Roberta Leigh facts for kids

Roberta Leigh was the pen name for Rita Lewin (born Shulman) (December 22, 1926 – December 19, 2014). She was a talented British author, artist, music maker, and TV producer. She wrote many different kinds of stories, including romance novels and books for kids. She used several different names for her books, like Roberta Leigh, Rachel Lindsay, Janey Scott, and Rozella Lake.

Roberta Leigh started publishing her first book in 1950. She kept writing new stories almost until she passed away. She also created and produced popular children's puppet TV shows. Some of these shows were Sara and Hoppity, Torchy the Battery Boy, Wonder Boy and Tiger, Send for Dithers, and Space Patrol.

Life and Creative Work

Roberta Leigh, whose real name was Rita Shulman, was born in London. Her Jewish parents had moved to England from Russia. In 1948, she married Michael Lewin, and they had one son. She became a widow in 1981 when her husband passed away. She died at 87 years old on December 19, 2014.

Leigh wrote her first romance story when she was just 14. She was still a student at St Mary's convent in Rhyl at the time. Her first romance novel was published in 1950 under the name Roberta Leigh. She went on to write over 160 novels! She also wrote many children's books and other romance stories using her different pen names.

After her husband died, she stopped writing romance novels. However, she continued to write serious fiction and children's books. She also worked on many TV and film projects. She created a total of 275 films and TV shows. This made her the first woman producer in Britain to own her own film company.

She created eight puppet TV series that were very popular. These included The Adventures of Twizzle (1957), Torchy the Battery Boy (1958), and Sara and Hoppity (1962). Another famous show was Space Patrol (1962). This show was shown all over the world and had the highest ratings for a children's show at that time. It followed the adventures of Captain Larry Dart in the year 2100. He flew a spaceship called Galasphere 347.

After Space Patrol, she worked on Paul Starr (1964) and a live-action space adventure series called The Solarnauts (1967). For these two later series, only the first episodes were filmed. Roberta Leigh loved music from a young age. She was often given credit for composing the music for her shows. She would hum tunes into a tape recorder, and then a composer would write them down. She even used electronic equipment to create the opening theme for Space Patrol.

The Paul Starr TV Show

The Paul Starr show was made in 1964. It was a 25-minute puppet series, similar to Space Patrol, but it was filmed in color. The main characters were Agent Paul Starr and his crewmate, Lightning. They worked for the Space Bureau of Investigation (SBI). Their rocket, SBI-5, could travel through space, in the air, and even underwater! The SBI team had an undersea base.

The rocket used jets to fly in the air and "solar energy" to travel in space. It also had different weapons, like nuclear missiles. The robots in Paul Starr seemed more advanced than those in Space Patrol. Fans of Space Patrol might notice that some of the sound effects were similar. The puppet characters moved more smoothly, and you couldn't see the strings that controlled them.

The puppets were made by Martin and Heather Granger, who also operated them with Joan Garrick. The puppets had realistic mouth movements, which was very advanced for the time. Famous actors like Edward Bishop (who voiced Paul Starr), Patricia English, Dick Vosburgh, and Peter Reeves provided other voices. Roberta Leigh not only created and wrote the series, but she also wrote the title song and its lyrics. Arthur Provis helped produce the show and was in charge of the camera work.

In one adventure, Starr's boss sends him to Mars. Five atomic power stations, which were used to pump water, had been destroyed by fire. Starr and Lightning worked as security guards to find out who was responsible. The main suspect was General Darynx. The Martians in the show were shown as non-human fish people.

The Solarnauts TV Show

The Solarnauts was a live-action space adventure TV series. It was filmed in color in 1967. Like Paul Starr, the filmed parts of this show still exist today.

Books by Roberta Leigh

Roberta Leigh wrote many books under different names. Here are some of the types of books she wrote:

Romance Novels

She wrote many romance novels, often about love stories and relationships. Some of her popular titles include In Name Only (1950) and Cinderella in Mink (1973). She also published romance novels under the names Rachel Lindsay, Janey Scott, and Rozella Lake.

Children's Stories

Roberta Leigh also wrote many exciting stories for children.

Tomahawk Series

• Tomahawk (1960)
• Tomahawk and the River of Gold (1960)
• Tomahawk and the Animals of the Wild (1961)
• Tomahawk and the Tomb of the White Moose (1961)

Twizzle Series

• The Adventures of Twizzle (1958) – This book had 18 stories.

Sara and Hoppity Series

• Sara and Hoppity (1960)
• Sara and Hoppity Make New Friends (1960)
• Sara and Hoppity Find a Cat (1961)
• Sara and Hoppity Get Lost (1961)
• Meet Sara and Hoppity (1962)
• Sara and Hoppity Go to the Fair (1961)
• Sara and Hoppity Go to the Seaside (1961)
• Sara and Hoppity Stay on a Farm (1961)
• Sara and Hoppity Spring Clean their House (1961)
• Sara and Hoppity on a Big Ship (1961)

Torchy Series

• Torchy and the Magic Beam (1960)
• Torchy in Topsy Turvy Land (1960)
• Torchy and Bossy Boots (1962)
• Torchy and His Two Best Friends (1962)
• Torchy and the Twinkling Star (1962)

Mr. Hero Series

• The Adventures of Mr. Hero (1961)
• Mr. Hero and the Raggler Children (1961)
• Mr. Hero and the Pearly Queen
• Mr. Hero and the Animal
• Mr. Hero in Bongo Island
• Mr. Hero and Puss the Octo
• Mr. Hero helps a Family
• Mr. Hero in Iceland

Sara Gay Series (as Janey Scott)

• Model Girl (1961)
• Model Girl in Monte Carlo (1961)
• Model Girl in New York (1961)
• Model Girl in Mayfair (1961)

TV Shows She Created

Here is a list of the TV shows Roberta Leigh created and produced: