Theodore Roberts

Theodore Roberts
Theodore Roberts
Born	October 8, 1861; San Francisco, California,; U.S.
Died	December 14, 1928 (aged 67); Hollywood, California,; U.S.
Resting place	Hollywood Forever; Pineland 124
Occupation	Film, stage actor
Spouse(s)	Lucy O'Brien (m. 1890; div. 1905); Florence Smythe (m. 1905; died 1925)
Relatives	Florence Roberts (cousin)

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

Roberts as Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1923)

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]

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 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]

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]

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

Year	Title
1914	The Ghost Breaker
	The Man from Home
	What's His Name
	The Call of the North
1915	Temptation
	The Arab
	The Wild Goose Chase
	The Woman
	The Captive
	The Unafraid
	After Five
	The Girl of the Golden West
	The Unknown
1916	The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
	The Dream Girl
	Common Ground
	The Storm
1917	Nan of Music Mountain
	The Devil-Stone
	The Little Princess
	Joan the Woman
1918	The Squaw Man
	The Hidden Pearls
	We Can't Have Everything
	Old Wives for New
	M'Liss
	Such a Little Pirate
	Arizona
1919	Don'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
1920	Suds
	Double Speed
	Judy of Rogue's Harbor
	Something to Think About
1921	Forbidden Fruit
	Sham
	The Affairs of Anatol
	Miss Lulu Bett
	Hail the Woman
	You're Fired
1922	Across the Continent
	Our Leading Citizen
	Saturday Night
	Night Life in Hollywood
1923	Grumpy
1923	The Ten Commandments
1925	Locked Doors
1929	Noisy Neighbors

References

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.
Fox, Charles Donald; Silver, Milton L. (1920). Who's who on the Screen. Ross publishing Company. p. 14. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
"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.
"Hits of the Month". The Theatre. XVIII (132): 117. October 1913. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
"Theodore Roberts". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
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.
Neste, Dan Van (March 15, 2017). The Magnificent Heel: The Life and Films of Ricardo Cortez. BearManor Media. p. 231. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
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.

External links

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[clac-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.

[:0-3] "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.

[t-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.

[baf-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.