Joan Roberts
{{short description|American actress (1917–2012)}}
{{Infobox person
|image=
|birthname = Josephine Rose Seagrist
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1917|7|15|mf=yes}}
|birth_place= New York City, New York, U.S.
|death_date={{Death date and age|2012|8|13|1917|7|15|mf=yes}}
|death_place=Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.
|occupation= Musical theatre, film and television actress}}
Joan Roberts (July 15, 1917 – August 13, 2012){{cite web|url=http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/08-2012/joan-roberts-original-laurey-in-oklahoma-has-died_60535.html|title=Joan Roberts, Original Laurey in Oklahoma!, Has Died|publisher=Theatermania.com|accessdate=2012-08-14}} was an American actress, most famous for creating the role of Laurey in the original Broadway production of Oklahoma! in 1943.
Early years
Roberts was born Josephine Rose Seagrist{{cite web|last1=Shepherd|first1=Melinda C.|title=Joan Roberts|url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Joan-Roberts|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|accessdate=14 August 2015}} in Manhattan, New York and was raised in Astoria, Queens. She first appeared on stage at age 6. She was active in dramatic productions as a student at St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan) High School and gained additional experience in summer stock productions.{{cite news|title=Joan Roberts of 'Oklahoma!' Violates a Few Traditions|newspaper=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3009875/the_brooklyn_daily_eagle/|agency=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|date=August 8, 1943|page=30|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = August 13, 2015}} {{Open access}} She studied singing with Estelle Liebling, the teacher of Beverly Sills, in her youth.{{cite work|title=Joan Roberts Dies at 95; Original 'Oklahoma!' Star|author=Margalit Fox|work=The New York Times|date= August 16, 2012|page=A15}}
Career
=Radio=
Roberts was a regular on The Texaco Summer Theater on CBS July 4 - December 5, 1943. The program was a summer replacement for The Fred Allen Show but was extended when Allen did not return as scheduled.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/onairencyclop00dunn |url-access=registration |quote=The Texaco Star Theater, a generic The Texaco Summer Theater Joan Roberts. |last=Dunning |first=John |authorlink=John Dunning (detective fiction author) |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/onairencyclop00dunn/page/n681 658] |edition=Revised |accessdate=2019-11-01}}
=Stage=
Sunny River was Roberts' first Broadway production. She played Madeleine Caresse December 4, 1941 - January 3, 1942.{{cite web|title=Joan Roberts|url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/113931/Joan-Roberts|website=Playbill Vault|accessdate=14 August 2015}} Later in 1942 she played in Hit the Deck with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera.
Roberts initially auditioned for the role of Ado Annie in the original Broadway production of Oklahoma! (which eventually went to Celeste Holm), but the show's librettist Oscar Hammerstein cast her as the female lead, Laurey. At the time of her death she was one of four surviving cast members of the original 1943 opening night production of Oklahoma! and the only one who played a principal role (Celeste Holm died several weeks earlier), along with George S. Irving, Marc Platt, and Bambi Linn. Roberts subsequently starred as Sara Longstreet on Broadway in the musical High Button Shoes.
In addition to her work as an actress, Roberts taught voice lessons and presented workshops on singing and voice projection.{{cite work|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/joan-roberts-the-soprano-who-gave-voice-to-laurey-in-oklahoma-dead-at-95-com-196662|title=Joan Roberts, the Soprano Who Gave Voice to Laurey in Oklahoma!, Dead at 95|work=Playbill|author=Kenneth Jones|date=August 14, 2012}} In 2011 the University of North Carolina's School of the Arts mounted a production of Oklahoma! that replicated the original Broadway staging of the show. Roberts and Celeste Holm both attended that production and were present at an event honoring the two actresses.
She was in retirement for many years on Long Island, New York, when she appeared as Heidi Schiller in the 2001 Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Follies. Over the years she was seen in documentaries about Oscar Hammerstein II, George Abbott and in the film Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There.
=Television=
On December 19, 1966, Roberts appeared in a production of Jack and the Beanstalk on CBS-TV.{{cite news|title=Jack and Beanstalk Monday, Dec. 19 With Joan Roberts|newspaper=The North Adams Transcript |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3009768/the_north_adams_transcript/|agency=The North Adams Transcript|date=December 17, 1966|page=18|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = August 13, 2015}} {{Open access}}
In 1977 on the Series Emergency! S6 E15 “Breakdown”, she made an appearance as Jane.
Personal life
Roberts was married to Dr. John J. Donlon,{{cite news|last1=Roe|first1=Dorothy|title=Fan Clubs Put Singer Over Says Joan Roberts Of "Oklahoma" Fame|newspaper=The Daily Mail |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3009716/the_daily_mail/|agency=The Daily Mail|date=July 7, 1954|page=10|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = August 13, 2015}} {{Open access}} who died in 1965.{{cite news|last1=McLellan|first1=Dennis|title=Joan Roberts dies at 95; female lead in original 'Oklahoma!'|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-xpm-2012-aug-16-la-me-joan-roberts-20120816-story.html|access-date=14 August 2015|agency=Los Angeles Times|date=August 16, 2012}} They had a son, John J. Donlon, Jr.
Death
On August 13, 2012, Roberts died of congestive heart failure, aged 95, according to her son.{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Kenneth|title=Joan Roberts, the Soprano Who Gave Voice to Laurey in Oklahoma!, Dead at 95|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/169081-Joan-Roberts-the-Soprano-Who-Gave-Voice-to-Laurey-in-Oklahoma-Dead-at-95|publisher=PlayBill.com|accessdate=August 15, 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026124454/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/169081-Joan-Roberts-the-Soprano-Who-Gave-Voice-to-Laurey-in-Oklahoma-Dead-at-95|archivedate=October 26, 2012}}
Celeste Holm, who played Ado Annie in the same original production of Oklahoma!, had died only a month before, also at age 95.
Stage
- Sunny River - 1941-1942
- Oklahoma! - 1943-1945
- Marinka - 1945
- Are You with It? (musical) - 1945-1946
- High Button Shoes - 1947-1949 (preceded by Nanette Fabray)
- Follies - 2001
Film
- The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951)
- Lovely to Look at (1952)
Partial discography
Book
- Never Alone by Joan Roberts (McMullen Books Inc., 1954){{cite book|title=Never Alone|url=https://www.amazon.com/Never-Alone-Joan-Roberts/dp/B000P0O4PW|via=Amazon|date=January 1954 |accessdate=14 August 2015}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|731244}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{Playbill person}}
- [http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15498019~S1 Joan Roberts Papers, 1966-1993], held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Joan}}
Category:American film actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:American musical theatre actresses