Roberta Collins

{{Infobox person

| image =

| name = Roberta Collins

| birth_date = {{birth date|1944|11|17}}

| birth_place = Alhambra, California, U.S.

| birthname = Roberta Lee Hefley

| death_date = {{death date and age|2008|8|16|1944|11|17}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| yearsactive = 1969–1986

| occupation = Actress}}

Roberta Collins (born Roberta Lee Hefley, November 17, 1944 – August 16, 2008){{cite web|url=http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=CUG19&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&gss=angs-c&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=Roberta%20&gsfn_x=0&gsln=Collins&gsln_x=0&msbdy=1944&msbpn__ftp=Los%20Angeles%20County,%20California,%20USA&msbpn=1813&msbpn_PInfo=7-%7C0%7C1652393%7C0%7C2%7C0%7C7%7C0%7C1813%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C&MSAV=1&uidh=57k&pcat=34&h=83168138&recoff=11%2012&dbid=3693&indiv=1&ml_rpos=1|title=Ancestry Library Edition|website=Search.ancestrylibrary.com|accessdate=2016-12-29}}{{irrelevant citation|date=May 2025|reason=link just goes to ancestry home page;source should not be used on wikipedia anyway}} was a film and television actress who was known for her attractive physique, blonde, curly hair, and Marilyn Monroe appearance. She starred in many exploitation films, including the prostitute Clara in Tobe Hooper's Eaten Alive and Matilda the Hun in the science-fiction film Death Race 2000.

Jack Hill, who directed her in The Big Doll House, said of her, "I think she could have had a great career, but she couldn't get her personal life together ... she would be fantastic one day, do everything right, and then she would be out until 4 am partying and the next day she would be useless."Callum Waddell, Jack Hill, MacFarland (2009), pg. 151

Career

Collins was signed to a contract with a studio almost immediately after graduation from high school. Her option was not picked up, though, something that was repeated with another studio, "so that made me want to study and become a good actress," she later said.{{cite news|author=Lane, Lydia|title=BEAUTY: Olive Oil for Natural Facial|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-roberta-collins/130700997/|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 28, 1976|page=f4}}

In 1969, she was appointed queen of the Warner Bros-Seven Arts International Film Festival in Freeport, Grand Bahamas Island.{{cite news|title=Roberta Collins Queen of Festival|work= Los Angeles Times|date=May 8, 1969|page=f17}} She appeared in The Big Doll House. This led to a series of roles in exploitation films. She worked in a number of non-exploitation roles, as well, notably on television. One notable non-exploitation movie role Collins played was 1930s movie actress Jean Harlow in the 1975 pop musical Train Ride to Hollywood, starring the R&B band Bloodstone. In that movie, Bloodstone singer Harry Williams has a dream of being on a Los Angeles-bound train with his bandmates and several iconic actors and characters from Hollywood's early Golden Age.{{cite news |last1=Szebin |first1=Frederick C.|title=Roberta Collins:'Caged Heat'! Diary of a Drive-In Diva:Partyin' and Bustin'-Out with Pam Grier|url= https://archive.org/details/Femme_Fatales_v07n05/page/n45/mode/1up|accessdate=August 26, 2023 |work=Femme Fatales|publisher=King Features Syndicate, Inc. |date=October 1998 |location=Baltimore, Maryland |page=46}}

In the early 1970s, Collins attended an event with Glenn Ford.{{cite news|title=Henry Berger, Chef, Take Turns Noting Year of Rat|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/130701818/|author=Jacobs, Jody|work=Los Angeles Times|date=February 23, 1972}} In the early 1990s, she reportedly worked as a caregiver for Ford.Peter Ford, Glenn Ford: A Life, pg. 300

Death

Collins died August 16, 2008, from a reportedly accidental overdose of a cocktail of drugs and alcohol.{{Where|date=December 2016}}Lentz, Harris, I, II (2008, 12). [https://www.proquest.com/docview/2143543 Obituaries: Roberta Collins], 64 – August 16, 2008.{{Circular reference|date=May 2025}} Her son predeceased her.{{Cite web|url=http://www.elijahdrenner.com/2015/01/roommates-wanted/|title=Roommates Wanted | Elijah Drenner |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108001816/http://www.elijahdrenner.com/2015/01/roommates-wanted/ |archive-date=8 January 2017 |access-date=31 May 2025}} She is buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills).{{Cite web|url=https://sgo.forestlawn.com/?search=1&sradio=grave&fname=Roberta&slast=Collins-Harper#sgo_results|title=Forest Lawn's grave listing for Roberta Collins-Harper}}

