Roberta Leigh

Roberta Leigh
Born Rita Shulman
(1926-12-22)22 December 1926
London, United Kingdom
Died 19 December 2014(2014-12-19) (aged 87)
London, England
Pen name Roberta Leigh, Rachel Lindsay, Janey Scott, Rozella Lake
Occupation Writer, filmmaker, composer, painter
Education St Mary's Convent, Rhyl, Wales[1]
Period 1950–2013
Genre Romantic novels, children's stories, science fiction, romantic murder mysteries
Spouse Michael Lewin (m. 1948; d. 1981)
Children 1

Roberta Leigh was an assumed name for Rita Lewin (née Shulman) (22 December 1926 – 19 December 2014) was a British author, artist, composer and television producer. She wrote romance fiction and children's stories under the pseudonyms Roberta Leigh, Rachel Lindsay, Janey Scott and Rozella Lake.

She published her first novel in 1950 and was still actively working on new titles until a year before her death. In addition, she created the children's puppet television series Sara and Hoppity, Torchy the Battery Boy, Wonder Boy and Tiger, Send for Dithers and Space Patrol (the last of which she also wrote and produced).

Life and career

Best known as Roberta Leigh, she was born Rita Shulman in London to sometimes-poor Jewish parents who had emigrated from Russia.[1] In 1948, she married Michael Lewin, with whom she had one son, and was widowed in 1981.[1] She died age 87 on 19 December 2014.[1]

Leigh wrote her first romantic fiction at age 14, while still a schoolgirl at St Mary’s convent in Rhyl. She published a romance in 1950 as Roberta Leigh,[1] the first of over 160 novels. She also published children's books and romances under the pseudonyms Janey Scott, Rachel Lindsay and Rozella Lake. Following the death of her husband, she stopped writing romance novels, but continued to produce serious fiction and children's books while developing various television and film projects. She made a total of 275 cinematic works, becoming the first woman producer in Britain to have her own film company.

She created eight puppet TV series, including The Adventures Of Twizzle (1957), Torchy the Battery Boy (1958), Sara and Hoppity (1962), Wonder Boy and Tiger, Send for Dithers, and Space Patrol (1962), - syndicated around the globe and achieving the highest ratings of any children’s show up to that time - which chronicled the year 2100 adventures of Captain Larry Dart of the spaceship Galasphere 347. This was followed by Paul Starr (1964) and a live-action colour space adventure series, The Solarnauts (1967). For these two later series, however, only the pilot episodes were filmed.

Paul Starr

Though made in 1964, Paul Starr appeared to be a decade ahead of Space Patrol. A 25-minute marionette puppet series in the same vein as Space Patrol, it was produced in colour. Agent Paul Starr and his crewman, Lightning, work for the Space Bureau of Investigation (SBI). They have a squat rocket, SBI-5, which can travel through space, in air and underwater (SBI uses an undersea base). While jets propel the craft through the air, in space it is powered by "solar energy". It is armed with various weapons, including nuclear missiles. The robots of Paul Starr appear to be more developed and fans of Space Patrol will notice the similar sound effects used. The movements of the puppet characters are "less wooden" and there is no sign of strings.

The puppets were made by Martin and Heather Granger who, with Joan Garrick, also operated them. Realistic mouth movements were used long before the arrival of Gerry Anderson's Terrahawks in the 1980s. Actor Edward Bishop provided the voice of Paul Starr; other voices were provided by Patricia English, Dick Vosburgh and Peter Reeves. Besides creating and scripting the series, Leigh also wrote the title song and lyrics (sung by Jerry Dane). Arthur Provis served as director of photography and co-producer.

In this adventure, Starr's boss sends him to Mars where five atomic power stations (used to pump water) have been destroyed by fire. Starr and Lightning work as security guards to try to uncover the cause. The chief suspect is General Darynx. The Martians are shown as non-human fish people.

The Solarnauts

This was a colour live-action space adventure TV series, produced in 1967. Like Paul Starr, its filmed material survives.

Bibliography

Books credited to Roberta Leigh,[2] Rachel Lindsay,[3] Janey Scott or Rozella Lake. Some novels were credited to both Roberta Leigh and Rachel Lindsay.

As Roberta Leigh

Romance novels

Single novels
  • In Name Only (1950)
  • Beloved Ballerina (1952)
  • Dark Inheritance (1952)
  • The Vengeful Heart (1952)
  • And Then Came Love (1954)
  • Pretence (1956)
  • Stacy (1958)
  • Storky (1962)
  • My Heart's a Dancer (1970)
  • Cinderella in Mink (1973)
  • Shade of the Palms (1974)
  • If Dreams Came True (1974)
  • Temporary Wife (1975)
  • Man in a Million (1975)
  • Cupboard Love (1976)
  • To Buy a Bride (1976)
  • Too Young to Love (1976)
  • Man Without a Heart (1976)
  • Unwilling Bridegroom (1976)
  • Girl for a Millionaire (1977)
  • Flower of the Desert (1977)
  • Wrong Man to Love (1977)
  • Not a Marrying Man (1977)
  • Forgotten Marriage (1978)
  • Night of Love (1978)
  • Savage Aristocrat (1978)
  • Facts of Love (1978)
  • Love Match (1980)
  • Wife for a Year (1980)
  • Rent a Wife (1980)
  • Love and No Marriage (1980)
  • Heart of the Lion (1980)
  • Confirmed Bachelor (1981)
  • Love in Store (1983)
  • No Time for Marriage (1985)
  • Maid to Measure (1986)
  • No Man's Mistress (1987)
  • Too Bad to be True (1987)
  • A Racy Affair (1987)
  • An Impossible Man to Love (1987)
  • Storm Cloud Marriage (1987)
  • Not Without Love (1989)
  • Man on the Make (1989)
  • A Most Unsuitable Wife (1989)
  • One Girl at a Time (1990)
  • It All Depends on Love (1990)
  • Two-faced Woman (1991)
  • Not His Kind of Woman (1992)
  • Bachelor at Heart (1992)
  • Give a Man a Bad Name (1993)
  • Two-Timing Man (1993)
  • The Wrong Kind of Wife (1994)
  • Misunderstood (2007)
Collections
Omnibus (in collaboration)

