Lynne Roberts

Lynne Roberts
Born	Theda Mae Roberts (1922-11-22)November 22, 1922 El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Died	April 1, 1978(1978-04-01) (aged 55) Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.
Other names	Mary Hart Lynn Roberts
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1936–1958
Spouse(s)	William Engelbert, Jr. (1941–1944) Louis John Gardella (1944–1952) Hyman B. Samuels (1953–1961) Don Sebastian (1971–1978)

Lynne Roberts, also credited as Mary Hart,^[1] was born Theda May Roberts (November 22, 1922^[2] – April 1, 1978). She was an American film actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood who appeared exclusively in what were referred to as B-movies.

Early years

Born in El Paso, Texas, Roberts was the daughter of Hobart M. Roberts, a bookkeeper, and May Holland.^[3] The family moved to Los Angeles in the 1920s.

Career

Roberts began working as an actress in the 1930s, under contract to Republic Pictures. At the age of 14, in 1936, she played a role in Bulldog Edition. In 1938, at age 16, she starred in the cliffhangers: The Lone Ranger and Dick Tracy Returns, and played a role in The Higgins Family. She was officially listed in studio records as having been born in 1919.

In 1941 she starred with Sonja Henie and John Payne in Sun Valley Serenade, while under contract to 20th Century-Fox. She returned to Republic Pictures in 1944, and stayed under contract there until 1948. She starred with Gene Autry in Sioux City Sue in 1946, and appeared in two more films with Autry: Robin Hood of Texas and Saddle Pals, as well as three films with Roy Rogers, and one with Monte Hale. (Johnny D. Boggs, in his book, Billy the Kid on Film, 1911-2012, wrote, "Lynne Roberts would co-star with [Roy] Rogers in eight Westerns, billed as Mary Hart in the first seven of those.")^[4]

After leaving Republic Pictures for the second time, Roberts worked with Autry in outdoor adventures for Columbia Pictures. She also worked with Kirby Grant in Monogram Pictures' mounted-police adventures, and with Tim Holt at RKO Radio Pictures.

All told, Roberts appeared in 64 films. Of those, 21 were westerns, and two are serials.

Personal life

Lynne Roberts (left), Sally Naiditch, Anne T. Hill (3rd from left), Dr. Leon W. Naiditch, Hyman B. Samuels (front right), Dr. Harry Lehrer (extreme right behind Samuels)

Roberts married four times. Her first marriage was to William Engelbert, Jr., an aircraft company official,^[5] with whom she had one son, Bill. The marriage ended in divorce in 1944.

Her second marriage was to Louis John Gardella, which also ended in divorce. In court, Gardella's attorney argued that the couple's Arizona wedding was invalid because Roberts was not legally divorced from Engelbert, although Roberts claimed she had a Mexican divorce decree.^[6]

In 1953, Roberts married brassiere manufacturer Hyman B. Samuels, with whom she had a daughter, Peri Margaret.^[7] The couple divorced November 14, 1961, in Los Angeles, California.^[8]

Following that divorce, Roberts retired from acting and later married pro wrestler Don Sebastian in 1971.

Family

Lynne Roberts was the sister of actor John S. Roberts.

Death

On December 16, 1977, she had a slip-and-fall accident in her home and suffered severe head fractures and lacerations. She went into a coma and died a few months later on April 1, 1978, from hemorrhaging.

Selected filmography

• Shine On, Harvest Moon (1938) (billed as Mary Hart)
• Billy the Kid Returns (1938) (as Mary Hart)
• The Higgins Family (1938)
• The Mysterious Miss X (1939) (as Mary Hart)
• In Old Caliente (1939)
• Everything's on Ice (1939)
• High School (1940)
• Romance of the Rio Grande (1941)
• Riders of the Purple Sage (1941)
• Quiet Please, Murder (1942)
• The Big Bonanza (1944)
• Girls of the Big House (1945)
• The Pilgrim Lady (1947)
• Trouble Preferred (1949)
• Call of the Klondike (1950)
• Hunt the Man Down (1950)
• Dynamite Pass (1950)
• The Blazing Forest (1952)
• Port Sinister (1953)

References

External links

• Lynne Roberts at the Internet Movie Database
• Lynne Roberts at AllMovie
• B-Western Heroines, Lynne Roberts