Biography
Born Roy Barnes Jones in Tampa, Florida, he began his acting career on the stage, first appearing on Broadway in May 1931 before making his motion picture debut in Gold Bricks, a 1936 two-reel comedy short released by 20th Century-Fox. He appeared in numerous films in secondary parts and returned to perform on Broadway in such productions as Twentieth Century, My Sister Eileen, and Carnival in Flanders until he began making guest appearances on television series. After appearing on Gale Storm's popular show, My Little Margie in 1956, he became part of several television series for which he is best remembered. In a show that was the precursor to The Love Boat, Roberts played the ship's captain for four years in Storm's next hit, Oh! Susanna. He guest-starred in scores of series, including the western-themed crime drama, Sheriff of Cochise, the children's western My Friend Flicka, Perry Mason, and Brian Keith's Cold War drama, Crusader.
During the mid-'60s Roberts was one of the most recognizable faces on television, and had recurring roles concurrently on a number of popular programs, including:
- Bank president Mr. Cheever on The Lucy Show
- Newspaper publisher Mr. J. Howard Jackson on The Andy Griffith Show
- John Cushing, president of the rival Merchants Bank on The Beverly Hillbillies
- Railroad president Norman Curtis on Petticoat Junction
- Darrin's father Frank Stephens on Bewitched, alternating with actor Robert F. Simon depending upon availability.
- Banker Harry Bodkin on Gunsmoke
- Dr. Reynolds, twice on The Road West
- Neighbor Bruce MacDermott on Our Man Higgins
- "Doc" on John Payne's The Restless Gun in the 1957 episode "Trail to Sunset"
- Admiral Rogers on McHale's Navy (in some episodes, his first name is given as "John" and in others his name is given as "Bruce").
- Capt. Walter A. Bascom on three episodes of Crossroads
In the 1940s and '50s Roberts was a regular in many films noir, including Force of Evil (1948), He Walked by Night (1948), Nightmare Alley (1947), The Brasher Doubloon (1947), Borderline (1950) and The Enforcer (1951). In 1953 he appeared as Vincent Price's crooked business partner (and first victim) in House of Wax. He also appeared in the neo-noirs The Outfit (1973) and Chinatown (1974). He also had a small role in the hit 1963 comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World as a police officer. Unfortunately, his role was cut from later TV and movie versions in order to reduce running time. However, due to an interest in restoring IAMMMMW to its original length, Roberts' brief role has seen life again in versions made for laserdisc and extended-length DVDs. Roberts died in Los Angeles, California, of a heart attack and was interred in Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas.
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Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“A biography is like a handshake down the years, that can become an arm-wrestle.”
—Richard Holmes (b. 1945)
“In how few words, for instance, the Greeks would have told the story of Abelard and Heloise, making but a sentence of our classical dictionary.... We moderns, on the other hand, collect only the raw materials of biography and history, “memoirs to serve for a history,” which is but materials to serve for a mythology.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The death of Irving, which at any other time would have attracted universal attention, having occurred while these things were transpiring, went almost unobserved. I shall have to read of it in the biography of authors.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)