Roger Guy English

Last updated
Roger Guy English
Born
Roger Guy English

1949or1950(age 74–75)
NationalityAmerican
Education
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • disc jockey
Known for
Notable credit Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
RelativesValerie Mays (cousin)

Roger Guy English is an American businessman [1] and disc jockey who achieved seven Guinness World Records in San Diego County in less than three years during the 1970s.

Contents

Early life

English attempted a major in cinematography at San Diego Mesa College [2] and was a literary student at University of California, San Diego [3] but dropped out. He wrote two books, which he was unable to sell. [4]

World records

In 1970, English walked from his home in La Jolla, California to Vancouver, Canada [5] with his cousin, Valerie Mays, in hopes of spreading awareness about environmental pollution and smog. [6] [2] [7] Upon returning home, crowds deemed him a local celebrity. English was tipped to do a publicity stunt to help build his popularity. This started his desire to attempt setting world records [5] such as throwing 200 bottles with messages into the ocean [8] and living in a car on a dealer's lot for a month. [8] In 1975, English played Pong [9] [10] [11] for seven days in a Mission Valley trailer. [5] By 1979, English's record for the Twist was the only record that remained unbroken. [12]

1973–1974

English set his first four world records in under a year, from July 1973 to April 1974. [12] After flipping through a book of Guinness World Records, he decided to do the Twist. [5] English set the Twist record at 102 hours, 28 minutes and 37 seconds [13] which began on July 11 and continued through July 16th in La Jolla. [14] He set the record for water treading for 18 hours, 28 minutes and 37 seconds [15] in a La Jolla pool. [5] [13] He set another record by kissing 3,000 women in 8 hours. [16] [12]

In 1974, English set the record for sleeplessness after a waterbed shop [13] on University Avenue wanted to play part in his attempts by allowing him to do it in their front window. Starting at 10:30am on March 20, [17] he did not sleep for 12 days, 5 hours and 15 minutes. [5] To pass the time, English drank coffee, [18] smoked cigarettes and played Monopoly with friends. [13] When he finally slept at 10:30am on April 1, [17] he was out for 26 hours. [5] [13] Because of health and safety concerns, [18] Guinness discontinued the category after that. [5] English later proposed the idea that he would like to swim the English Channel. [3] English attempted to swim the length of the Mississippi River in August, [19] but was held up because of weather and damage to a camper and rowboat. [20] [21] On December 27, English set a joke telling record over 5 hours and 15 minutes at Winner's Circle Lodge in Del Mar. [22] [5]

Later life and career

In 1975, English started his own store, a nostalgic American Graffiti shop in Pacific Beach. [15] [23] [1] In 1989, English was a disc jockey in San Diego. [5] He later moved to Poway, California. [5]

Legacy

In 2022, Thorn Brewing Company named a beer after English called Full Tilt Boogie Hefeweizen. [24] In 2021, filmmaker Tyler J. French recorded over 60 hours of footage of English for a documentary about him called Full Tilt Boogie, Daddy-O. [5] The film was submitted to Sundance Film Festival. [13]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2023 Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea Saltie
TBAFull Tilt Boogie, Daddy-OHimself [5] [13]

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References

  1. 1 2 "'Stay awake' record set". Ukiah Daily Journal . 1974-04-02. p. 14. Retrieved 2024-01-14– via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 "Walk, Don't Drive: 2,000-Mile Hike Aimed at Pollution". The Los Angeles Times . 1970-08-20. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-01-13– via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 "Attempt at channel proposed". Daily Times-Advocate . 1974-04-10. p. 24. Retrieved 2024-01-14– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "1,876 miles of swimming". The Miami News . 1974-09-26. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-01-13– via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Brandt, Angela (2021-11-18). "Poway man who relishes a challenge, no matter how crazy, inspires documentary and a beer". Pomerado News. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  6. ↑ Guthrie, Jim (1970-08-30). "They're Walking For The Environment". Ventura County Star . p. 24. Retrieved 2024-01-13– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Hikers Nearing End Of Journey". Latrobe Bulletin . 1970-10-17. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-01-13– via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 Learned, Don (1979-01-07). "Records are made to be broken". Oakland Tribune . p. 45. Retrieved 2024-01-13– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Roger Guy English Sets Another Record". Daily World . 1975-05-12. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-01-13– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Adds Another Record". Rushville Republican . 1975-05-12. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-01-13– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Quirks in the News". Chippewa Herald-Telegram. 1975-05-12. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-01-13– via Newspapers.com.
  12. 1 2 3 Learned, Don (1979-01-12). "Gospel of Guinness: You, too, can be unique". The Desert Sun . p. 41. Retrieved 2024-01-13– via Newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Zevely, Jeff (2022-08-09). "No sleep for 12 days! Roger Guy English revisits his 1974 world record". KFMB-TV . Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  14. ↑ "According To Guinness". The Hamilton Spectator . 1978-07-17. p. 39. Retrieved 2024-01-14– via Newspapers.com.
  15. 1 2 Steiger, Lucretia (1975-08-21). "Nostalgia Buff Turns Memories To Money". The Indianapolis Star . p. 57. Retrieved 2024-01-13– via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Kirshenbaum, Jerry. "THERE'S MUSIC IN THE WHERE?". Sports Illustrated Vault . Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  17. 1 2 "Action Line". The Miami Herald . 1976-07-20. p. 67. Retrieved 2024-01-14– via Newspapers.com.
  18. 1 2 Atwal, Sanj. "What's the limit to how long a human can stay awake? And why we don't monitor the record". Guinness World Records . Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  19. ↑ "Record swim try held up by lightning". Daily Times-Advocate . 1974-08-21. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-01-13– via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Camper Mishap Snags Swimmer". Quad-City Times . 1974-08-23. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-01-14– via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Lightning forces man out of Mississippi". Wausau Daily Herald . 1974-08-21. p. 18. Retrieved 2024-01-14– via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Central Fed to give away bestseller – Guiness Book". The Star-News . 1974-12-26. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  23. ↑ Steiger, Lucretia (1974-06-19). "Teenangel Cashes in on Nostalgia Trip". Hanford Sentinel . p. 24. Retrieved 2024-01-13– via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ "Thorn Brewing - Full Tilt Boogie Hefeweizen Release". SD BEER | Capital of Craft Beer | San Diego Brewers Guild. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
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