Who was Tony Roberts? Stage actor also known for starring in Woody Allen movies dies at 85

Tony Award-nominated stage and film actor, Tony Roberts, best known for his work in Woody Allen Films died at 85 on February 7. His daughter confirmed his death to The New York Times and revealed that he died of complications from lung cancer at his home in Manhattan.

Roberts appeared in six Woody Allen movies including, Play It Again, Sam, Annie Hall, Stardust Memories, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Radio Days.

The actor was also known for his work on Broadway for which he won two Tony nominations for Best Actor in a Musical in 1968 and featured actor in a play in 1969.

His most recent work was the 2017 television film adaptation of Dirty Dancing.

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Tony Roberts' Career Explored

Tony Roberts was born in Manhattan, New York City to a radio announcer and animator in a Jewish family. Roberts went on to attend the High School of Music & Art and Northwestern University where he made his Broadway debut in 1962 with Something About a Soldier.

In 1965, Roberts replaced Robert Redford in Neil Simon's hit comedy Barefoot in the Park. He also went on to replace Robert Klein in They're Playing Out Song (1979) and in The Sisters Rosensweig (1994).

Before he went on to work with Woody Allen, Tony made his film debut with Disney's The Million Dollar Duck in 1971. His first movie with Woody Allen was the comedy, Play It Again, Sam in 1972 where he played the role of a businessman who had had "the foresight to buy Polaroid at 8 1/2" but forgets to notice his wife.

While speaking to The Chicago Sun-Times in 2015, Roberts noted that he wanted to be an actor since he was a child:

"The desire to hold the center of the stage or command the room shows up in people when they're 8 or 9."

Other than his work in film and Broadway, Tony had also made appearances on television in radio. He appeared in numerous series including The Edge of Night, The Carol Burnet Show, Matlock, Law & Order, Rosetti and Ryan, The Love Boat, and The Thorns. Tony was a regular performer on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

Tony Roberts' last Broadway appearance was in 2009 in The Royal Family where he played Oscar Wolfe and his last screen role was as Max Kellerman in a television movie version of Dirty Dancing in 2017.