Florence Roberts

American actress (1860s–1940)

Florence Roberts
Florence Roberts circa 1938
Born	(1864-03-16)March 16, 1864 (Some sources state 1861) New York City
Died	(1940-06-06)June 6, 1940 Hollywood, California, U.S.
Years active	1917–1940
Spouse	Walter Gale
Children	1

Florence Roberts (March 16, 1861/1864 – June 6, 1940^[1] was an American actress of the stage and in motion pictures.

Stock company actress

Born in New York City, she began acting onstage there. Her career began at the Brooklyn Opera House in Hoop of Gold.^[1] She secured her first stage role with the Denman Thompson Company and played leads with the N.B. Curtis Company. This experience led to appearances on Broadway. She once starred in Zala, a production of David Belasco. She headed a stock company in Philadelphia, for a period of 15 years. The actress made three world tours in stock. There was a South African repertoire and a tour of Australia with the Henry Duffy players. She also played in stock companies in Boston and other cities.^[1]

In the early 1900s, she made annual tours under the direction of Frederick Belasco.^[2]

Film career

Roberts' success in motion pictures began with a Mack Sennett comedy. The film producer saw her on the stage in Your Uncle Dudley and cast her in Grandma's Girl (1930). Her earliest roles were in A Wife's Suspicion and A Wise Dummy, both in 1917. Among her film performances, the Jones Family series is the most renowned. She played the role of Grandma.^[1]

Personal life

Roberts married actor Walter Gale, and they had a son, Robert Gale.^[1]

Death

Roberts died from cardiovascular disease at her home in Hollywood. She was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, with funeral services performed at Wee Kirk of the Heather.

Her eulogy was read by her adopted son, Edward Everett Horton, with whom she appeared in stock. The actress' death came unexpectedly three weeks after she had returned from a vacation trip to Panama. She went there following completion of 20th Century Fox's Jones Family series for the 1939–1940 season.^[1]^[3]

Partial filmography

Allan Quatermain (1919) - Mrs. McKenzie
The Man Who Was Afraid (1920) - Mrs. Robinson
The Sleepwalker (1922) - Mrs. Fabian Dumond
The Vulture's Prey (1922) - Landlady
The Best People (1925) - (uncredited)
The Eyes of the World (1930) - The Maid (prologue)
Soup to Nuts (1930) - Junior's Mother (uncredited)
Kept Husbands (1931) - Mrs. Henrietta Parker
Bachelor Apartment (1931) - Mrs. Halloran (uncredited)
Everything's Rosie (1931) - Mrs. Lowe
Too Many Cooks (1931) - Mother Cook
Fanny Foley Herself (1931) - Lucy
Her Majesty, Love (1931) - Grandma (uncredited)
Westward Passage (1932) - Mrs. Ottendorf
What Price Hollywood? (1932) - Elderly Brown Derby Diner (uncredited)
Make Me a Star (1932) - Mrs. Gashwiler
The All American (1932) - Mrs. King
Vanity Street (1932) - Annie - Fern's Maid (uncredited)
Officer Thirteen (1932) - Granny
Employees' Entrance (1933) - Shoe Customer (uncredited)
Dangerously Yours (1933) - Mrs. Lathem
Fast Workers (1933) - Short Window Shopper (uncredited)
Daring Daughters (1933) - Ginger Hemingway - the Grandmother
A Bedtime Story (1933) - Flower Shop Customer (uncredited)
Lilly Turner (1933) - Wedding Guest Calling for Bride (uncredited)
Melody Cruise (1933) - Miss Potts
The Song of Songs (1933) - Book Store Customer (uncredited)
Torch Singer (1933) - Mother Angelica
Ever in My Heart (1933) - Eunice (uncredited)
Blood Money (1933) - Judge's Wife (uncredited)
Hoop-La (1933) - Ma Benson
The Meanest Gal in Town (1934) - Mom - Old Stranded Actress (uncredited)
Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen (1934) - Agnes
Success at Any Price (1934) - Cleaning Woman (uncredited)
Student Tour (1934) - Elderly Woman (uncredited)
Cleopatra (1934) - Lady Flora
Babes in Toyland (1934) - Widow Peep
Sons of Steel (1934) - Sarah Mason
Rocky Mountain Mystery (1935) - Mrs. Ballard
Public Opinion (1935) - Mrs. Buttons
The Nut Farm (1935) - Ma Barton - Willie's Mother
Les Misérables (1935) - Toussaint
Every Night at Eight (1935) - Mrs. Murgatroyd (uncredited)
Accent on Youth (1935) - Mrs. Benham (uncredited)
Harmony Lane (1935) - Mrs. Foster
Your Uncle Dudley (1935) - Janet Dixon
The Country Doctor (1936) - Grandmother (uncredited)
Every Saturday Night (1936) - Granny Evers
Nobody's Fool (1936) - Mary Jones
Back to Nature (1936) - Granny Jones
Off to the Races (1937) - Granny Jones
Nobody's Baby (1937) - Mrs. Mason - Landlady
The Jones Family in Big Business (1937) - Granny Jones
The Life of Emile Zola (1937) - Madame Zola
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) - Duenna (scenes deleted)
Hot Water (1937) - Granny Jones
Borrowing Trouble (1937) - Granny Jones
Love on a Budget (1938) - Granny Ida Jones
A Trip to Paris (1938) - Granny Jones
Safety in Numbers (1938) - Granny Jones
Personal Secretary (1938) - Mrs. J. J. Farrell
Down on the Farm (1938) - Granny Jones
The Storm (1938) - Mrs. Roberts
Everybody's Baby (1939) - Granny Jones
The Jones Family in Hollywood (1939) - Granny Jones
Quick Millions (1939) - Granny Jones
Too Busy to Work (1939) - Granny Jones
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) - Mrs. Bowling Green
Young as You Feel (1940) - Granny Jones
Double Alibi (1940) - Landlady (uncredited)
On Their Own (1940) - Granny Jones (final film role)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Special to The New York Times (June 7, 1940). "Florence Roberts, Screen Actress, Veteran of Character Parts Took Role of Grandma in 'Jones Family' Films / Began on Stage When 19 / Made First Appearance at the Brooklyn Opera House—Got Film Start With Sennett [photo included]". The New York Times. Retrieved June 26, 2022.(photo included)
^ "California Theatre". California Review. III (1): 20. July 1904. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
^ "Famed Film Actress Dies", Los Angeles Times, June 7, 1940, p. A1.