Tony Roberts (actor)

American actor

Tony Roberts

Roberts in 2019

Born|

David Anthony Roberts

(1939-10-22) October 22, 1939 (age 84)

Manhattan, New York City, U.S.

Occupation| Actor
Years active| 1962–present
From the original Broadway cast of Play It Again, Sam. Third from left is Tony Roberts; fourth from left is Woody Allen. Diane Keaton is on the far right. (1969)

Tony Roberts (born David Anthony Roberts; October 22, 1939)[1] is an American actor. He is known for his roles in six Woody Allen movies—most notably Annie Hall—often playing Allen's best friend.

## Early life

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Roberts was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of radio announcer Ken Roberts and Norma (née Finkelstein), an animator.[2][3] His family is Jewish.[4][5][6] Roberts attended the High School of Music & Art[7] and Northwestern University, and he made his Broadway debut in 1962 with a role in the play Something About a Soldier.[citation needed]

## Career

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### Film

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Roberts collaborated with Woody Allen. In Annie Hall, he portrayed Alvy Singer's best friend Rob. Other Allen movies and plays in which he has appeared include both the Broadway and movie versions of Play It Again, Sam; Radio Days; Stardust Memories; Hannah and Her Sisters; A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy; and Woody Allen's segment for The Concert for New York City.

Roberts portrayed Deputy Mayor Warren LaSalle in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. He also appeared in the Sidney Lumet movies Serpico and Just Tell Me What You Want. Roberts was in the 1983 horror movie Amityville 3-D, portraying John Baxter.

Roberts was featured in 2014's The Longest Week.

### Theater

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Roberts's Broadway credits include Barefoot in the Park; How Now, Dow Jones; Murder at the Howard Johnson's; Promises, Promises; Sugar (the musical version of the movie Some Like It Hot); The Sisters Rosensweig; They're Playing Our Song; Victor/Victoria; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; Arsenic and Old Lace; and Cabaret. In 1998, he played Buddy Plummer in Stephen Sondheim's Follies at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. In 2007, Roberts returned to Broadway in the musical Xanadu.

### Television and radio

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For television, Roberts was the third actor to play Lee Pollock on The Edge of Night.[citation needed] He has appeared in numerous series such as The Carol Burnett Show, Matlock, and Law & Order. In 1977, he featured in the short-lived series Rosetti and Ryan with Squire Fridell.

In 1978, he was on The Love Boat. Roberts and Lauren Tewes's character, cruise ship director Julie McCoy, fall in love but don't pursue a relationship.

He featured (with Penny Fuller, who had played his wife on The Edge of Night) on the ABC comedy The Thorns. He was a regular performer on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Roberts also provides the narration on many of the audiobooks in Stuart Woods's Stone Barrington novels. Other audiobook credits include Andrew Vachss's Batman: The Ultimate Evil, Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, and Spencer Johnson's Who Moved My Cheese?.

## Filmography

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* The Trials of O'Brien (1965) — Charlie
* The Edge of Night (1965–1966) — Lee Pollock
* A Guide for the Married Man (1969, TV movie)
* Men at Law (1970) — Jack Halbert
* The Million Dollar Duck (1971) — Fred Hines
* Star Spangled Girl (1971) — Andy Hobart
* Play It Again, Sam (1972) — Dick
* Serpico (1973) — Bob Blair
* The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) — Warren LaSalle
* Le Sauvage (1975) — Alex Fox
* Annie Hall (1977) — Rob
* The Girls in the Office (1979, TV movie) — Mike Holden
* Just Tell Me What You Want (1980) — Mike Berger
* Stardust Memories (1980) — Tony
* A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) — Maxwell
* Amityville 3-D (1983) — John Baxter
* Key Exchange (1985) — David Slattery
* Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) — Norman — Mickey's ex-partner
* Seize the Day (1986) — Bernie Pell
* Radio Days (1987) — 'Silver Dollar' Emcee
* 18 Again! (1988) — Arnie Watson
* Fist Fighter (1989)
* Law & Order (1991–2010) — Senator Bryce Peterson, Paul Redfield, Nicholas Bennett, Lucas Pollard
* Popcorn (1991) — Mr. Davis
* Switch (1991) — Arnold Freidkin
* Our Sons (1991) — Harry
* Apologies to Bunuel (1996) — Steve
* Dead Broke (1998) — Walter
* The Concert for New York City: "Sounds from a Town I Love" (2001) — Man on Bench
* My Best Friend's Wife (2001) — Mr. Epstein
* Twelve and Holding (2005) — Doctor
* Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2008) — Ziggy Gold
* The Longest Week (2014) — Barry the Therapist
* Dirty Dancing (2017) — Max Kellerman

## References

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1. ^ O'Donnell, Monica M. (1986). Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Gale. p. 275\. ISBN 9780810320659.
2. ^ "Tony Roberts, Star File: Broadway.com Buzz". Broadway.com. 2011-03-19. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
3. ^ Shapiro, T. Rees (2009-06-28). "Golden-Throated Announcer Introduced Soap Operas". Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
4. ^ "Death rattle of the world – with laughs". Thevillager.com. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
5. ^ "Tony Roberts Best of Friends With Success: 'Victor/Victoria' - Jewish Exponent | HighBeam Research". May 17, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-05-17. Retrieved Sep 5, 2020.
6. ^ "Woody Allen's sidekick shares all". Jewish Journal. Jan 14, 2016. Retrieved Sep 5, 2020.
7. ^ "Notable Alumni," Alumni & Friends of LaGuardia High School website. Accessed Feb. 29, 2016.

## External links

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* Tony Roberts at IMDb
* Tony Roberts at the TCM Movie Database
* Tony Roberts at the Internet Broadway Database
* Tony Roberts at Internet Off-Broadway Database
* Tony Roberts \- Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
* Tony Roberts article in The New York Observer

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