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Peter Rogers | |
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| Born | (1914-02-20)20 February 1914 Rochester, Kent, England |
| Died | 14 April 2009(2009-04-14) (aged 95) Buckinghamshire, England |
| Spouse | Betty Box (m. 1948; died 1999) |
Peter Rogers (20 February 1914 – 14 April 2009) was an English film producer. He is best known for creatingCarry On series of films.
Rogers began his career as a journalist for his local paper, before graduating to scriptwriting religious informational films. He progressed to film production, working with directorGerald Thomas, the first work being a production for theChildren's Film Foundation. Rogers is best known as producer of theCarry On series of British comedy films, beginning withCarry On Sergeant in 1958. There were 31 films in all. Rogers had also been linked with a further instalment,Carry On London, which has been in pre-production for several years, but since his death seems unlikely to be made.[1]
The majority of Rogers' work, including all theCarry On films, were made atPinewood Studios inIver Heath,Buckinghamshire, England. His other credits includedAppointment with Venus starringDavid Niven, andTime Lock in whichSean Connery made one of his earliest film appearances.[2]
Rogers' other production ventures include the television seriesIvanhoe withRoger Moore and the film adaptation of the long-runningsitcomBless This House withCarry On regularSid James.
His wife was the film producerBetty Box, responsible for theDoctor series of films. Peter and Betty lived for many years at a large home inBeaconsfield, "Drummers Yard"[1], that had been purchased from the actorDirk Bogarde. He was godfather toDonald Sinden's youngest sonMarc Sinden.[3][better source needed]
Peter Rogers was described as "perfect forAnglo-Amalgamated, with his strong work ethic and desire to keep costs down" and was "the Golden Goose" for that studio, making a number of other comedies outside the Carry On series, plus one serious dramaThis Is My Street.[4] However Nat Cohen fired him from Anglo in 1966, forcing Rogers to move over to Rank.[5]
An authorised biography,Mr Carry On: The Life and Work of Peter Rogers (BBC) by Morris Bright and Robert Ross (author ofThe Carry On Companion and theMonty Python Encyclopaedia) was published in 2000, with extensive input from Rogers. It attempted to defend him against charges that he exploited the cast of theCarry On films, by paying the lead actors an unchanged £5,000 per film, from the first in 1958 to the penultimate movie in 1978.
Rogers attended the 50thanniversary of theCarry On films held at Pinewood Studios in March 2008. He died on 14 April 2009, having been ill for several months.[6]
