He never shed the cowboy part of his Colorado heritage, but Frank M. Bogert was much more than a cowboy: He was a major force in the development of Palm Springs for more than three-quarters of a century.
Bogert crammed a lot into his 99 years. He was a rancher, actor, naval officer in World War II, resort-hotel manager, publicist, photographer, author, publisher, real estate agent and developer—and, most notably, he was a politician who led the city of Palm Springs for decades. He was mayor twice, from 1958-1966 and 1982-1988.
Born the youngest of eight children on New Year’s Day 1910, the independent son of a Mesa, Colo., cattle rancher came to Palm Springs in 1927. In addition to riding the local trails, he went to UCLA and got a job with RKO Pictures as a cowboy actor and stunt man, appearing in 26 Westerns, including John Wayne’s first film, The Big Trail. The head of Paramount was set to sign Bogert to star as Hopalong Cassidy, but called off the deal, instead casting Bill Boyd as “Hoppy.”
In Palm Springs, Bogert worked at the Tennis Club, becoming a close and lifelong friend with owner/pioneer Pearl McManus. He was also a publicist and photographer for the El Mirador Hotel and extolled the merits of Palm Springs through articles, public speeches and photos. His lens captured the reigning celebrities of the time.
Ralph Bellamy and Charlie Farrell hired Bogert in the mid-1930s to be general manager of the Racquet Club, a job he performed with resolve and flair. Once, while squelching a row caused by a mobster’s bodyguard, Bogert was summarily placed on a “hit list.” A message arrived saying Bogert should be out of town by nightfall, or he would be killed. “I was worried sick for Frank … but he was not frightened at all,” admitted Bellamy in The History of the Racquet Club of Palm Springs by Sally Presley Rippingale. Nothing ever happened.
Bogert served with distinction in the U.S. Navy during World War II, seeing action in the South Pacific, including Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, and rising to the rank of lieutenant commander.
Bogert Developed Thunderbird
In 1946, Bogert bought a section of land in the Rancho Mirage area from Raymond Cree for $34,000 that he developed into the Thunderbird Dude Ranch. It later became the site of the Thunderbird Country Club, and Bogert became general manager. Early homeowners/members there included Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, industrialist Leonard Firestone, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Mary Pickford, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
Bogert went on to manage the El Mirador. In 1957, Desi Arnaz built a hotel at the new Indian Wells Country Club and hired Bogert to manage it for a while.
In Palm Springs, Bogert was the first manager of the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce. He also served on the first Tramway Authority, and during his time as mayor, the city acquired the Palm Springs Airport, and developed City Hall and the police department.
As Palm Springs’ mayor, Bogert was photographed greeting and cavorting with luminaries including: Mary Pickford, Clara Bow, Ginger Rogers, Dinah Shore, Rita Hayworth, Prince Philip, Prince (now King) Charles, and U.S. presidents Kennedy, Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Reagan. He often rode horses with President Reagan and went bowling with Clark Gable.
In the 1970s, Bogert became a real estate partner of Muriel Fulton, forming Fulton and Bogert. Bogert also published the Palm Springs Villager, the forerunner to Palm Springs Life.
In 1987, as Palm Springs’ most well-known citizen, Bogert wrote Palm Springs: First Hundred Years, a 288-page coffee-table book published by Palm Springs Heritage Associates. The Palm Springs Public Library, with assistance from the Palm Springs Historical Society, revised and updated it in March 2003. At the packed formal signing, the straight-talking Mayor Bogert quipped, “Hell, there were only 10 people at my first book signing, and all they wanted to do was see if their picture was in the book.”
In Bogert’s book preface, Bob Hope wrote in 1987, “I’ve been going to Palm Springs off and on for the past 50 years, and every time I looked up, Bogert was mayor again. … He was always doing something for the community, and he’s never stopped.”
Among Bogert’s contributions, he had served on the President’s Commission on Americans Outdoors, the California State Board of Tourism and the California State Trails Commission. He was director of the Palm Springs Water Agency, the Riverside Board of Equalization, and Riverside County Flood Control.
