Who was Doris Roberts?
The late American actress Doris May Roberts (nee Green) was born in St. Louis, Missouri USA, on 4 November 1925, meaning that Scorpio was her zodiac sign. She appeared in 162 movies and TV series, but is perhaps remembered best for starring as Marie Barone in all 210 episodes of the comedy series “Everybody Loves Raymond”, which was created by Phil Rosenthal, and also starred Patricia Heaton and Ray Romano. It follows the lives of sports columnist Ray Barone and his family, the series aired from 1996 through 2005, and won 56 of its 223 award nominations.
Doris was 90 when she died, having suffered a stroke in her sleep on 17 April 2016; she had previously struggled with pulmonary hypertension for years. Doris was buried at Los Angeles’ Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary.
Education and early life
Doris was raised in New York City as an only child, by her mother Ann Meltzer and maternal grandparents; her father Larry Green abandoned her and her mother when Doris was only two. Ann eventually married Chester H. Roberts, and the two together ran their stenographic service Z. L. Rosenfield Agency.
Doris fell in love with acting during her teenage years, as her mother and stepfather mostly worked with actors and playwrights through their company; she studied at a local high school and was into several activities during her time there, including acting, singing and dancing.
Doris matriculated in 1944, and then began taking acting lessons; she worked at her mother’s company prior to moving to Los Angeles, California and launching her acting career.
Roles in TV series
Doris’ debut TV series role was playing Operator in the 1951 episode “Act of God Notwithstanding” of the drama “Starlight Theatre”, and the remainder of the ‘50s saw her appear in an episode of the drama “Studio One”, the mystery thriller “Suspense”, and the crime drama “Brenner”.
She appeared in an episode or two of only a couple of series in the ‘60s, such as the crime drama “Naked Thriller”, another crime drama “The Defenders” and the drama “The Doctors and the Nurses”.
What marked the ‘70s for Doris was perhaps portraying Theresa Falco, one of the lead characters in all 36 episodes of the comedy “Angie”, which was created by Garry Marshall, and also starred Robert Hays and Donna Pescow. It follows middle-class an American-Italian woman who’s married a wealthy man, and the series was nominated for two awards.
I guest starred 3x on "The Love Boat," and last year I attended a Love Boat Reunion on the Regal Princess! pic.twitter.com/HdxMFoGP7e
— Doris Roberts (@doris_roberts) November 25, 2015
Doris guest starred in a number of series in the ‘80s, including the romantic comedy “The Love Boat”, the adventure family comedy “Faerie Tale Theatre”, and the family comedy “Mr. Belvedere”.
In 1993, she portrayed Doris Greenblatt in all six episodes of the comedy “The Boys”, which starred Christopher Meloni and Ned Beatty, and was created by Dan O’Shannon; it follows an author as he’s working on a sequel to his best-selling book. The remainder of the decade saw Doris appear in an episode of the crime mystery “Murder, She Wrote”, the action crime adventure “Walker, Texas Ranger”, and the crime mystery “Burke’s Law”.
She spent the 2000s focused on shooting for “Everybody Loves Raymond”, and thus appeared in only a couple of other series, such as the family fantasy “Touched by an Angel”, the family comedy “Lizzie McGuire”, and the crime mystery “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”.
Doris’ three final TV series roles were in three episodes of the 2014 comedy “The 4 to 9ers: The Day Crew”, three episodes of the 2014 romantic comedy “Melissa & Joey”, and the 2014 episode “Freshy’s” of the comedy “The Birthday Boys”.
Roles in movies
Doris’ debut film role was playing Mary Ann’s Co-Worker in the 1961 drama “Something Wild”, and some of her following roles were in the 1964 family comedy “Dear Heart”, and in 1967 the romantic comedy “Barefoot in the Park” and the comedy “Divorce American Style”.
In 1971, she portrayed Mrs Traggert in the romantic comedy “A New Leaf”, which starred Elaine May and Walter Matthau, and was also written and directed by Elaine. It follows playboy Henry Graham who’s just been informed by his lawyer that he’s spent all of his money, while he’s thus decided to marry a wealthy woman and then kill her; the film won one of its four award nominations. Some of Doris’ notable performances in the remainder of the ‘70s were in the 1972 romantic comedy “The Heartbreak Kid”, the 1975 romantic drama “Hester Street”, and the 1978 historical drama “Ruby and Oswald”.
Doris appeared in a couple of films in the ‘80s – the most popular amongst these was perhaps the 1989 comedy “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”, which starred Beverly D’Angelo and Chevy Chase, and was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. It follows the Griswold family as they’re preparing for Christmas.
Some of Doris’ roles in the ‘90s were in the 1992 romantic comedy “Used People”, the 1993 romantic comedy “The Night We Never Met”, and the 2000 romantic comedy “One True Love”.
In 2006, she portrayed Rose Fiedler in the comedy “Grandma’s Boy”, directed by Nicholaus Goossen, and which starred Allen Covert and Linda Cardellini. It follows the life of a 35 years old video game tester; the movie was nominated for a single award.
Some of Doris’ final film roles were in the crime mystery “The Red Maple Leaf”, the drama “JOB’s Daughter”, and the short comedy “The Escort”, all released in 2016.
Other credits
Doris directed the 1980 episode “Angie and Joyce Go to Jail” of the comedy series “Angie”.
She received special thanks for the 2016 short documentary movie “Orphans in the Storm”.
Some of Doris’ final talk-show appearances were in “What’s Up Orange County”, “Cinerockom” and “Eye on Entertainment”.
Awards and nominations
Doris won 15 of her 37 award nominations, including four Primetime Emmy wins for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, all for her performance in “Everybody Loves Raymond”.
Some of her other wins included three Viewers for Quality Television Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Comedy Series in 1998, 1999 and 2000, a 2001 TV Guide Award for Supporting Actress of the Year in a Comedy Series and a 2003 Golden Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, all for her performance in “Everybody Loves Raymond”.
Doris was honored with her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 10 February 2003.
Love life and marriages
Doris was married twice. Her first husband was non-celebrity American Michael Emilio Cannata; they married in 1956, and Doris gave birth to their son Michael on 18 March 1957. Doris and Michael’s divorce was finalized in 1962.
Her second husband was the late American screenwriter William Goyen; they exchanged vows on 10 November 1963, but the marriage ended when William died from leukemia on 30 August 1983.
Doris didn’t speak about the men whom she perhaps dated after William’s death; she was single at the time of her passing, had been married twice, and had a son with her first husband Michael Emilio Cannata.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Doris was a huge lover of animals and was an animal rights activist, often working with the animal rights group United Activists for Animal Rights.
One of her best friends was American actor, screenwriter and producer Ray Romano, who starred in the series “Everybody Loves Raymond”.
Doris was encouraged by American actress and producer Lily Tomlin to pursue a career in the film industry.
Some of her favorite hobbies were cooking, collecting wine and travelling.
Doris’ favorite movie was the 1939 romantic war drama “Gone with the Wind”, which won 22 of its 34 award nominations, including eight Oscar wins.
She was a philanthropist, and was active in the charity organization Children Affected by AIDS Foundation.
Height, eyes and wealth
Doris would’ve been 97 today. She had brown eyes and blonde hair, was 5ft 1in (1.55m) tall and weighed around 110lbs (49kgs).
Doris’ net worth at the time of her passing was estimated at over $14 million.
