Emma Allene Roberts
(September 1, 1928 – May 9, 2019)
was an American actress.
Early years
Born in
Fairfield, Alabama, Roberts was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank W. Roberts. In 1941, she won the "America's Most Charming Child" contest sponsored by the ''
New York Daily Mirror
The ''New York Daily Mirror'' was an American morning tabloid newspaper first published on June 24, 1924, in New York City by the William Randolph Hearst organization as a contrast to their mainstream broadsheets, the ''Evening Journal'' and ''N ...
'', receiving $1,000 in cash and a $1,000 contract with
Warner Bros. studio.
[
]
Career
Roberts appeared in twelve movies between 1947 and 1954 and on TV in ''Four Star Playhouse
''Four Star Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956. Four Star Playhouse was owned by Four Star International. Its episodes ranged anywhere from surreal mysteries, such as "The Man on the Train", to light comedie ...
'', '' Adventures of Superman'' and '' Dragnet''. Her first big picture was '' The Red House'' (1947)[ starring ]Rory Calhoun
Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as '' How to Marry a Milli ...
, Julie London and Edward G. Robinson. That movie was considered by the critics to be the "sleeper hit
In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little prom ...
" of the year.
Roberts' other films included the film noir pair, ''Knock on Any Door
''Knock on Any Door'' is a 1949 American courtroom trial film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart. The picture gave actor John Derek his breakthrough role, and was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by Willard Motley ...
'', ''Union Station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
''[Silver, p. 303.] and '' Bomba on Panther Island''.
Death
On May 9, 2019, Roberts died in Huntsville, Alabama, at age 90.
Filmography
References
External links
*
Allene Roberts
at the American Film Institute
Allene Roberts: True to her roots
1928 births
2019 deaths
20th-century American actresses
Actresses from Birmingham, Alabama
American child actresses
American film actresses
American television actresses
People from Fairfield, Alabama
21st-century American women
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