Beth Rogan: Movies & Box Office

Jenifer Puckle, known professionally as Beth Rogan, was a British film actress and Rank Films starlet of the 1950s and 60s who led a fascinating and turbulent life both on and off the screen. Born on 19 July 1931 in Walmer, Kent, she was always called Jeni by her friends and family. Her father, Kenneth Puckle, was a major in the Royal Marines and a veteran of the Gallipoli campaign, while her mother was Enid Puckle (née Gray). She had a sister, Priscilla, who later married brigadier Charles Carroll, MC. Jeni was educated near Farnham and then taught Latin to boys at a local preparatory school before beginning a course at Wimbledon School of Art. Before entering films, she worked as an illustrator and model. Her film career took off 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. According to The Telegraph, she specialised in "screaming or swooning" and although not usually a leading lady, she appeared in at least 14 films between 1957 and 1968. Her first starring roles were in Innocent Meeting (1958) and Compelled (1960), where she had joint top billing with Ronald Howard. She also played Elena Fairchild in the Jules Verne adventure Mysterious Island (1961) opposite Herbert Lom as Captain Nemo. Dirk Bogarde, who became a close friend, suggested her stage name of Beth Rogan. She was reputedly the model for Diana Scott, the wild central character played by Julie Christie in John Schlesinger's film Darling (1965). Jeni was married and divorced three times, first to Ted Draper, then to Tony Samuel in 1962, and finally to barrister Timothy Cassel in 1971, with whom she had a daughter, Natalia, and a son, Alexander. After her last film appearance in Salt and Pepper (1968), she lived in West Sussex and Hampshire, passing away on 25 November 2015 in Emsworth, Hampshire.