‘Annie Hall’ Star was at 85

Tony Roberts, who appeared in Woody Allen movies, including “Annie Hall”, while enjoying a long, abundant career on Broadway, died Friday due to complications of lung cancer. He was 85 years old.

Roberts’ death was confirmed To the New York Times by his daughter, Nicole Burley.

Roberts appeared in six films directed by Woody Allen: “Play It Again, Sam” (1972), “Annie Hall” (1977), “Stardust Memories” (1980), “A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy” (1982), “Hannah and her sisters “(1986) and” Radio Days “(1987).

The actress had a long career on Broadway, where he was twice-nominated: For best actor in a musical in 1968 for “How Now, Dow Jones” and for highlighted actor in a spectacle in 1969 for Woody Allen’s “Play It Again, Sam. “(He repeated the role of Dick Christie in the Herbert Ross-instrumented function adjustment of” Play It Again, Sam “in 1972.)

Roberts had last appeared in 2017 -tv film adaptation of “Dirty Dancing.” He had also also appeared on TV in a 2010 episode of “Law & Order” where he played an American senator. (In 1998, Roberts and Jill Clayburgh appeared in an episode of playing divorce lawyers whose rivalry becomes so hostile that the Clayburgh character resorts to murder.)

The actor had recently appeared on Broadway in a revival in 2009 by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber’s piece “The Royal Family”, about a Broadway -functioning dynasty whose business leader Robert’s portraits. The New York Times said: “Mr. Roberts, a confident veteran from scene and film, gave a sympathetic, restrained performance. “

He had performed about a year earlier in “Xanadu”, Douglas Carter Beane’s Smart Meta adaptation of the 1980 cheese -like film with Olivia Newton John and Gene Kelly, who ran for 512 performances from July 2007 to September 2008. Roberts played the Kelly part By Danny Danny McGuire but also (Beanes Addition) the Greek God Zeus, who declares: “The Muses are in retreat. Creativity should remain stymmet for decades. The theater? They just take a stinkeroo movie or a songwriting catalog, throw it on stage and call it a show. “The Times’ Charles Isherwoood said,“ Mr. Roberts possesses a polished deadpan style. “

Other highlights of his Broadway career include Woody Allen Play “Don’t Drink The Water”; Music comedy “Sugar”, an adaptation of Billy Wilders “Some as it is warm”; Alan Ayckbourn’s “Absurd Person singular”; “Victor/Victoria”; and “The story of the allergy’s wife.”

By “Victor/Victoria” said the New York Times: “Still, Andrews is not alone on stage. She is surrounded by a first -class role crew. Tony Roberts, Woody Allen’s long -lasting equal man, plays Cornell Todd, called Toddy, the self -designed ‘aging queen’ , who has inspiration to transform the waif -like Victoria into Victor, a cabaret leader described as ‘The Rage of Poland.’ It is not easy to step into the role that turned out to be the brilliant highlight of Robert Preston’s screen career.

Whether he played the lead role from Get-Go or came in as a replacement, Roberts almost always appeared on Broadway in successful, high-profile productions.

During his six-movie run in Woody Allen movie, he usually played the Allen character’s best friend, as in “Play It Again, Sam” (where Humphrey Bogart appears to give advice to the Bogart-occupied Allen character), ” Annie Hall “and” Stardust Memories. ” In Allen’s Farce “A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (1982) Allen played a crazy inventor and Roberts a doctor who sees nothing wrong with sleeping with her patients. In” Hannah and her sisters “Robert’s uncredited as Norman, ex-partner went For Allen’s Mickey.

David Anthony Roberts was born in New York City, the son of radio and TV advertising Ken Roberts and one of the basic members of the Deputy. He graduated from the High School of Music and Arts (which merged with the High School of Performing Arts to become Laguardia High School for Performing Arts in the Lincoln Center); There he studied theater and traded with Alvina Krause. He went to Northwestern University.

Roberts debuted in Broadway as a replacement in Phoebe Ephron and Henry Ephron’s original hit comedy “Take Yere, She’s Mine” starring in Art Carney, in the early 60s.

