George Rose is well-known as the actor that portrayed Chief Baker Charles Joughin in the 1958 film adaptation of Walter Lord's A Night to Remember.

The performance is controversial in Titanic circles in that it exaggerates the real Joughin's off-the-cuff remark that, as the Titanic sank, he fortified himself with a drink. In the film this is taken to the point of caricature although the moment provides some light relief as the tragic tale is played out.

6247. When you found your boat had gone you said you went down below. What did you do when you went down below?
- I went to my room for a drink.

6248. Drink of what?
- Spirits.

The Commissioner:
Does it very much matter what it was?

Mr. Cotter:
Yes, my Lord, this is very important, because I am going to prove, or rather my suggestion is, that he then saved his life. I think his getting a drink had a lot to do with saving his life.

The Commissioner:
He told you he had one glass of liqueur.

6249. (Mr. Cotter.) Yes. (To the Witness.) What kind of a glass was it?
- It was a tumbler half-full.

6250. A tumbler half-full of liqueur?
- Yes.

In public Rose was heavily in demand as a character actor, regularly appearing on broadway and in film; but he had a complicated private life. In 1988 he was found dead next to his overturned car near his home in the Dominican Republic.

Was his death the result of an accident, a robbery gone wrong, or systematic torture and murder at the hands of his 17-year-old lover/adopted son and his family? For a detailed exploration of the case see Alix Kirsta's article The Killing of Mr George.