Roy Rognan

Roy Rognan (April 4, 1910 – February 22, 1943) was an American dancer, acrobat, and Broadway performer born in Sandpoint, Bonner County, Idaho. His father, John Erling Rognan, had immigrated from Norway, and his mother was Alma Helmina, née Larson.

Rognan appeared on Broadway in 1935 in the comedy The Taming of the Shrew. On November 4, 1937, he married Jean Muriel O'Rourke, born January 18, 1912, in Cook, Illinois. Beginning around 1938, the couple performed together as a comedy ballroom dance team under the billing "Lorraine and Rognan," working in vaudeville and appearing in two Paramount musical films, The Fleet's In (1942) and Salute for Three (1943).

In February 1943, Rognan and his wife were traveling as part of a United Service Organizations group aboard the Pan American Boeing 314 flying boat Yankee Clipper. On February 22, the aircraft crashed while attempting to land on the Tagus River in Lisbon, Portugal. Rognan was killed in the crash, his body later recovered on a beach at the mouth of the Tagus. Among the other casualties was dancer Tamara Drasin, while singer Jane Froman was among those injured. Jean Rognan survived but sustained serious injuries, including a crushed leg, a back injury, and the loss of seven teeth.

In 1944, Jean Rognan filed suit against Pan American seeking $425,000 in damages. The airline responded by offering $8,291 for personal injuries and $414 for lost baggage, citing the liability limitations established under the Warsaw Convention. A private law passed in 1958 under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act ultimately awarded her $24,625.30 for injuries sustained in the crash. Jean later remarried, taking the name Jean Rosen, and died on August 22, 1969, in Los Angeles.