Henry and Roz Rogers

Henry and Roz Rogers were a couple in Hollywood who were important in the public relations business during its golden era.

Henry Rogers Career

Often called the dean of entertainment publicists, Henry Rogers, founded the first independent PR firm in 1935 and later founded the largest entertainment public relations agency in the world, Rogers and Cowan with partner Warren Cowan. Credited with being the founder of modern day publicity the NY Times wrote; “Henry C. Rogers, transformed the seedy world of the Hollywood press agent into a plush-carpet profession. Rogers was known as the man who elevated industry ethical standards, particularly through his insistence that public relations professionals had as much responsibility to the news media as they did to their clients.”

"He was the Cary Grant of public relations." Henry Rogers, created the now famous Oscar campaign when in 1945 he turned Joan Crawford from “box office poison” to an Oscar winner for best actress in a leading role for her performance in “Mildred Pierce”. The NY Times wrote, “Mr. Rogers, who was credited with making Rita Hayworth a household name and with creating the sweeping publicity campaigns that have become a fixture of the annual quest for Academy Awards, became almost as well known in Hollywood as the famous clients” who included Audrey Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, Danny Kaye, Rex Harrison, Gary Cooper, Kirk Douglas, Liz Taylor, Shirley MacLaine, Olivia de Havilland, Jane Wyatt and Jane Wyman – to name but a few. Later expanding into international and corporate PR, representing Fortune 500 companies and earning the prestigious appointment of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh’s, first ever publicist.

Hollywood 10

Henry Rogers stood firm against the House Un-American Activities Committee. Rogers walked away from his long establish relationship with mega star John Wayne to stand in solidarity with friends and clients who were being unjustly accused by the HUAC (like Carl Foreman). Rogers worked with the Committee for the First Amendment and his friend William Wyler to create the “flight of the stars” aboard Howard Hughes' plane bound for DC and the HUAC hearings. The stars Rogers flew with included Ira Gershwin, Gene Kelly, Humphrey Bogart, Lucille Ball, Lauren Bacall, John Huston, Philip Dunne and Danny Kaye. En route, they stopped on airfields in cities across the country to share their concerns with average Americans who came to greet them. Eventually, they landed in Washington, where they sat in the audience of HUAC hearings in respectful protest for several days. On October 26, 1947, the day before the Hollywood 10 testified the CFA aired a national radio broadcast called "Hollywood Fights Back!," (featuring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, Burt Lancaster, and William Holden).

Roz Rogers

Henry’s wife Rosalind (Roz) Rogers (née Jaffe) founded the west coast’s first women’s political action committee, Women FOR. Roz championed the likes of Mayor Tom Bradley, Governor Pat Brown, Senator Alan Cranston, Rosalind Wiener Wyman and presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy. Rosalind’s favorite aunt, Ad Schulberg, inspired her activism. Ad Schulberg, wife of Paramount head, BP Schulberg, was the first female agent to own her own agency (representing the likes of Marlene Dietrich) and relentless activist (a socialist involved with Leon Trotsky who organized birth control clinics throughout the West and an “underground railroad” in London for refugee talent from [...]-occupied Europe). Ad and BP’s son was Roz’s favorite cousin, Oscar winning screenwriter, Budd Schulberg (On the Waterfront, A Face in the Crowd “What Makes Sammy Run”). Budd lived in Roz and Henry’s guesthouse when in Los Angeles. Another famous resident of their guesthouse was Mikhail Baryshnikov (shortly after defecting from the Soviet Union).

Roz Rogers is believed to have influenced the beginnings of serious art collecting in Los Angeles. She championed and befriended emerging artists such as Bob Graham, Ed Ruscha, and Sam Francis. The centerpiece of her own collection included a rare Calder mobile. LACMA frequently organized member visits to Henry and Roz’s home on Cliffwood Avenue in Brentwood.

The first to settle in Brentwood, Henry and Roz Rogers’ home was the glamorous setting for the most revered soirees in Hollywood. Their friends and guests not only included the biggest stars of the time but also the players shaping the political and art scene. Close friends included Irving Wallace, Charles Wick, Jack Valenti, Gordon Davidson, Sidney Harman, Franklin Schaffner, Lew Wasserman, Milton Sperling, Gregory Peck, Norman Lear, Carl Reiner, and Roz’s best friend, Audrey Hepburn.

Hollywood Pioneers

Roz Rogers’ uncle Sam Jaffe was the famed producer and agent who represented Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, Richard Burton, Stanley Kubrick and David Niven. Niece of Sam and Mildred Jaffe was Phil Gersh who founded The Gersh Agency. The grandson of Sam Jaffe is today’s president of Columbia Pictures Sony, Matt Tolmach. Matt is responsible for such franchise hits as Spider-Man.

Roz and Henry had two children Marcia and Ron. Marcia had two children from her first marriage to Mark Goddard and was married for 15 years to Mike Medavoy. Ron Rogers married Lisa Specht. Ron is the founder of one of the largest PR firms in CA, The Roger Group and serves as vice chair of the board of the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, a board member of the L.A. Chamber of Commerce, a founding board member of the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research, founding member of the Los Angeles Police Foundation, founding chair of the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and for 25 years Ron has served on the board of the [...] Treatment Center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center. Ron has also served on the boards of Coro and Outward Bound. Lisa Specht is a partner at Mannat, Phelps & Phillips whose various civic assignments have included chairing the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission and serving as a City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Commissioner.

Roz and Henry Rogers granddaughter is producer, Melissa Goddard (Poison Ivy, Big Girls Don't Cry They Get Even, and What Women Want). Their grandson is Michael Goddard who was famously featured in several high profile articles (such as The New Yorker, NY Times, LA Times, and Los Angeles Magazine) for his unique role as manager of The Grill in Beverly Hills.

Giving Back

Henry Rogers served as chairman of the Center Theatre Group and was a board member of the Performing Arts Council of the Los Angeles County Music Center, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the American Council for the Arts. He was a vice chairman of the American Film Institute and chairman of an advisory committee to the U.S. Information Agency. He also served on the board of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

Henry Rogers wrote several books including "Walking the Tightrope” and "Rogers' Rules for Success" and was posthumously honored with a University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication scholarship fund.