Jean Rogers

Birthday: 1916-03-25
Deathday: 1991-02-24
Birthplace: Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
Gender: Female
Owned By: Unowned

Jean Rogers, born Eleanor Dorothy Lovegren, was an American actress who starred in serial films in the 1930s and low–budget feature films in the 1940s as a leading lady. She is best remembered for playing Dale Arden in the science fiction serials Flash Gordon and Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars.

She graduated from Belmont High School, and had hoped to study art, but in 1933, she won a beauty contest sponsored by Paramount Pictures that led to her career in Hollywood. Rogers starred in several serials for Universal between 1935 and 1938, including Ace Drummond and Flash Gordon. Rogers was one of seven women chosen out of 2,700 passengers on excursion boats and ferries who were interviewed for roles in Eight Girls in a Boat. The group began work in Hollywood on September 3, 1933. By 1937, Rogers was the only one of the seven featured as an actress.

Rogers was assigned the role of Dale Arden in the first two Flash Gordon serials. Buster Crabbe and Rogers were cast as the hero and heroine in the first serial, Flash Gordon, and Rogers' beauty, long blonde hair, and revealing costumes endeared her to moviegoers. The evil ruler Ming the Merciless lusted after her, and Gordon was forced to rescue her from one situation after another. While filming the series in 1937, her costume caught fire and she suffered burns on her hands. Co-star Crabbe smothered the fire by wrapping a blanket on her.

In the first serial, Arden competed with Princess Aura for Gordon's attention. Rogers' character was fragile, small-chested, diminutive, and totally dependent on Gordon for her survival; Lawson's Princess Aura was domineering, independent, voluptuous, conniving, sly, ambitious, and determined to make Gordon her own. The competition for Gordon's attention is one of the highlights of the film. In Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars, the second serial, Rogers sported a totally different look. She had dark hair and wore the same modest costume in each episode. Rogers matured after the first serial, and no sexual overtones are seen in Trip to Mars. Rogers told writer Richard Lamparski that she was not eager to do the second serial and asked her studio to excuse her from the third.

Despite starring in serial films, Rogers felt she was not going to improve her career unless she could participate in feature films. She discovered that it was more tedious working in feature films. She played John Wayne's leading lady in the 1936 full-length motion picture Conflict and co-starred with Boris Karloff in the horror film Night Key the following year. During the 1940s, Rogers appeared solely in feature films, including The Man Who Wouldn't Talk with Lloyd Nolan, Viva Cisco Kid with Cesar Romero as the Cisco Kid, Design for Scandal with Rosalind Russell and Walter Pidgeon, Whistling in Brooklyn with Red Skelton, A Stranger in Town with Frank Morgan, Backlash, and Speed to Spare with Richard Arlen. Still, she was unhappy with the studios, possibly because she was relegated to B-movie productions on a lower salary. She decided to freelance with companies such as 20th Century Fox and MGM. Her last appearance was in a supporting role in the suspense film The Second Woman, made in 1950 by United Artists.

She died in Sherman Oaks in 1991 at the age of 74 following surgery. She was later cremated and her ashes returned to her family.

Credits

Year Title Character
1950-07-07 The Second Woman Dodo Ferris
1949-12-15 Squadron of Doom Peggy Trainor
1948-07-30 Fighting Back June Sanders
1948-05-14 Speed to Spare Mary McGee
1947-03-01 Backlash Catherine Morland
1946-06-28 Hot Cargo Jerry Walters
1946-01-25 Gay Blades Nancy Davis
1945-03-22 Rough, Tough and Ready Jo Matheson
1945-01-12 The Strange Mr. Gregory Ellen Randall
1943-12-01 Whistling in Brooklyn Jean Pringle
1943-10-01 Swing Shift Maisie Iris Reed
1943-04-01 A Stranger in Town Lucy Gilbert
1942-08-07 The War Against Mrs. Hadley Patricia Hadley
1942-05-21 Pacific Rendezvous Elaine Carter
1942-05-08 Sunday Punch Judy
1942-02-04 Dr. Kildare's Victory Miss Annabelle Kirke
1942-01-01 Personalities (uncredited)
1941-12-01 Design for Scandal Dotty
1941-01-17 Let's Make Music Abby Adams
1940-09-27 Brigham Young Clara Young
1940-09-20 Yesterday's Heroes
1940-04-12 Viva Cisco Kid Joan Allen
1940-03-01 Charlie Chan in Panama Kathi Lenesch (Baroness Kathi von Czardos)
1940-01-11 The Man Who Wouldn't Talk Alice Stetson
1939-11-03 Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence Anita Santos
1939-09-22 Stop, Look and Love Louise Haller
1939-08-03 Hotel for Women Nancy Prescott
1939-03-10 Inside Story June White
1938-12-16 While New York Sleeps Judy King
1938-11-07 Mars Attacks the World Dale Arden
1938-10-28 Always in Trouble Virginia Darlington
1938-09-25 Time Out for Murder Helen Thomas
1938-03-21 Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars Dale Arden
1938-03-21 Flash Gordon: The Deadly Ray From Mars Dale Arden
1938-03-05 Rocket Ship Dale Arden
1937-08-15 Reported Missing Jean Clayton
1937-06-06 The Wildcatter Helen Conlon
1937-04-18 Night Key Joan Mallory
1937-04-12 Secret Agent X-9 Shara Graustark
1937-03-26 When Love Is Young Irene Henry
1936-12-27 Mysterious Crossing Yvonne Fontaine
1936-11-29 Conflict Maude Sangster
1936-10-18 Ace Drummond Peggy Trainor
1936-09-02 My Man Godfrey Socialite (uncredited)
1936-08-01 Crash Donovan Blonde (uncredited)
1936-04-06 Flash Gordon Dale Arden
1936-01-13 The Adventures of Frank Merriwell Elsie Belwood
1935-11-01 Fighting Youth Blonde Student
1935-10-21 Stormy Kerry Dorn
1935-10-20 Tailspin Tommy in The Great Air Mystery Betty Lou Barnes
1935-10-01 His Night Out Information (uncredited)
1935-07-01 Manhattan Moon Joan
1934-05-26 Twenty Million Sweethearts Radio Fan (uncredited)
1934-05-04 Stand Up and Cheer! Dancer