Bogert was married to Janice Bibo, daughter of early pioneer Ruth Bibo, who ran the Acoma Indian Gift Shop. They had three daughters: Cindy Lamm, Donna Higueras and Denni Russell. Donna and her husband, José Higueras, a world class tennis player from Spain, have two children, Jordi and Jenna. Bogert’s second wife, Negie, was constantly by his side, including a 1984 visit to the Reagan White House. In introducing Negie at an event, Bogert once said, “I imported her from Mexico, and I’m going to keep her.”
He died on March 22, 2009, two months after his 99th birthday. So many people attended his final services at the Palm Springs Temple Isaiah that many had to park blocks away.
The Section 14 Controversy
Recognizing his many contributions, in 1990, a full-size bronze statue of Palm Springs’ most famous cowboy, astride a galloping horse, was placed in front of Palm Springs City Hall.
In 2021, the City Council voted to remove the iconic statue, citing Bogert’s role in the forced evictions of the residents of Section 14. Against the objections of a group called the Friends of Frank Bogert, the statue was removed on July 13, 2022.
The unfortunate Section 14 evictions were decades in the making. The section was deeded by the government to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, who were unable to develop it, because the law did not allow long-term leases. They did rent a few lots short-term, primarily to minority families with limited incomes. Squatters also moved in, and shacks were erected haphazardly. City leaders were embarrassed to have what they considered a slum downtown, and ordered that all substandard structures meet California sanitary requirements. In 1954, they hauled away 17 trailers, abandoned cars and heaps of trash. In 1956, the Palm Springs Fire Department burned 10 condemned trailers. When Bogert became mayor in 1958, he admitted he was concerned about the image of the slum with its “cardboard houses and horrible conditions.”
The tribe was finally allowed to sign long-term leases in 1959. After federal funds for low-cost houses were denied twice, the city took more decisive action, and the Fire Department demolished and burned 235 structures, displacing the residents. An ensuing state investigation concluded that the city had shown “civil disregard” for the rights of its minority residents, but did not say that any crime was committed.
Decades later, in 2021, the Palm Springs Human Rights Commission urged the City Council to pass an apology resolution and pay restitution for the city’s role in the Section 14 evictions. The commission also encouraged the City Council to remove the statue of Mayor Bogert because of his involvement with the evictions. The city has agreed to pay a group of Section 14 survivors reparations—but the amount has yet to be determined.
Sources for this article include The History of the Racquet Club of Palm Springs by Sally Presley Rippingale (U.S. Business Specialties, 1984); Palm Springs: First Hundred Years by Mayor Frank M. Bogert (Palm Springs Heritage Associates, 1987); Palm Springs: Why I Love You by Tony Burke (Palmesa, Inc., 1978); Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley by Jim Carr (American Geographic Publishing, 1989); Golden Checkerboard by Ed Ainsworth (Desert-Southwest Inc., 1965); A Troubled Oasis by Ronald Eugene Isetti (Outskirts Press, 2022); The Desert Sun, various articles, 2021-2024; The New York Times article by Audra D.S. Burch, May 21, 2024.
Regarding ‘The Section 14 Controversy’, there is much information missing here. The City had been notified by the federal government that it had no authority in Section 14 and that only the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the federal oversight agency could decide what happened on the land. The Tribe sought to clear the renters and squatters, including providing eviction notices. Finally, with most of the residents gone, but a few remaining, the Tribe contracted with the City Fire Department to clear the property of any structures. This was done, but again, only at the behest of the Tribe. The City – and by extension, Frank Bogert – have been wrongly demonized for the clearances of Section 14. It’s time the CV Independent got its facts straight. I recommend that Mr. Niemann read the report prepared by former City Manager Norm King. It would make for some eye-opening reading.
Craig, can you be specific about what in the piece was incorrect?
If the above info is correct, shouldn’t the statue be returned to its original location? It is Coachella Valley history, after all.🤷🏻♀️
Green Room Theatre Company, an East Valley company, produced a play on the Section 14 events last July. The play is called “Displacement: Stories from Section 14.” It included one of the survivors, Alvin Taylor. It got good reviews and was reported on by the LA Times and local television. Several of the actors in it received Desert Theatre League awards. It was a staged reading, but Green Room is currently in the process of trying to fund a full production of the play. Full disclosure: I’m biased, since I was also in the play.