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Remembering Doris Roberts: 1925-2016

By Jacintha Webster
Published on: 15:29 PST, Apr 18, 2016

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Doris Roberts died on Sunday night in Los Angeles at the age of 90, spokeswomen Janet Daily has confirmed.

Roberts, November 4, 1925 – April 17, is perhaps best known for playing Marie Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond. She held the position of Ray’s meddling mother from 1996 to 2005. Roberts went on to win four Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Marie. Tributes have flooded in on Twitter from her old cast members.

“We loved our mom, the great #DorisRoberts. A wonderful, funny, indelible actress and friend,” Phil Rosenthal, the show’s producer, posted on Twitter.

“She was funny and tough and loved life, living it to the fullest,” Patricia Heaton posted on Twitter.

Actor Ray Romano who played Ray and was the star of the show was said to be very close to Roberts. He released the following statement to People Magazine.

“Doris Roberts had an energy and a spirit that amazed me. She never stopped. Whether working professionally or with her many charities, or just nurturing and mentoring a young, green comic trying to make it as an actor, she did it all with such a grand love for life and people and I will miss her dearly.”

Roberts, 1925-2016, may be most recognized for her work on Everybody Loves Raymond, but she had a long acting career which began on Broadway in the 1950s and included film and television appearances according to the New York Times.

Doris Roberts 1925-2016

Stage

Roberts acted in Neil Simon’s The Last of the Red Hot Lovers and Terrence McNally’s Bad Habits. She went on to perform in The Desk Set and Unusual Acts of Devotion on the stage.

Television

Roberts’ television career began in 1952, at the age of 27, with a role on the TV series Studio One. She went on to appear in episodes of The Naked City, Way Out, Ben Casey, The Defenders, Remington Steele, Alice, Barney Miller, Step by Step, Full House, Soap, Our House, Grandma’s Boy, Law & Order Criminal Intent, Play the Game, Perfect Strangers, The Middle, The Sunset Gang, Lizzie McGuire, Mary Hartman, Angie, Maude and, of course, Everybody Loves Raymond.

Roberts played a supporting role in St. Elsewhere, which saw Roberts receive her first Emmy Award in 1983. She went on to win four more Emmys through Everybody Loves Raymond for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Books

True to her character on Everybody Loves Raymond, Roberts was an enthusiastic cook and penned the book Are You Hungry, Dear? Life, Laughs and Lasagna (2005).

Film

Roberts made her film debut in Something Wild (1961) and went on to act in: A Lovely Way to Die, No Way to Treat a Lady, The Honeymoon Killers, Such Good Friends, Little Murders, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The Rose, Ruby and Oswald,If It’s Tuesday, It Still Must Be Belgium, Aliens in the Attic and Madea’s Witness Protection.

In 2003, Roberts received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her great acting career. She also recived a Screen Actors Guild award.

Education

Aside from acting, Doris Roberts received an honorary doctorate of fine arts from the University of South Carolina and was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Charitable Work

Doris Roberts was an avid animal lover and an animal rights advocate who worked with the group Puppies Behind Bars. She also volunteered her time to the Children with AIDS Foundation, where she served as chairwoman.

Roberts also took to the stand and testified before a U.S. Congressional panel fighting against age discrimination, saying it is prevalent in Hollywood. She said the age discrimination is as widespread throughout Hollywood just as is gender and race discrimination.

Doris Roberts, 1925-2016, Personal Life and Death

Roberts was born in St Louis, Missouri, as Doris May Green. Her father deserted her and her mother, Ann Meltzer, at a young age. Meltzer raised Roberts on her own until she met and married Chester H. Roberts. Doris took her stepfather’s last name.

Roberts married twice; her first marriage to Michael Cannata ended in divorce in 1962. Her second marriage to William Goven ended when Goven died from leukemia.

Roberts leaves behind her only child, Michael Cannata, Jr., and three grandchildren Kelsey, Andrew, and Devon. According to the Inquisitr the family has not yet responded to news of Roberts’ death.

The cause of death of Doris Roberts in not yet known, but the actress had seemed healthy and active up until her death on Sunday.

[Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images]

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