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Tanya Roberts

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Tanya Roberts
Roberts, c. 1985
Born
Victoria Leigh Blum

(1955-10-15)October 15, 1955
New York City, U.S.
DiedJanuary 4, 2021(2021-01-04) (aged 65)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • producer
  • model
Years active1975–2005
Spouse
Barry Roberts
​
​
(m. 1974; died 2006)​
PartnerLance O'Brien (?–2021)

Victoria Leigh Blum (October 15, 1955 – January 4, 2021), known professionally as Tanya Roberts, was an American actress, producer, and model. She is best known for playing Julie Rogers in the final season of the 1970s television series Charlie's Angels, Stacey Sutton in the James Bond film A View to a Kill, Sheena in Sheena, Kiri in The Beastmaster and as Midge Pinciotti on That '70s Show from 1998 to 2004.

Early life

Roberts was born Victoria Leigh Blum in 1955 in the Bronx, New York City, to Oscar Blum and his wife Dorothy (née Smith).[1] Her father was of Irish descent and her mother was Jewish.[2] She had one older sister, Barbara.[3] Oscar Blum supported the family on a modest income, working as a fountain pen salesman in Manhattan.[4][5] The sisters were raised in the central Bronx.[6]

She relocated from New York with her mother to live in Mississauga, Ontario, for several years, where she started forming a photo portfolio and laying plans for a modeling career. At age 15, she left high school and lived for a while hitchhiking across the United States. She eventually returned to New York City and became a fashion and cover model. After meeting psychology student Barry Roberts (while waiting in line for a movie), she proposed to him in a subway station and they were soon married.[5] While Barry pursued a career as a screenwriter, she began to study at the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen under the name Tanya Roberts.[7]

Career

1970s: Early career and Charlie's Angels

Roberts began her career as a model in TV ads for Excedrin, Ultra Brite, Clairol, and Cool Ray sunglasses.[4] She played serious roles in the off-Broadway productions Picnic and Antigone.[7] She also supported herself as an Arthur Murray dance instructor. Her film debut was the horror film Forced Entry (1975).[8][9] This was followed by the comedy film The Yum-Yum Girls (1976)[9] and The Last Victim (1976).[4] In 1977, as her husband was securing his own screenwriting career, the couple moved to Hollywood. There she was cast in The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977)[1] and the following year, participated in the drama Fingers.[9] In 1979 Roberts appeared in the cult movie Tourist Trap,[10] Racquet,[8][9] and California Dreaming.[9] Roberts was featured in several television pilots which were not picked up: Zuma Beach (a 1978 comedy),[9] Pleasure Cove (1979),[7] and Waikiki (1980).[7]

In the summer of 1980, Roberts was chosen from some 2,000 candidates to replace Shelley Hack in the fifth season of the detective television series Charlie's Angels.[4][8] Roberts played Julie Rogers, a streetwise fighter who used her fists more than her gun. Producers hoped Roberts's presence would revitalize the series's declining ratings and regenerate media interest in the series. Before the season's premiere, Roberts was featured on the cover of People magazine with a headline asking if Roberts would be able to save the declining series from cancellation.[11] Despite the hype of Roberts's debut in November 1980, the series continually drew dismal ratings and was cancelled in June 1981.[12]

1982–84: B-movies

Stacy Keach and Tanya Roberts in 1983

Roberts played Kiri, a slave rescued by protagonist Dar (Marc Singer) in the adventure fantasy film The Beastmaster (1982),[4][7] which became a cult film.[2][8][9][10] She was featured in a nude pictorial in Playboy to help promote the movie,[1] appearing on that issue's October 1982 cover.[7] In 1983, Roberts filmed the Italian-made adventure fantasy film Hearts and Armour[13] (also known as Paladini-storia d'armi e d'amori and Paladins — The Story of Love and Arms), based on the medieval novel Orlando Furioso.

She portrayed Velda, the secretary to private detective Mike Hammer, in the television movie Murder Me, Murder You (1983),[4][14] based on crime novelist Mickey Spillane's iconic Mike Hammer private detective series. The two-part pilot spawned the syndicated television series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer.[14] She declined to continue the role in the Mike Hammer series to work on her next project, the 1984 fantasy movie Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, in which she played the main character.[4][8][10][2][9][7] The movie was a box-office failure, and garnered her a nomination for "Worst Actress" at the Razzie Awards.[15] The critic Pauline Kael, in a more-balanced review for the The New Yorker, describes her as having "a staring, comic-book opaqueness. ... She's a walking, talking icon".[1]

1985–2005: A View to a Kill and That '70s Show

Roberts appeared as Bond girl, geologist Stacey Sutton, in A View to a Kill (1985) with Roger Moore;[4][8] the first choice for the role was Priscilla Presley.[1] In the wake of this performance, Roberts was nominated for a second Razzie Award.[16] Roberts's other 1980s films include Night Eyes, an erotic thriller;[8][9] Body Slam (1987), an action movie set in the professional wrestling world (another cult favorite);[8][9] and Purgatory, a movie about a woman wrongfully imprisoned in Africa.[9] Roberts starred in the erotic thriller Inner Sanctum (1991) alongside Margaux Hemingway.[9][17] In 1992, she played Kay Egan in Sins of Desire.[4][9] She appeared on the cable series Hot Line in 1995, and in the video game The Pandora Directive in 1996.[9]

