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== Career ==
== Career ==
Roberts went to Hollywood in 1933 and between then and 1946, she appeared in nearly 60 films. From 1938 she worked exclusively at [[Universal Pictures]] through special arrangement with [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. Author Charles Higham explains that MGM studio chief [[Louis B. Mayer]] "had noticed her when she appeared as a guest in a party scene in ''[[San Francisco (1936 film)|San Francisco]]''; soon afterward, he began dating her. He fell in love with her; for years, she was the love of his life. She shared with him a passion for operettas and Viennese waltzes; she was an accomplished pianist, which, of course, appealed to him. Mayer insisted on keeping her under contract, loaning her out for picture after picture ... He had an under-the-table arrangement with Universal to have her placed on semipermanent loan-out, and for the next 10 years she appeared in Universal films as maids, nurses, or secretaries."<ref>Charles Higham, ''Merchant of Dreams'', Dutton, 1993, p. 276.</ref> Her most notable role was that of Queen Azura in ''[[Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars]]'', a 1938 serial for Universal.<ref name="nytimes-bio"/>
Roberts went to Hollywood in 1933 and between then and 1949, she appeared in nearly 60 films. From 1938 she worked exclusively at [[Universal Pictures]] through special arrangement with [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. Author Charles Higham explains that MGM studio chief [[Louis B. Mayer]] "had noticed her when she appeared as a guest in a party scene in ''[[San Francisco (1936 film)|San Francisco]]''; soon afterward, he began dating her. He fell in love with her; for years, she was the love of his life. She shared with him a passion for operettas and Viennese waltzes; she was an accomplished pianist, which, of course, appealed to him. Mayer insisted on keeping her under contract, loaning her out for picture after picture ... He had an under-the-table arrangement with Universal to have her placed on semipermanent loan-out, and for the next 10 years she appeared in Universal films as maids, nurses, or secretaries."<ref>Charles Higham, ''Merchant of Dreams'', Dutton, 1993, p. 276.</ref> Her most notable role was that of Queen Azura in ''[[Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars]]'', a 1938 serial for Universal.<ref name="nytimes-bio"/>


== Personal life ==
== Personal life ==

Latest revision as of 18:10, 30 June 2024

Beatrice Roberts
Roberts in Park Avenue Logger (1937)
Born
Alice Beatrice Roberts

(1905-03-07)March 7, 1905
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
DiedJuly 24, 1970(1970-07-24) (aged 65)
Plymouth, Massachusetts, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1933–1949
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1919; div. 1926)​
Robert A. Dillon
​
​
(m. 1928; ann. 1933)​
  • John Wesley Smith
    (m. 1940; div. 19??)

Alice Beatrice Roberts (March 7, 1905 – July 24, 1970) was an American film actress.[1]

Early years

[edit]

Roberts was born on March 7, 1905, in New York City.[1] She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Colin M. Roberts, and she attended Winthrop High School.[2]

She entered several beauty pageants, including the 1924 and 1925 Miss America pageants in Atlantic City, New Jersey (as Miss Manhattan, 1924, and Miss Greater New York, 1925). She won the "Most Beautiful Girl in Evening Gown" award each time.[1]

Career

[edit]

Roberts went to Hollywood in 1933 and between then and 1949, she appeared in nearly 60 films. From 1938 she worked exclusively at Universal Pictures through special arrangement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Author Charles Higham explains that MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer "had noticed her when she appeared as a guest in a party scene in San Francisco; soon afterward, he began dating her. He fell in love with her; for years, she was the love of his life. She shared with him a passion for operettas and Viennese waltzes; she was an accomplished pianist, which, of course, appealed to him. Mayer insisted on keeping her under contract, loaning her out for picture after picture ... He had an under-the-table arrangement with Universal to have her placed on semipermanent loan-out, and for the next 10 years she appeared in Universal films as maids, nurses, or secretaries."[3] Her most notable role was that of Queen Azura in Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars, a 1938 serial for Universal.[1]

Personal life

[edit]

On October 31, 1919, Roberts married Robert Ripley, owner of Ripley's Believe It or Not. Their marriage was "a union that only lasted three months, but which wasn't dissolved officially until 1926."[4] She married Robert A. Dillon in Tijuana, Mexico, on May 17, 1928. That marriage was annulled on September 8, 1933, because Dillon was a bigamist, having had another wife at the time of his marriage to Roberts.[5] In 1940, Roberts married John Wesley Smith.[citation needed]

Death

[edit]

Roberts died in Plymouth, Massachusetts, from pneumonia, aged 65.[citation needed]

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Eder, Bruce (2014). "Beatrice Roberts". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 16, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  2. ^ Hardy, William N. (November 26, 1916). "Prize Beauty's Family Curse". The Boston Post. Massachusetts, Boston. p. 44. Retrieved May 18, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ Charles Higham, Merchant of Dreams, Dutton, 1993, p. 276.
  4. ^ "Beatrice Roberts". AllMovie. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  5. ^ "Movie Shorts". Clinton Daily Journal and Public. Illinois, Clinton. United Press. September 9, 1933. p. 2. Retrieved October 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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