Obituaries : Davis Roberts; Actor Fought Stereotypical Roles for Blacks

Davis Roberts, who spent his dramatic career trying to eradicate the stereotype associated with black actors and his private life as an activist for black causes, has died in Chicago, it was learned Tuesday.

Emma E. Pullen of the Inner City Cultural Center in Hollywood said the 50-year stage and film veteran died July 18 of emphysema. He was 76.

Roberts, who performed in 50 films and dozens of TV series and movies, will probably be best remembered for three brief appearances on “Sanford and Son,” a 1970s TV show that starred Redd Foxx as an irascible junkman.

Roberts portrayed Doc Carter, an erstwhile physician. The character somehow seemed more popular in reruns than he was originally. When he was stopped on the street, Roberts said, it was that role fans wanted to discuss.

Despite an occasional comic appearance, Roberts’ greatest acting strength lay in the distinguished attitude he brought to his characters. At a time when black actors still were being portrayed as gangsters, dirt farmers or menials, Roberts’ Shakespearean baritone made him what he called “middle-aged Establishment” in a 1981 Times interview.

“My character is the star of his own life and his path crosses someone else who is starring in his own life. But I’m as important to me as the other character is to himself,” he said.

Born in Alabama, Roberts studied at the Actors Lab Workshop in Hollywood and later served several terms on the Western Advisory Board of Actors Equity Assn.

His motion picture appearances began in the mid-1940s with “The Long Night.” He also appeared in “God’s Little Acre,” “All the Fine Young Cannibals” and “Sweet Bird of Youth,” among many more. His final feature film was the 1990 “To Sleep With Anger,” in which he played a crony of Danny Glover in a sensitive examination of a South-Central Los Angeles family.

Roberts was a constant presence on TV. He portrayed a sweeping range of characters on “Dallas,” “Hill Street Blues,” “The Streets of San Francisco,” “Quincy” and others.

In 1967, he and a handful of other officers of the Beverly Hills-Hollywood branch of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People presented the first Image Awards to 10 TV series considered to have improved the presentation of blacks. He also was co-chairman of the committee that secured a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Paul Robeson, the controversial black actor and singer.

Roberts is survived by a brother and two sisters. A memorial service will be held Aug. 13 at 11 a.m. at the New Ivar Theater in Hollywood. Donations are asked in his name to the NAACP.