In 1998, Roberts took the role of Midge Pinciotti on the television sitcom That '70s Show.[8][10][9] In her obituary in The Guardian, Ryan Gilbey praises "[h]er knowing performance" in this role, "slow on the uptake but growing dissatisfied with her life as a housewife".[1] She left the series after the 3rd season in 2001, because her husband had become terminally ill,[1] returning for a few special guest appearances in the 6th and 7th seasons in 2004. She retired from acting in 2005.[citation needed]

Personal life

Roberts was married to Barry Roberts from 1974 until his death in 2006.[18] They had no children.[19] Roberts lived in Hollywood Hills, California.[19] Some time after his death, she became the partner of Lance O'Brien.[1] Her sister, Barbara Chase, was married to Timothy Leary.[4]

Roberts wrote the foreword to the book The Q Guide to Charlie's Angels (2008).[20] She was described by her publicist as an animal rights activist.[21] During the COVID-19 pandemic, she maintained an active social media presence by hosting video chats on Facebook and Zoom.[22]

Death

On December 24, 2020, Roberts fell out of bed and could not get up, following intestinal pain and breathing difficulties that began on a hike the day before.[23] She was taken to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and was later placed on a ventilator.[24][8][10] It was initially reported that Roberts died on January 3, 2021,[25] after her partner, Lance O'Brien, told her manager that he had visited her in the hospital and "said goodbye".[26] O'Brien later clarified that this was an end-of-life visit; he had not been permitted to see her during her hospitalization due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but was invited to return when Roberts was taken off life support.[23] She was critically ill from a urinary tract infection that entered her organs and bloodstream, leading to a blood infection made worse due to Roberts's history of hepatitis C.[26][23] After the premature reports, O'Brien was informed by the hospital that she died in the evening of January 4, and confirmed this to the media on January 5.[26][4][27]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Refs
1975 Forced Entry Nancy Ulman [4][8][9][28]
1976 The Yum Yum Girls April [9]
1977 The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover Stewardess [9]
1978 Fingers Julie [9]
1979 Tourist Trap Becky [10][29]
1979 California Dreaming Stephanie [9]
1979 Racquet Bambi [8][9]
1982 The Beastmaster Kiri [4]
1983 Hearts and Armour Angelica (Isabella) [13][29]
1984 Sheena Sheena [4]
1985 A View to a Kill Stacey Sutton [4]
1986 Body Slam Candace Vandervagen [8][9][29]
1988 Purgatory Carly Arnold [9][29]
1990 Twisted Justice Secretary [9][29]
1990 Night Eyes Nikki Walker [8][9][29]
1991 Inner Sanctum Lynn Foster [9][29]
1991 Legal Tender Rikki Rennick [9][29]
1992 Almost Pregnant Linda Alderson Video [9][30]
1993 Sins of Desire Kay Egan [4][9]
1994 Deep Down Charlotte [29]

Television

Year Title Role Notes Refs
1978 Zuma Beach Denise TV movie [9]
1979 Pleasure Cove Sally TV movie [7]
1980 Vega$ Officer Britt Blackwell Episode: "Golden Gate Cop Killer: Parts 1 & 2"
(Backdoor pilot for unproduced series Ladies in Blue) 		[31]
1980 Waikiki Carol TV movie [7]
1980–1981 Charlie's Angels Julie Rogers Main role (season 5) [4][8][7]
1982 The Love Boat Diane Dayton Episode: "Green, But Not Jolly/Past Perfect Love/Instant Family" [32]
1982 Fantasy Island Amanda Parsons Episode: "The Ghost's Story" [8][10]
1983 Murder Me, Murder You Velda TV movie [4][14]
1993 Greatest Heroes of the Bible Bashemath Episode: "Jacob's Challenge" [9]
1994 Burke's Law Julie Reardon Episode: "Who Killed Nick Hazard?" [33][34]
1994–1996 Hot Line Rebecca Main role [35]
1995 Favorite Deadly Sins Herself TV movie [36]
1995 Silk Stalkings Callie Callahan Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part" [10]
1997 The Blues Brothers Animated Series Toni G. Voice role
Recurring role 		[37][38]
1997 High Tide Rhonda Fogel Episode: "Girl on the Run" [39][40]
1998 The Angry Beavers Marsha Voice role
Episode: "Same Time Last Week/Beaver Fever" 		[41]
1998–2004 That '70s Show Midge Pinciotti 81 episodes [8][9][10]
2002 Off Centre Gretchen Episode: "Mike & Liz & Chau & Jordan" [42]
2003 Fillmore! Author Voice role
Episode: "The Unseen Reflection" 		[43]
2005 Eve Rebecca Episode: "Kung Fu Divas" [44]
2005 Barbershop Ellie Palmer Episodes: "Family Business", "Debates and Dead People" [4][8][10]

