| Birth Name: | Roger Guy English |
| Nationality: | American |
| Credits: | Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea |
| Height M: | 1.88 |
| Relatives: | Valerie 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.
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]
In 1970, English walked from his home in La Jolla, California to Vancouver, Canada with his cousin, Valerie Mays, in hopes of spreading awareness about environmental pollution and smog.[5] [6] 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 such as throwing 200 bottles with messages into the ocean[7] and living in a car on a dealer's lot for a month. In 1975, English played Pong[8] [9] [10] for seven days in a Mission Valley trailer. By 1979, English's record for the Twist was the only record that remained unbroken.[11]
English set his first four world records in under a year, from July 1973 to April 1974. After flipping through a book of Guinness World Records, he decided to do the Twist.[12] 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. He set another record by kissing 3,000 women in 8 hours.[16]
In 1974, English set the record for sleeplessness after a waterbed shop 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. To pass the time, English drank coffee,[18] smoked cigarettes and played Monopoly with friends. When he finally slept at 10:30am on April 1, he was out for 26 hours. Because of health and safety concerns, Guinness discontinued the category after that. English later proposed the idea that he would like to swim the English Channel. 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]
In 1975, English started his own store, a nostalgic American Graffiti shop in Pacific Beach.[23] In 1989, English was a disc jockey in San Diego. He later moved to Poway, California.
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. The film was submitted to Sundance Film Festival.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea | Saltie | ||
| TBA | Full Tilt Boogie, Daddy-O | Himself |