acting careers. According to a memoir by Leo Carrillo, at one time the two shared an apartment in New York they called “The California I Love”. Carrillo and Rogers both branched out into film; as a result, they moved their families from New York to Los Angeles.
“It was remarkable… Will Rogers was building a vast estate where he could rope calves and ride his horses in the hills of Santa Monica close to my own home,” Carrillo wrote in his memoir.
Beginning in 1942, Carrillo served on California’s State Beach and Parks Commission until just before his death in 1961. He was appointed to the position by California State Governor Earl Warren.
Will Rogers died in 1935 in a private airplane accident in Alaska. Roger’s widow Betty inherited the land in the Santa Monica Mountains, which at one time stretched over 300 acres. However, during the Great Depression, it was difficult for her maintain the property without Rogers.
In the 1940s, Betty tried to donate the land to the State of California; however, it was during World War II, and a poor economy. As a result, the state declined her offer.
However, Carrillo’s close ties to Will Roger’s family, and his work on the State Parks Commission, influenced the state of California to accept the land.
In June 1944 just before her death, Betty Rogers deeded 186.5 acres of land to the State of California. The deed was for the establishment and maintenance of a public land, to be known as Will Rogers State Historic Park. It would serve as a place of enjoyment for the public, and a fitting historic monument to Will Rogers.
The next time you visit 1501 Will Rogers State Park Road in Pacific Palisades to go hiking, watch a polo match, or tour the home where Will and Betty Rogers raised their children and entertained celebrities and socialites, remember that Leo Carrillo helped make it possible for all of us to enjoy.
In addition, Carrillo was instrumental in the successful preservation efforts for the Hearst Castle at San Simeon, the Los Angeles Arboretum, as well as the Mexican-style Olvera Street in Los Angeles, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and several other State Parks in California.