Jenifer Puckle (19 July 1931 – 25 November 2015), known professionally as Beth Rogan, 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 John Richard Schlesinger (; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Midnight Cowboy'', and was nominated for the same award for two other films (''Darling'' an ...

's film ''

Darling Darling is a term of endearment of Old English origin. Darling or Darlin' or Darlings may also refer to: People * Darling (surname) * Darling Jimenez (born 1980), American boxer * Darling Légitimus (1907–1999), French actress Places Austral ...

'' (1965).

Early life

Puckle was born in

Walmer Walmer is a town in the district of Dover, Kent, in England. Located on the coast, the parish of Walmer is south-east of Sandwich, Kent. Largely residential, its coastline and castle attract many visitors. It has a population of 6,693 (2001), i ...

, Kent. She was always known as Jeni to friends and family. Her father was Kenneth Puckle, a major in the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

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. Jeni was educated near Farnham and then taught Latin to boys at a local preparatory school before starting a course at

Wimbledon School of Art Wimbledon College of Arts, formerly Wimbledon School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London specialising in theatre, screen and performance art. It is located in Wimbledon and Merton Park, South West London. ...

.Beth Rogan, actress - obituary.
''The Telegraph'', 11 Dec 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015. She worked as an illustrator and model before entering films.

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 The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam ...

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 The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribut ...

. According to '' The Telegraph'', Puckle specialised in "screaming or swooning" and although not usually a

leading lady A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...

, she appeared in at least 14 films between 1957 and 1968. She became friends with

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House'' (1954) for the Rank Orga ...

, who suggested her screen name of Beth Rogan. 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 Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraord ...

adventure ''

Mysterious Island ''The Mysterious Island'' (french: L'Île mystérieuse) is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1875. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a crossover sequel to Verne's fam ...

'' (1961) opposite

Herbert Lom Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally as Herbert Lom (), was a Czech-British actor who moved to the United Kingdom in 1939. In a career lasting more than 60 ye ...

Captain Nemo Captain Nemo (; later identified as an Indian, Prince Dakkar) is a fictional character created by the French novelist Jules Verne (1828–1905). Nemo appears in two of Verne's science-fiction classics, '' Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' ...

, where she was assailed by bees and a giant hen animated by

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Mig ...

while dressed in a loosely stitched buckskin costume. Rogan was reputedly the model for Diana Scott, the wild central character played by

Julie Christie Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, Christie is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Sh ...

in John Schlesinger's film ''Darling'' (1965). ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' magazine described Diana Scott as "amoral, rootless, emotionally immature, and apparently irresistible". 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.

Marriages and children

Jeni 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 Riccono. Draper agreed to fake an assignation at a hotel in Brighton in order to allow a divorce. Later she was seen about town with the entrepreneur James Hanson. In 1962, she married the Shell oil heir and publisher Tony Samuel at Chelsea Register Office. 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. Samuel married Mercy Haystead in 1966.Tony Samuel.
''The Telegraph'', 22 February 2001. Retrieved 7 January 2015. Rogan's final marriage was in 1971, to the barrister Timothy Cassel with whom she had a daughter, Natalia, and a son, Alexander. That marriage ended in 1976.

Later life

Rogan's last film appearance was in ''

Salt and Pepper Salt and pepper is the common name for edible salt and ground black pepper, which are ubiquitously paired on Western dining tables as to allow for the additional seasoning of food after its preparation. During food preparation or cooking, they m ...

'' in 1968. After her last divorce she lived in West Sussex and Hampshire. She died on 25 November 2015 in

Emsworth Emsworth is a town in the Borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, England, near the border of West Sussex and located at by the south coast of England. It lies at the north end of an arm of Chichester Harbour, a large and shallow inlet ...

, Hampshire.Obituary: Beth Rogan, actress and socialite.
Brian Pendreigh, ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pa ...

'', 17 December 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2016. After her death, home-grown

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternativel ...

was found drying in the airing cupboard at her home.

Selected appearances

*'' Doctor at Large'' (1957) *''

The Admirable Crichton ''The Admirable Crichton'' is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie. Origins Barrie took the title from the sobriquet of a fellow Scot, the polymath James Crichton, a 16th-century genius and athlete. The epigram-loving Ernest ...

'' (1957) *'' Innocent Meeting'' (1958) *'' The Captain's Table'' (1959) *'' Compelled'' (1960) *'' Operation Cupid'' (1960) *''

'' (1961) *''

'' (1968)

References

External links

*
Beth Rogan at GlamourGirlsOfTheSilverScreen.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogan, Beth 1931 births 2015 deaths People from Walmer British film actresses