Theodore Roberts

Biography

Theodore Roberts (San Francisco, 1861 - Los Angeles, 1928) was an American actor who moved from the stage to silent film. He is best remembered today for his work in the biblical epics and big productions of the 1920s, but his career began decades earlier in the theatre. As a character actor he often played patriarchs, fathers and figures of authority, and he was a familiar face in the films of his day.

Born in San Francisco, Roberts was a cousin of the stage actress Florence Roberts. His choice of acting as a career disappointed his parents, who had hoped for a religious vocation for him and a more practical trade. He made his stage debut at the Baldwin Theatre in San Francisco in 1880 and then toured the West Coast with a travelling company. Tired of that life, he left acting for a time to command a schooner owned by his father. He returned to the stage in the 1890s, acting with Fanny Davenport in Gismonda (1894). His Broadway career opened with We'Uns of Tennessee (1899) and closed with Believe Me Xantippe (1913). He also performed in vaudeville.

His film career began in Hollywood in the 1910s, and he worked often on Cecil B. DeMille's productions. His most famous role is Moses in the biblical prologue of DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1923). One of his last screen appearances was as the heroine's father in The Cat's Pajamas (1926). In his personal life, after the end of a marriage, he spent six months in a New York jail for refusing to pay alimony.

Roberts died of uremic poisoning in Hollywood in December 1928, at the age of 67, and is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery. His legacy is that of a working character actor of the silent era, remembered above all for his Moses in DeMille's film.

Key films

• The Ten Commandments (1923): played Moses in the biblical prologue, his best-known role.
• Joan of Arc (1916): one of his notable films from the early part of his Hollywood career.
• For Better, for Worse (1919): one of the titles that helped establish him as a supporting actor in the 1910s.
• The Sheik (1921): an example of his work in silent films in the early 1920s.