Legacy

In 2014, a tribute to Collins was part of the St. Louis International Film Festival. Caged Heat was screened a concert was held where Stace England and the Screen Syndicate played an album of songs inspired by Roberta Collins.{{cite web|author=Tom Stockman |url=http://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2014/11/sliff-interview-stace-england/ |title=SLIFF Interview: Stace England of Screen Syndicate – A Tribute to Roberta Collins |publisher=We Are Movie Geeks |date=2014-11-19 |accessdate=2016-12-29}}{{cite web|author=Tom Stockman |url=http://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2014/10/sliff-2014-roberta-collins-tribute-screening-caged-heat-live-music-november-22nd/ |title=SLIFF 2014 – Roberta Collins Tribute with Screening of CAGED HEAT & Live Music November 22nd |publisher=We Are Movie Geeks |date=2014-10-26 |accessdate=2016-12-29}} Stace England and the Screen Syndicate released the album, Roberta Stars in the Big Doll House, in 2022, and the LP was made available as a YouTube playlist and on streaming sites. {{Cite web|url=https://www.staceengland.com/listenbuy|title=StaceEngland.com}}

In 1998, ten years before her death, Collins said that she hoped to play a role in a mainstream movie and put her B-movie-queen reputation behind. “I’d like to play a real woman who has many colors. She’s not just this way at this time and that way at another. She is, above all, feminine. She’s approachable, funny, serious, curious, dominant, submissive all at the same time," she said, adding, "As far as acting, I want to do something that makes a statement.”{{cite news |last1=Szebin |first1=Frederick C.|title=Roberta Collins:'Caged Heat'! Diary of a Drive-In Diva:Partyin' and Bustin'-Out with Pam Grier|url= https://archive.org/details/Femme_Fatales_v07n05/page/n45/mode/1up|accessdate=November 18, 2023 |work=Femme Fatales|publisher=King Features Syndicate, Inc. |date=October 1998 |location=Baltimore, Maryland |page=47}}

Partial filmography

Lord Love a Duck (1966) – Brunette high school classmate (uncredited)
Adam-12 (1969, TV Series, episode "Log 153: Find Me a Needle") – Sally
Here Come the Brides (1970, TV Series, episode "Pat's Girl") – Pat's girl
The Bob Hope Specials (1970)
The Big Doll House (1971) – Alcott
Women in Cages (1971) – Stoke
Cade's County (1971, TV Series, episode "Requiem for Miss Madrid") – Karen Malloy
Minnie and Moskowitz (1971) – Countergirl at Pink's Hot Dogs (uncredited)
Sweet Kill (1972) – Call girl
Unholy Rollers (1972) – Jennifer
The Roommates (1973) – Beth
Wonder Women (1973) – Laura
The Last Porno Flick (1974)
Caged Heat (1974) – Belle Tyson
Three the Hard Way (1974) – Lait's secretary
Movin' On (1974, TV series, episode "The Time of His Life") – Lucille
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974, TV series, episode "The Ripper") – Det. Cortazzo
The Rockford Files (1974, TV Series, episode "Exit Prentiss Carr") – Nancy Hellman
Alias Big Cherry (1975)
Death Race 2000 (1975) – Matilda the Hun
Train Ride to Hollywood (1975) – Jean Harlow
The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976) – Clarissa
Eaten Alive (1976) – Clara
Whiskey Mountain (1977) – Diana
Speedtrap (1977) – Ms. Hastings, student driver
79 Park Avenue (1977, TV Mini-Series) – Lola
Matilda (1978) – Tanya Six
B. J. and the Bear (1979, episode "Shine On") – Ellen Smith
Saturday the 14th (1981) – Cousin Rhonda
Death Wish II (1982) – Woman at party
Hardbodies (1984) – Lana
School Spirit (1985) – Helen Grimshaw
Hardbodies 2 (1986) – Lana Logan
Vendetta (1986) – Miss Dice (final film role)