Lynne Roberts

Lynne Roberts, also credited as Mary Hart, born Theda May Roberts (November 22, 1922 – April 1, 1978) was an American film actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She appeared exclusively in what were referred to as B movies.
Early years
Born in El Paso, Texas, Roberts was the daughter of Hobart M. Roberts, a bookkeeper, and May Holland. The family moved to Los Angeles in the 1920s.
Career
Roberts began working as an actress in the 1930s, under contract to Republic Pictures. At the age of 14, in 1936, she played a role in Bulldog Edition. In 1938, at age 16, she starred in the cliffhangers: The Lone Ranger and Dick Tracy Returns, and played a role in The Higgins Family. She was officially listed in studio records as having been born in 1919.
In 1941 she starred with Sonja Henie and John Payne in Sun Valley Serenade, while under contract to 20th Century-Fox. She returned to Republic Pictures in 1944, and stayed under contract there until 1948. She starred with Gene Autry in Sioux City Sue in 1946, and appeared in two more films with Autry: Robin Hood of Texas and Saddle Pals, as well as three films with Roy Rogers, and one with Monte Hale. (Johnny D. Boggs, in his book, Billy the Kid on Film, 1911-2012, wrote, "Lynne Roberts would co-star with [Roy] Rogers in eight Westerns, billed as Mary Hart in the first seven of those.")
After leaving Republic Pictures for the second time, Roberts worked with Autry in outdoor adventures for Columbia Pictures. She also worked with Kirby Grant in Monogram Pictures' mounted-police adventures, and with Tim Holt at RKO Radio Pictures.
Roberts appeared in 64 films in total. Of those, 21 were westerns, and two were serials.
Personal life and death
Roberts married four times. Her first marriage was to William Engelbert, Jr., an aircraft company official, with whom she had one son, Bill. The marriage ended in divorce in 1944.
Her second marriage was to Louis John Gardella, which also ended in divorce. In court, Gardella's attorney argued that the couple's Arizona wedding was invalid because Roberts was not legally divorced from Engelbert, although Roberts claimed she had a Mexican divorce decree.
In 1953, Roberts married brassiere manufacturer Hyman B. Samuels, with whom she had a daughter, Peri Margaret, and a son, William Edward. The couple divorced November 14, 1961, in Los Angeles, California.
Roberts retired from acting and later married pro wrestler and motion picture actor Don Sebastian in 1971, but she was separated from him at the time of her death. She died in Sherman Oaks in 1978 due to a brain hemorrhage from a slip-and-fall accident in her home.
Partial filmography
Mama Runs Wild (1937) as Edith Summers
Dangerous Holiday (1937) as Jean Robbins
The Higgins Family (1938) as Marian Higgins
Call the Mesquiteers (1938) as Madge Irving
Hollywood Stadium Mystery (1938) as Edna Mayberry
The Lone Ranger (1938) as Joan Blanchard
Billy the Kid Returns (1938) (billed as Mary Hart) as Ellen Moore
Come On, Rangers (1938) (as Mary Hart) as Janice Forbes
Shine On, Harvest Moon (1938) (as Mary Hart) as Claire Brower
The Mysterious Miss X (1939) (as Mary Hart) as Julie Graham
Rough Riders' Round-up (1939) as Dorothy Blair
Southward Ho (1939) as Ellen Denbigh
Frontier Pony Express (1939) as Ann Langhorne
My Wife's Relatives (1939) as Jean Higgins
In Old Caliente (1939) as Jean Higgins
Should Husbands Work? (1939) as Jean Higgins
Everything's on Ice (1939) as Jane Barton
High School (1940) as Carol Roberts
Star Dust (1940) as College girl
Street of Memories (1940) as Catherine 'Kitty' Foster
Hi-Yo Silver (1940) as Joan Blanchard
The Bride Wore Crutches (1941) as Midge Lambert
Romance of the Rio Grande (1941) as Maria Cordova
Riders of the Purple Sage (1941) as Bess
Moon Over Miami (1941) as Jennie May
Last of the Duanes (1941) as Nancy Bowdrey
Young America (1942) as Elizabeth Barnes
The Man in the Trunk (1942) as Peggy LaRue
Dr. Renault's Secret (1942) as Madeline Renault
Quiet Please, Murder (1942) as Kay Ryan
The Big Bonanza (1944) as Judy Parker
My Buddy (1944) as Lucy Manners
The Ghost That Walks Alone (1944) as Sue McGuire Grant
The Port of 40 Thieves (1944) as Nancy Hubbard Chaney
The Phantom Speaks (1945) as Joan Renwick
The Chicago Kid (1945) as Chris Mitchell
Behind City Lights (1945) as Jean Lowell
Girls of the Big House (1945) as Jeanne Crail
Winter Wonderland (1946) as Nancy Wheeler
The Magnificent Rogue (1946) as Pat Brown Morgan
Sioux City Sue (1946) as Sue Warner
The Pilgrim Lady (1947) as Henrietta Rankin
That's My Gal (1947) as Natalie Adams
Saddle Pals (1947) as Shelly Brooks
Robin Hood of Texas (1947) as Virginia
Madonna of the Desert (1948) as Monica Dale
Lightnin' in the Forest (1948) as Jerri Vail
Secret Service Investigator (1948) as Susan Lane
The Timber Trail (1948) as Alice Baker
Eyes of Texas (1948) as Nurse Penny Thatcher
Sons of Adventure (1948) as Jean
Trouble Preferred (1948) as Madge Walker
The Great Plane Robbery (1950) as Mary
The Blazing Sun (1950) as Helen Ellis
Call of the Klondike (1950) as Emily Mallory
Hunt the Man Down (1950) as Sally Clark
Dynamite Pass (1950) as Mrs. Mary Madden
Because of You (1952) as Rosemary Balder
The Blazing Forest (1952) as Grace Hanson
Port Sinister (1953) as Joan Hunter
References
External links
B-Western Heroines, Lynne Roberts
Actresses from El Paso, Texas
Accidental deaths from falls
Accidental deaths in California
American film actresses
1922 births
1978 deaths
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
20th Century Studios contract players
20th-century American actresses