Children's stories

Tomahawk
  1. Tomahawk (1960)
  2. Tomahawk and the River of Gold (1960)
  3. Tomahawk and the Animals of the World (1961)
  4. Tomahawk and the Tomb of the White Moose (1961)
Twizzle
  1. The Adventures of Twizzle (1958) – 18 stories
Sara and Hoppity
  1. Sara and Hoppity (1960)
  2. Sara and Hoppity Make New Friends (1960)
  3. Sara and Hoppity Find a Cat (1961)
  4. Sara and Hoppity Get Lost (1961)
  5. Meet Sara and Hoppity (1962)
  6. Sara and Hoppity Go to the Fair (1961)
  7. Sara and Hoppity Go to the Seaside (1961)
  8. Sara and Hoppity Stay on a Farm (1961)
  9. Sara and Hoppity Spring Clean their House (1961)
  10. Sara and Hoppity on a Big Ship (1961)
Torchy
  1. Torchy and the Magic Beam (1960)
  2. Torchy in Topsy Turvy Land (1960)
  3. Torchy and Bossy Boots (1962)
  4. Torchy and His Two Best Friends (1962)
  5. Torchy and the Twinkling Star (1962)
Mr. Hero
  1. The Adventures of Mr. Hero (1961)
  2. Mr. Hero meets the Raggler Children (1961)
  3. Mr. Hero and the Pearly Queen
  4. Mr. Hero and the Animal
  5. Mr. Hero in Bongo Island
  6. Mr. Hero and Puss the Octo
  7. Mr. Hero helps a Family
  8. Mr. Hero in Iceland

As Rachel Lindsay

Romance novels

  • The Widening Stream (1952)
  • Alien Corn (1954)
  • Healing Hands aka Love and Dr. Forrest (1955)
  • Mask of Gold (1956)
  • Castle in the Trees (1958)
  • House of Lorraine (1959)
  • The Taming of Laura (1959)
  • Business Affair (1960)
  • Heart of a Rose (1961)
  • Song in My Heart (1961)
  • Moonlight and Magic (1962)
  • Design for murder (1964)
  • Second Best Wife (1970)
  • No Business to Love aka Brazilian Affair (1966)
  • Price of Love (1967)
  • Love and Lucy Granger (1967)
  • Second Best Wife (1970)
  • The Latitude of Love aka Rough Diamond Lover (1971)
  • A Question of Marriage (1972)
  • Cage of Gold (1973)
  • Shade of the Palms (1974)
  • Food for Love (1974)
  • Innocent Deception (1975)
  • Love in Disguise (1975)
  • Affair in Venice (1975)
  • Prince for Sale (1975)
  • Secretary Wife (1976)
  • Roman Affair (1976)
  • Tinsel Star (1976)
  • A Man to Tame (1976)
  • The Marquis Takes a Wife (1976)
  • Forbidden Love (1977)
  • Prescription for Love (1977)
  • Unwanted Wife (1978)
  • Forgotten Marriage (1978)
  • An Affair to Forget (1978)
  • Designing Man (1978)
  • Man Out of Reach (1979)
  • My Sister's Keeper (1979)
  • Man of Ice (1980)
  • Love and No Marriage (1980)
  • Wife For a Year (1980)
  • Untouched Wife (1981)
  • Substitute Wife (1982)

As Janey Scott

Romance novels

Children's stories

Sara Gay
  1. Model Girl (1961)
  2. Model Girl in Monte Carlo (1961)
  3. Model Girl in New York (1961)
  4. Model Girl in Mayfair (1961)

As Rozella Lake

Romance novels

(* also edited as Rachel Lindsay)

Writing credits

Production Notes Broadcaster
The Adventures of Twizzle
  • 52 episodes (1957–1959)
 ITV
Torchy the Battery Boy
  • 52 episodes (1960–1961)
 ITV
Sara and Hoppity
  • 52 episodes (1962–1963)
 ITV
Space Patrol
  • 39 episodes (1963–1968)
 ABC Television
Paul Starr
  • Television film (1964)
 ITV

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Roberta Leigh – Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. London: Telegraph Media Group. 23 December 2014. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Roberta Leigh in Fantastic Fiction, archived from the original on 29 May 2012
  3. ↑ Rachel Lindsay in Fantastic Fiction
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