Theodore Roberts

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Theodore Roberts
Roberts in 1912
Born(1861-10-08)October 8, 1861
San Francisco, California,
U.S.
DiedDecember 14, 1928(1928-12-14) (aged 67)
Hollywood, California,
U.S.
Resting place
Hollywood Forever
Pineland 124
OccupationsFilm, stage actor
Spouses
    Lucy O'Brien
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1890; div. 1905)​
      ​
      ​
      (m. 1905; died 1925)​
      RelativesFlorence Roberts (cousin)

      Theodore Roberts (October 8, 1861 – December 14, 1928)[1] was an American film and stage actor.

      Early life

      Roberts was born in San Francisco, California.[2] He was a cousin of the stage actress Florence Roberts. His choice of a career disappointed his mother (who wanted him to become a minister) and his father (who wanted him to learn a trade).[3]

      Career

      Roberts debuted on stage at the Baldwin Theatre in San Francisco in 1880.[4] He went on to act with a barnstorming troupe on the West Coast but tired of that lifestyle after several years and left acting for a time to command a schooner owned by his father.[4]

      On stage again in the 1890s he acted with Fanny Davenport in her play Gismonda (1894) and later in The Bird of Paradise (1912). His Broadway career began with We'Uns of Tennessee (1899) and ended with Believe Me Xantippe (1913).[5]

      Roberts as Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1923)
      Signed drawing of Theodore Roberts by Manuel Rosenberg for the Cincinnati Post, 1926

      He started his film career in the 1910s in Hollywood, and was often associated in the productions of Cecil B. DeMille. He portrayed Moses in the biblical prologue of DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1923).[6] One of his last film appearances was as the heroine's father in The Cat's Pajamas (1926).[7]

      Roberts also performed in vaudeville.[8] After the end of a marriage, he spent six months in a New York jail because he refused to pay alimony.[3]

      Death

      Roberts died of uremic poisoning in Hollywood, California at age 67 and is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.[1]

      Selected filmography

      Advertisement for Anton the Terrible in Moving Picture World, 1916
      YearTitle
      1914The Ghost Breaker
      The Man from Home
      What's His Name
      The Call of the North
      1915Temptation
      The Arab
      The Wild Goose Chase
      The Woman
      The Captive
      The Unafraid
      After Five
      The Girl of the Golden West
      The Unknown
      1916The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
      The Dream Girl
      Common Ground
      The Storm
      1917Nan of Music Mountain
      The Devil-Stone
      The Little Princess
      Joan the Woman
      1918The Squaw Man
      The Hidden Pearls
      We Can't Have Everything
      Old Wives for New
      M'Liss
      Such a Little Pirate
      Arizona
      1919Don't Change Your Husband
      The Winning Girl
      The Poor Boob
      For Better, for Worse
      The Woman Thou Gavest Me
      Love Insurance
      Male and Female
      What Every Woman Learns
      Everywoman
      1920Suds
      Double Speed
      Judy of Rogue's Harbor
      Something to Think About
      1921Forbidden Fruit
      Sham
      The Affairs of Anatol
      Miss Lulu Bett
      Hail the Woman
      You're Fired
      1922Across the Continent
      Our Leading Citizen
      Saturday Night
      Night Life in Hollywood
      1923Grumpy
      The Ten Commandments
      1925 Locked Doors
      1929 Noisy Neighbors

      References

      1. Ellenberger, Allan R. (May 2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-7864-0983-9. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
      2. Fox, Charles Donald; Silver, Milton L. (1920). Who's who on the Screen. Ross publishing Company. p. 14. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
      3. "Shows tragedy in life of actor". The News and Observer. North Carolina, Raleigh. Associated Press. December 22, 1928. p. 8. Retrieved August 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
      4. "Hits of the Month". The Theatre. XVIII (132): 117. October 1913. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
      5. "Theodore Roberts". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
      6. Liebman, Roy (February 6, 2017). Broadway Actors in Films, 1894-2015. McFarland. pp. 198–199. ISBN 978-0-7864-7685-5. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
      7. Neste, Dan Van (March 15, 2017). The Magnificent Heel: The Life and Films of Ricardo Cortez. BearManor Media. p. 231. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
      8. Wjote, Forest (February 23, 1924). "Theodore Roberts Ill And Moviedom Grieves; Film's 'Grand Old Man'". The Ithaca Journal. New York, Ithaca. p. 7. Retrieved August 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.