After the short race “something about a soldier” (where, as in many of the early films, he was credited as Anthony Roberts) and Saul Bellow’s “The Last Analysis”, replaced actor Robert Reed, who had replaced Robert Redford, in the role of Paul In Neil Simon’s hit comedy “Barefoot in the Park” in 1965 (the show ran from 1963-67). Teeth later, in 2006, the actor appeared in a revival of “Barefoot in the Park” as a neighbor.

He secured his first starring role in Woody Allen’s “Don’t Drink The Water” despite apparently not impressing Allen in no less than four auditions. It was a lucky break show running for 598 performances from 1966-68.

Roberts then appeared in the successful “How Now, Dow Jones”, for which he received his first Tony nomination, then appeared on stage with Allen for the only time in Allen’s comedy “Play It Again, Sam”, who earned his second Tony nomination. It was during this period when they appeared together on stage that the long -standing friendship between Allen and Roberts began.

After the show ended his race in 1970, Roberts served as a replacement in a much bigger hit, “Lover, Promises,” a musical based on Billy Wilder’s classic film “The Apartment.” He starred with Robert Morse and Elaine Joyce in the original musical comedy “Sugar”, which is based on Wilders “Some as it is hot”; It ran for 505 performances in 1972-73. He starred with Richard Kiley and Geraldine Page in another success, Alan Ayckbourn’s play “Absurd Person Singular”, who ran from 1974-76. He was a replacement in Neil Simon’s hit musical “They play our song.” He starred with John Cullum, Ron Leibman and Austin Pendleton in David Wilt’s original plays “Doubles” in 1985-86.

In a revival of “Arsenic and Old Lace” in 1986-87, Roberts starred as Mortimer, the New York drama critic with the homicidal aunts played by Cary Grant in Frank Capra’s 1944 film adaptation.

As he stepped out of Broadway for a spell, Roberts played a “lovely” Luther Billis (with the words of the New York Times) in the New York City Opera’s 1987 production of “South Pacific”, which contained both opera singers and Broadway stars.

Roberts was a replacement in the very successful original musical revue “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway,” appeared in the revival of Chekhov’s “The Seagull” with Laura Linney and Ethan Hawke in 1992-93 and served as a replacement for Star Robert Klein in Wendy Wasserstein’s “Sisters Rosensweig.”

Roberts starred in the adaptation of “Victor Victoria”, in which Julie Andrew repeated her starring role from the film, Robert’s contributing such as Carroll Todd, Victoria’s mentor and architect of her gender bending transformation. The hit show ran for 734 performances from 1995-97.

He starred with Linda Lavin and Michelle Lee in Charles Busch’s original comedy “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife”, who ran for 777 performances from 2000-2002.

He was a replacement as Mr. Schultz in the hugely successful resuscitation of “Cabaret”, which started in the show in September 2003.

Roberts debuted in Disney Comedy “The Million Dollar Duck” (1971) and then starred opposite Sandy Duncan in “Star-Spangled Girl”, a 1971 comedy based on a relatively unclear Neil Simon Play. He had a supportive role in “Serpico”, appeared in classic thriller “Taging by Pelham One Two Three” (1974) as Deputy Mayor and in Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s screwball comedy “Le Sauvage” (1975), starring Catherine Deneuve and in the lead role Deneeuve and Yves Montand; Had a supportive role in Sidney Lumet’s romantic comedy “Just tell me what you want” (1980) with Ali Macgraw and Alan King starring; and Blake Edwards’ fantasy-comedy comedy comedy “Switch” with Ellen Barkin and Jimmy Smits.

Roberts tried the series regularly TV with the legal drama of 1977 “Rosetti and Ryan”, where he starred with Squire Friddell, but the NBC show lasted only seven episodes and tried again with “The Four Seasons” (1984), an adaptation of that movie Written and directed by the Alan Alda, but the CBS show also had only one short race. He was also a series regular on CBS ‘short “The Lucie Arnaz Show” (1985) and ABC Sitcom “The Thorns” (1988).

Roberts served on the board of directors of Screen Actors Guild and Actors Equity Association. He was president of the Theater Authority, an organization created by the entertainment associations to oversee benefits.

In 2016, Roberts’ Memoir “Do you know me?” was published. The title was an allusion to the fact that despite his presence in the movies of Woody Allen on Broadway and on TV, strangers would come up to the actor who was unsure why they recognized him.

Roberts married Jennifer Lyons of 1969 until their divorce in 1975. He is survived by his daughter, Nicole.