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
1996 The Pandora Directive Regan Madsen Video game[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Ryan Gilbey (January 6, 2021). "Tanya Roberts obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Appelebaum, Elizabeth (June 12, 1988). "Charlie's Jewish Angel". The Detroit Jewish News.
  3. ^ Greenfield, Robert (2006). Timothy Leary: A Biography. Harcourt. p. 534. ISBN 978-0151005000.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Gates, Anita (January 5, 2021). "Tanya Roberts, a Charlie's Angel and a Bond Girl, Is Dead at 65". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Lague, Louise (September 10, 1984). "Critics Call Her Sheena, Shame of the Jungle, but Tanya Roberts Won't Take It Lying Down". People. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  6. ^ "Profile at". Filmreference.com. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Toone, Stephanie (January 3, 2021). 'That '70s Show' star, Bond Girl Tanya Roberts dies at age 65. p. 1715. {{cite book}}: |newspaper= ignored (help)
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rahman, Abid; Nordyke, Kimberly (January 3, 2021). "Tanya Roberts, Bond Girl and 'That '70's Show' Star, Dies at 65". The Hollywood Reporter.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag "Tanya Roberts". British Film Institute. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Caruso, Nick (January 3, 2021). "Tanya Roberts, That '70s Show and Charlie's Angels Actress" – via Yahoo!.
  11. ^ Collins, Max Allan (May 4, 2012). Mickey Spillane on Screen: A Complete Study of the Television and Film Adaptations. McFarland & Company. p. 184. ISBN 978-0786465781.
  12. ^ Reilly, Sue (February 9, 1981). "Is the Jiggle Up?". People. Archived from the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2015. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; July 11, 2020 suggested (help)
  13. ^ a b "Tanya Roberts' publicist retracts report that said actor had died". The Guardian. January 4, 2021. The former Bond girl was mistakenly reported dead after being hospitalised following a fall at her home
  14. ^ a b c Bullard, Benjamin (January 3, 2021). "Tanya Roberts James Bond and That 70's Show Actor Passes Away at 65". syfy.com.
  15. ^ Vagg, Stephen (November 17, 2020). "John Guillermin: Action Man". Filmink.
  16. ^ "Tanya Roberts profile". Superiorpics.com. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  17. ^ "Tanya Roberts: Bond girl and Charlie's Angel still alive, agent says". BBC. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  18. ^ "After Retracting Premature Report of Her Death, Publicist Now Says Actress Tanya Roberts Has Died". NBC Boston. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  19. ^ a b "Tanya Roberts Gets Back to Nature in Her Beautiful Hollywood Hills Home". Closer Weekly. March 8, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  20. ^ Hernandez, Greg (July 1, 2008). "New "Charlie's Angels" book offer a fun "gay" look at the 70s detective series…". Los Angeles Daily News, Out in Hollywood. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  21. ^ Ryder, Taryn (January 6, 2021). "Yahoo Celebrity: Tanya Roberts's cause of death revealed as her partner speaks out". Yahoo! Entertainment.
  22. ^ Blistein, Jon (January 4, 2021). "Tanya Roberts, Star of Bond Film 'A View to Kill' and 'That '70s Show,' Dead at 65". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021.(subscription required)
  23. ^ a b c Byrne, Suzy (January 5, 2021). "Tanya Roberts has died after early, inaccurate death announcement: reports". Yahoo!. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  24. ^ "Tanya Roberts, star of That '70s Show, dies aged 65". RTE. January 4, 2021.
  25. ^ "Actress Tanya Roberts dies hours after premature death announcement". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  26. ^ a b c McCarthy, Tyler (January 5, 2021). "Tanya Roberts is dead, partner says after premature death declaration". Fox News. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  27. ^ "'No single sign': Actor Tanya Roberts died from UTI that caused sepsis". NBC News. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  28. ^ "Tanya Roberts". TV Guide. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Tanya Roberts". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  30. ^ "Almost Pregnant (1991)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  31. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2019). Encyclopedia of Television Pilots: 2,470 Films Broadcast 1937-2019 (Second ed.). Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-4766-3810-2. OCLC 1138670436.
  32. ^ "The Love Boat series regulars and episode guide". Ultimate 70s. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  33. ^ "Burke's Law (1994): Who Killed Nick Hazard?". TV.com. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  34. ^ "Burke's Law - Season 1 Episode 3". Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  35. ^ "Hot Line". TV.com. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  36. ^ "Tanya Roberts Dead at 65 After Premature Announcement". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  37. ^ "Gigolo Jake (Film Roman Productions)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  38. ^ "True Lies (Film Roman Productions)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  39. ^ "Rick Springfield - High Tide - Girl on the Run". rickspringfield. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  40. ^ "High Tide: Girl On the Run". TV.com. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  41. ^ "Marsha". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  42. ^ "Tanya Roberts". TVGuide. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  43. ^ "Fillmore!: The Unseen Reflection". TVmaze. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  44. ^ "Eve: Kung Fu Divas". TV.com. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
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