Doris Roberts (1925-2016)

Most famous for her role as Marie Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond, Doris Roberts (who passed away on April 17) made her Broadway debut in the Pulitzer Prize winning play The Time of Your Life starring Franchot Tone and Gloria Vanderbilt. Produced by the New York City Theatre Company, the play ran for 15 performances from January 19-30, 1955.

In her autobiography, Roberts recalled that she had just three lines in the play, but, as she put it, they were "mine and mine alone." When William Saroyan tried to cut one of the lines, Roberts begged him to keep it in, and he did.

In 2009, Roberts told Susan King of the LA Times, ""Franchot Tone would drink champagne at the bar every night in the play. I used to watch his ankles swell."

Source: www.playbill.com

Sources:

• https://www.ibdb.com/Production/View/478205
• King, Susan. "Doris Roberts Still Knows Best." Los Angeles Times. July 29, 2009. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jul/29/entertainment/et-classic-hollywood29
• http://www.playbill.com/production/the-time-of-your-life-city-center-vault-0000013148
• Roberts, Doris, and Danelle Morton. Are You Hungry, Dear?: Life, Laughs, and Lasagna. New York: St. Martin's, 2003. Print.