Lyda Roberti

Infobox actor
name = Lyda Roberti


imagesize =
caption =
birthdate = birth date|1906|5|20|mf=y
birthplace = Warsaw, Poland
deathdate = death date and age|1938|3|12|1906|5|20|mf=y
deathplace = Glendale, California, USA
birthname =

Lyda Roberti (May 20, 1906 - March 12, 1938) was a stage and film actress.

Biography

Born in Warsaw, Poland, Roberti was the daughter of a clown and as a child performed in the circus as a trapeze artist, and as a vaudeville singer. As the family toured Europe and Asia, Roberti's mother left her husband, settling in Shanghai, China where the younger Roberti earned money singing. They moved to the United States in the late 1920s where Roberti began singing in nightclubs. She made her Broadway debut in "You Said It" in 1931, and with its success became an overnight sensation. She also appeared in the shortlived Gershwin musical "Pardon My English" in 1933.

She moved to Hollywood and during the 1930s played in a string of films. Her sexy but playful characterisations, along with the unusual accent she had acquired during her years in Europe and Asia, made her popular with audiences. She found success as a comedian, and was also popular as a singer on radio. In "Roberta", Ginger Rogers played the role that Roberti had originated on Broadway, with reviewers commenting that Rogers' performance was a completely accurate imitation of Roberti's idiosyncratic speech and mannerisms.

Roberti replaced Thelma Todd in a couple of films after the death of Todd, but her health was failing due to heart disease. She began to work less frequently although two days before her death she performed a radio show with Al Jolson.

Roberti died suddenly from a heart attack while bending to tie her shoelace. [cite book|last=Crivello|first=Kirk|title=Fallen Angels: The Lives and Untimely Deaths of Fourteen Hollywood Beauties|publisher=Citadel Press|date=1988|pages=270|isbn=0-806-51096-X] She is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Filmography

*"Dancers in the Dark" (1932)
*"Million Dollar Legs" (1932)
*"The Kid from Spain" (1932)
*"Three-Cornered Moon" (1933)
*"Torch Singer" (1933)
*"College Rhythm" (1934)
*"George White's 1935 Scandals" (1935)
*"The Big Broadcast of 1936" (1935)
*"Nobody's Baby" (1937)
*"Pick a Star" (1937)
*"Wide Open Faces" (1938)

hort Subjects

*"Undersea Revue" (1928)
*"Hollywood Rhythm" (1934)
*"At Sea Ashore" (1936)
*"Hill-Tillies" (1936)

References

External links

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Persondata
NAME= Roberti, Lyda
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actress
DATE OF BIRTH= May 20, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH= Warsaw, Poland
DATE OF DEATH= March 12, 1938
PLACE OF DEATH= Glendale, California, USA