Roy Roberts

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Roy Roberts bigraphy, stories - American actor

Roy Roberts : biography

19 March 1906 – 28 May 1975

Roy Roberts (March 19, 1906 – May 28, 1975) was an American character actor. Over his more than 40-year career, he appeared in more than nine hundred productions on stage and screen.

Biography

Born Roy Barnes Jones in Dade City in Pasco County, near 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 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, which aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960. He guest-starred in scores of series, including the western-themed crime drama, Sheriff of Cochise, the western series, My Friend Flicka and The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, the CBS legal drama, Perry Mason, and Brian Keith’s Cold War drama, Crusader.

During the middle 1960s, 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 CBS’s The Lucy Show
  • Newspaper publisher Mr. J. Howard Jackson on CBS’s The Andy Griffith Show
  • John Cushing, president of the rival Merchants Bank on CBS’s The Beverly Hillbillies
  • Railroad president Norman Curtis on CBS’s Petticoat Junction
  • Darrin’s father Frank Stephens on ABC’s Bewitched, alternating with actor Robert F. Simon depending upon availability.
  • Banker Harry Bodkin on CBS’s Gunsmoke
  • Dr. Reynolds, twice on The Road West
  • Neighbor Bruce MacDermott on ABC’s Our Man Higgins
  • Preston "Press" Wasco and Kelly on the NBC western, Laredo
  • "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 in three episodes of the religion anthology series, Crossroads

In the 1940s and 1950s, 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 Stanley Kramer comedy, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World as a police officer. Unfortunately, his role was cut from later television and movie versions to reduce running time. However, because of 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 at Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas.