Roger Guy English

Roger Guy English
Born
Roger Guy English

1950 (age 75–76)
Orange, California, U.S.
Other nameTeenangel
Education
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • disc jockey
  • film critic
Known for
Notable creditHemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
RelativesValerie Mayers (cousin)

Roger Guy English, also known as Teenangel,[1] is an American businessman,[2] disc jockey and film critic who achieved seven Guinness World Records in San Diego County in under a three year period during the 1970s.

Early life

English was born in 1950 in Orange, California.[3] He attempted a major in cinematography at San Diego Mesa College[4] and was a literary student at University of California, San Diego,[5] but dropped out. He wrote two books, which he was unable to sell.[6]

World records

In 1970, English walked from his home in La Jolla, California, to Vancouver, Canada,[7] with his cousin, Valerie Mayers, in hopes of spreading awareness about environmental pollution and smog.[8][4][9] 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[7] such as throwing 200 bottles with messages into the ocean[10] and living in a car on a dealer's lot for a month.[10]

English set his first four world records in under a year, from July 1973 to April 1974.[10] After flipping through a book of Guinness World Records, he decided to do the Twist.[7] English set the Twist record at 102 hours, 28 minutes and 37 seconds[11] which began on July 11 and continued through July 16th in La Jolla.[12] He set the record for water treading for 18 hours, 28 minutes and 37 seconds[13] in a La Jolla pool.[7][11] He set another record by kissing 3,000 women in 8 hours.[14][10]

In 1974, English set the record for sleeplessness after a waterbed shop[11] 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,[15] he did not sleep for 12 days, 5 hours and 15 minutes.[7] To pass the time, English drank coffee,[16] smoked cigarettes and played Monopoly with friends.[11] When he finally slept at 10:30am on April 1,[15] he was out for 26 hours.[7][11] Because of health and safety concerns,[16] Guinness discontinued the category after that.[7] Though Don Learned reported in 1979 that English's record was broken when someone set a new wake record of over 18 days.[10]

English later proposed the idea that he would like to swim the English Channel.[5] English attempted to swim the length of the Mississippi River in August,[17] but was held up because of weather and damage to a camper and rowboat.[18][19] On December 27, English set a joke telling record over 5 hours and 15 minutes at Winner's Circle Lodge in Del Mar.[20][7]

In 1975, English played Pong[21][22][23] for seven days in a Mission Valley trailer.[7] By 1979, English's record for the Twist was the only record that remained unbroken.[10]

Later life and career

In 1975, English started his own store, a nostalgic American Graffiti shop in Pacific Beach.[13][1][2] He expressed his desire to be an actor in 1979, saying "everything I did I did for publicity." He became a film critic and made a microbudget thriller film about lifeguards called Victims, inspired by Federico Fellini and Alfred Hitchcock.[10] In 1989, English was a disc jockey in San Diego.[7] He later moved to Poway, California.[7]

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.[7] The film was submitted to Sundance Film Festival.[11].

Filmography

Year. Title Role Notes
Victims [10]
2023 Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea Saltie
2025 Full Tilt Boogie, Daddy-O Himself [7][11]

References

  1. 1 2 Steiger, Lucretia (1974-06-19). "Teenangel Cashes in on Nostalgia Trip". Hanford Sentinel. p. 24. Retrieved 2024-01-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 "'Stay awake' record set". Ukiah Daily Journal. 1974-04-02. p. 14. Retrieved 2024-01-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Ancestry.com
  4. 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.
  5. 1 2 "Attempt at channel proposed". Daily Times-Advocate. 1974-04-10. p. 24. Retrieved 2024-01-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "1,876 miles of swimming". The Miami News. 1974-09-26. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-01-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 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.
  8. ↑ Guthrie, Jim (1970-08-30). "They're Walking For The Environment". Ventura County Star. p. 24. Retrieved 2024-01-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Hikers Nearing End Of Journey". Latrobe Bulletin. 1970-10-17. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-01-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Learned, Don (1979-02-10). "The Gospel of Guinness". The Daily Herald. p. 50. Retrieved 2026-06-13.
  11. 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.
  12. ↑ "According To Guinness". The Hamilton Spectator. 1978-07-17. p. 39. Retrieved 2024-01-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. 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.
  14. ↑ Kirshenbaum, Jerry. "THERE'S MUSIC IN THE WHERE?". Sports Illustrated Vault. Archived from the original on September 16, 2021. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  15. 1 2 "Action Line". The Miami Herald. 1976-07-20. p. 67. Retrieved 2024-01-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. 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.
  17. ↑ "Record swim try held up by lightning". Daily Times-Advocate. 1974-08-21. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-01-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Camper Mishap Snags Swimmer". Quad-City Times. 1974-08-23. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-01-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Lightning forces man out of Mississippi". Wausau Daily Herald. 1974-08-21. p. 18. Retrieved 2024-01-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Central Fed to give away bestseller – Guiness [sic] Book". The Star-News. 1974-12-26. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  21. ↑ "Roger Guy English Sets Another Record". Daily World. 1975-05-12. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-01-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Adds Another Record". Rushville Republican. 1975-05-12. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-01-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "Quirks in the News". Chippewa Herald-Telegram. 1975-05-12. p. 12. 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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