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Beth Rogan

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Philafrenzy (talk | contribs) at 19:20, 31 August 2016 (→Marriages and children: source for this was The Telegraph, not my POV or OR.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Beth Rogan on the cover of Picturegoer magazine, November 1958.

Beth Rogan (born Jenifer Puckle; 19 July 1931 – 25 November 2015) was a British film actress and Rank Films starlet of the 1950s and 60s. She was married and divorced three times, said by friends to be charming but "dangerous to know", and grew her own cannabis. Reputedly, she was the model for Diana Scott, the central character in John Schlesinger's film Darling (1965).

Early life

Beth Rogan was born Jenifer Puckle on 19 July 1931 in Walmer, Kent. Her father was Kenneth Puckle, a major in the Royal Marines and a veteran of the Gallipoli campaign and her mother was Enid Puckle (née Gray). She had a sister, Priscilla, who married brigadier Charles Carroll, MC. She was educated near Farnham and then taught Latin to boys at a local preparatory school before starting a course at Wimbledon School of Art.[1] She worked as an illustrator and model before entering films.[2]

Film career

Puckle's film career began after she was spotted by the Italian television correspondent Carlo Riccono and a friend from Rank Studios while queuing at the All-England Tennis Club at Wimbledon. They invited her to join them for tennis and two weeks later Rogan had entered Rank's talent school, the Company of Youth.[3][4]

According to The Telegraph, Puckle specialised in "screaming or swooning"[3] and although not usually a leading lady, she appeared in at least 14 films between 1957 and 1968.[5] She became friends with Dirk Bogarde, who suggested her screen name of Beth Rogan.[2] Her first starring roles were Innocent Meeting (1958) and Compelled (1960) where she had joint top billing with Ronald Howard. She also had a significant part playing Elena Fairchild in the Jules Verne adventure Mysterious Island (1961) opposite Herbert Lom as Captain Nemo, where she was assailed by bees and a giant hen animated by Ray Harryhausen while dressed in a loosely stitched buckskin costume.[3]

Rogan was reputedly the model for Diana Scott, the wild central character played by Julie Christie in John Schlesinger's film Darling (1965).[3][2] New York magazine described Diana Scott as "amoral, rootless, emotionally immature, and apparently irresistible".[6] At Rank, Rogan had met publicist Jeanne Hunter and together they had written a 300 page account of her life. Before it could be published, however, Rogan had given the manuscript to Joseph Janni, one of the men the young Jeni had met while queuing at Wimbledon, who went on to produce Darling. Hunter said that Rogan felt she owed Janni. She bought Hunter a puppy as compensation.[2]

Marriages and children

Puckle was first married at a young age to Ted Draper, one of her teachers at Wimbledon School of Art. The marriage allowed her to leave the family home but was later dissolved after Puckle began an affair with Carlo Riccono. Draper agreed to fake an assignation at a hotel in Brighton in order to allow a divorce.[3]

In 1962, she married racehorse owner, publisher, and WWII-Special Operations Executive courier Tony Samuel (18 February 1917 - 3 January 2001), the youngest of four children of Walter Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted and his wife, Dorothy Montefiore Micholls. Samuel was an heir to Shell Oil company. The couple divided their time between London and her husband's family home of Arndilly House in Scotland but Samuel was inclined to be irascible and they divorced in 1965.[3]Tony Samuel, Telegraph.co.uk, 22 February 2001; retrieved 7 January 2015.</ref> Her final marriage was in 1971, to Timothy Cassel, a barrister with whom she had a daughter, Natalia, and a son, Alexander. That marriage ended in 1976.[3]

Later life

Rogan's last film appearance was in Salt and Pepper in 1968. After her last divorce she lived in West Sussex and Hampshire. She died on 25 November 2015 in Emsworth, Hampshire.[2] After her death, home-grown cannabis was found drying in the airing cupboard at her home.[3]

Selected appearances

References

  1. ^ Beth Rogan obituary, The Telegraph, 11 December 2015; retrieved 15 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e Obituary: Beth Rogan, actress and socialite, The Scotsman, 17 December 2015; retrieved 8 January 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Cite error: The named reference teleg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ The Scotsman has a slightly different version of events.
  5. ^ Beth Rogan. BFI Film Forever. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  6. ^ Seebohm, Caroline (19 July 1971). "English Girls in New York: They Don't Go Home Again". New York. p. 34. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  • Profile, glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com; accessed 29 August 2016.
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