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The actress passed away on April 17 at age 90, but there's a lot she left with us.

Doris Roberts died two days ago—on April 17, though it was only reported late yesterday—at the age of 90.

Born in St. Louis and raised in the Bronx, Roberts (who was born Doris May Green) got into the entertainment business when her mother and stepfather started up a stenographic service that catered to playwrights and actors. It was there as a young girl that Roberts became introduced to (and influenced by) creative people who she would one day aspire to be like.

Though she wouldn’t be cast her most famous role—Marie Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond—until she was almost 70 years old, Roberts first started acting in her early 20s. And so while most of you had probably never even heard of Roberts until Raymond’s debut in 1996, she leaves behind an acting career that spanned nearly seven decades.

That’s one hell of a legacy to leave behind.

Here are 5 more things Doris Roberts left us.

A Love for Theater

Though she would become best known for her television and film work, Roberts started her acting career on Broadway.

Starting in the early 1950s, Roberts appeared in numerous stage productions including Neil Simon’s The Last of the Red Hot Lovers and Terrence McNally’s Bad Habits. More than a half century later, in 2009, she would return to the stage to star in McNally’s Unusual Acts of Devotion at the LaJolla Playhouse.

Roberts maintained a love for performing on stage, whether it be headlining in dramatic roles, or popping into a bit of comedic improv, like this Titanic spoof she showed up in with actor Michael Airington (performing as Paul Lynde) in 2014.


A Film and Television Career That Started Long Before You Were Probably Born

Roberts’ first television role was on a CBS anthology show called Starlight Theater. Her episode, titled “Act of God Notwithstanding,” premiered in 1951.

Guess who wasn’t born yet in 1951? A shitload of people! I wasn’t born yet. My parents weren’t born yet. My grandmother was 22 years old, for Christ’s sake. And I’m willing to bet you weren’t born yet either. If you were, I’m amazed, because most people your age don’t even know what the Internet is, let alone how to “make it go.”

Roberts was a professional television actress before it was even considered to be a serious career. When she made her television debut there were less than 10 million television sets in America. I think my grandfather had more TVs than that in his basement.

Roberts’ third television appearance came in 1952 on the CBS show Suspense. She appeared as “Woman” in the episode “A Time of Innocence.” Check it out below.


More Cameos Than You Can Shake a Stick At

Guess which popular TV show Doris Roberts made a one-episode, character actor cameo in? ALL OF THEM.

Seriously, just check out her IMDb page that lists her nearly 160 acting credits. Walker, Texas Ranger? Roberts portrayed Elaine Portugal on that show. Empty Nest? She was Aunt Retha. Full House? She was Claire Tanner, Danny’s mother. Mr. Belvedere, All in the Family, Baretta... Roberts did it all. It’s crazy to think that you probably didn’t know her until 1996, right?

And that’s not even going into her numerous film appearances, like this kick-fucking-ass (I mean that quite literally) role in Aliens in the Attic.


She Fought Against Age Discrimination

Roberts testified before a Senate Special Committee on Aging on September 4, 2002 about the rampant age discrimination that takes place in Hollywood.

Here’s a transcription of a portion of her testimony:

“As General Douglas McArthur once wrote: Youth is not a time of life, it's a state of mind. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old by disserting their ideals. Years wrinkles the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair, these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust. You're as young as your faith, as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear. So long as your heart receives messages of beauty, cheer, courage, grandeur and power from the earth, from man and from the infinite, so long you are young.”

Class act, folks.

Now watch her almost fuck Ed Asner as they poke fun at our obsession with viral online content. Yes, you read that correctly.


Marie Barone

You can’t have a Michael Richards obit and not mention Kramer (or racism), just as you can’t have a Doris Roberts obit and not mention Marie Barone. After all, for almost a decade, she played that character for 210 episodes.

Roberts won four Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy Awards in her lifetime. Her first one came in 1983 for her cameo in an episode of St. Elsewhere (I told you she was in every TV show ever made), but she won the last three for her portrayal of Marie Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond.

Her she is winning her fourth—and final—Emmy in 2005.

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