The Elusive Charles Rogers

For a long time, much of the life and career of Roach gag-man, director, and actor Charles Rogers has been, to say the least, a bit of a mystery.

Many wonderful Roach researchers have done some great digging into his life and career prior to us, discovering some fascinating things about his vaudeville acts (The Iceman and The Movie Mania) and some of his time spent working on UK stages. Prior to us, Leo M Brooks had carried out the most Rogers research that we know of, dedicating a whole chapter to him in his book The Laurel and Hardy Stock Co (incidentally - this book is a generally fascinating read, and we not only recommend it but will be talking about it more in future blog posts!). 

Headshot of Rogers, c.1930's. (Credits unknown - sharing from 'The Laurel and Hardy Stock Company' by Leo M Brooks)

I'm delighted to say that as a result of our 2 years of career and biographical digging, much more of the Rogers story, as well as that of his equally talented family, has come to light - and much of it may come as a bit of a surprise! The Rogers story is one filled with twists, turns - and plenty of interesting stories!

Rogers as The Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist (1912)

Thanks so much for reading - and stay tuned for more!

Holly Foskett