Larry Roberts

Biography

Larry Roberts was born Lawrence Saltzman on September 28, 1926. He was the only child of Robert E. and Mabel (Haber) Saltzman. Larry was a native of Cleveland, Ohio. After Larry's parents divorced, his father moved to Los Angeles. During World War II, Larry served with General Patton's Third Army in France, Germany and Austria. After his military service, Larry went to L.A. on vacation, but stayed there to help organize the Circle Theatre. He performed with this group under the name Larry Salters, appearing in 1947 in the company's debut production of "Ethan Frome" as Jotham Powell. Larry went on to appear in five of the company's first six productions. Below is a picture of the "Time of Your Life" cast from the book "Remembering Charlie" by Jerry Epstein; Larry is the first seated person from the right. He played the aspiring "hoofer" Harry, a role originated on Broadway by Gene Kelly. In 1949 Larry went on to create and become part owner of the Players Ring, another prominent Hollywood theatre group of the day. At some point in his onstage career, he was discovered for the role of Tramp in "Lady and the Tramp" when a Disney storyman saw him performing. Larry was actively involved in providing entertainment for the troops in the Korean War. The image to the left shows Larry with the company of a USO tour in December of 1954; he's the fellow standing on the plane steps in the dark suit wearing the carnation. Below is a picture of Larry, center, in the finale of the 1953 USO show "Hollywood Starlets". Larry was a popular guest on many variety shows in the early days of television including "Lights, Camera, Action," "Bandstand Revue," "The All-Star Revue" and several of the Pinky Lee television shows. He also did a stint in Las Vegas as a stand-up comic. Larry's singing voice was captured on several recordings he made during the fifties with Neely Plumb and his Orchestra on the "Ace-Hi Hits" label. Among his recordings for Ace-Hi were "April in Portugal", "Big Mamou", "Tell Me a Story", and "Wild Horses". Click the play button underneath the label to the right to hear "April in Portugal", followed by "Wild Horses". Larry retired from show business in the mid to late fifties and returned to Cleveland where he reassumed the last name Salters and went into the ladies' clothing business. He first worked for Bobbie Brooks, Inc., a company founded by his uncle, Maurice Saltzman. He then moved to New York and was a designer for Russ Togs, another ladies' clothing manufacturer. Larry also seems to have lived for a time in the Pompano Beach, FL area. Larry died of AIDS-related causes in New York in the North Babylon/Fire Island area on July 17, 1992. He was 65.