Tony Roberts, the stage and screen actor who starred in several Woody Allen productions, has died. He was 85. Roberts passed away on Friday, February 7, while at his home in New York City, New York, according to his daughter, Nicole Burley. He died of complications from lung cancer, Burley told The New York Times.
Roberts had an extensive career on Broadway and was known among movie-goers for his performances in Allen films like 1977’s “Annie Hall,” in which he played Allen’s character’s best friend, Rob. Roberts first began working with Allen on Broadway in the mid-1960s, several years before the two started making movies together. In film, he appeared in six Allen movies—including “Annie Hall”—in the 1970s and 1980s: “Play It Again, Sam,” “Stardust Memories,” “A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy,” “Hannah and Her Sisters,” and “Radio Days.”
Roberts was born David Anthony Roberts in New York City on October 22, 1939. He grew up in the city and headed straight to the stage in the early 1960s, with his first Broadway performance occurring in 1962 when he appeared in the comedy-drama “Something About a Soldier.” In the years that followed, Roberts received two Tony Award nominations: one in 1968 in the Best Actor in a Musical category for his performance in “How Now, Dow Jones,” and another the following year in the Best Featured Actor in a Play category for his performance in the Allen-written “Play It Again, Sam.”
Roberts’ film debut occurred when he was cast in Disney’s “The Million Dollar Duck,” a comedy that was released in 1971. He starred in “Serpico” with Al Pacino a couple of years later and went on to appear in several movies and TV shows in the decades that followed, including “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three,” “Just Tell Me What You Want,” “The Longest Week,” and “Law & Order,” among many others.
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