Roger Mayne

Roger Mayne is an English photographer renowned for his pictures depicting London in the 1950s and '60s. After graduating from Oxford with a degree in chemistry, he became interested in photography and established himself by the mid-1950s as a freelance photographer, working for periodicals and book publishers. He often photographed artists and theatrical professionals.

His most famous work was documenting the street life of Southam Street in London's Notting Dale district between 1956 and 1961. One of his photos from this project was used as the cover illustration for Colin MacInnes's 1959 novel Absolute Beginners (1986). (The photos were also featured in the 1986 film of the novel, which was set in Notting Dale.) Mayne's Southam Street project is considered and important historical document and is housed at the the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Mayne served as the inspiration for the character Colin in Ann Jellicoe's 1962 play "The Knack", which was filmed by Richard Lester as The Knack... and How to Get It (1965) where Colin was played by Michael Crawford. "The Knack" is based on the time he and Jellicoe lived together before getting married. They had met at the Royal Court Theatre, in the mid-1950s, when Jellicoe was still married to her first husband. They have two children.