Doris Roberts: better with age

“Ageism is the last bastion of bigotry.”

Doris Roberts

Actress

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

vindicator entertainment writer

WARREN — Doris Roberts has made battling ageism her cause, and it’s hard to imagine a better person for the job.

The 78-year-old actress showed why in a lecture at Packard Music Hall on Thursday. It was feisty, funny, energetic and a perfect example of why older doesn’t mean obsolete.

Dressed in a red top, the diminutive blonde Roberts — best known lately for her role as the mother (Marie Barone) on the CBS sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005) — didn’t need a podium for her 45-minute presentation.

After a multi-media show of her life and film clips, Roberts stalked the planks, sharing her life history and philosophy. She peppered her talk with dozens of humorous anecdotes that drew big laughs.

But when it came to her message, she did make her point.

“Ageism is the last bastion of bigotry,” she said. “I want the word ‘old’ stricken from the vocabulary ....you can call me an older woman, but don’t call me old. There’s nothing about me that’s old.”

Roberts’ career began in earnest in 1955, when she landed a small role in the Broadway production of “The Time of Your Life.”

She told the roughly 800 people at Packard how she waited in the rain for hours outside the home of the producer, Jean Dalrymple, to beg for the role.

Since then, Roberts has amassed a long r sum of television and Broadway roles and many films, including “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989)” “A Lovely Way to Die” (1968), and “The Heartbreak Kid” (1972).

Unlike many actresses, Roberts has grown into her age and continues to seize opportunities that come with age. She reached the pinnacle of her career in her 70s with “Raymond,” which is now shown in syndication in 170 countries.

“They showed it in Iraq but took it off the air because the mother was too strong,” she said.

In 2001, she was selected by the American Film Institute as one of four actresses of the year. The honor came the same year she won her second Emmy for her role as the meddlesome mother on “Raymond.”

In 2002, Roberts addressed a U.S. Senate committee on aging in which she decried discrimination against older people — especially in show business.

“If you were in my business, you’d be out of a job,” she said she told the senators.

Roberts grew up in The Bronx and was raised by her mother, because her father “went out for a cigarette and never came back.” She saw her father but once in her life, she said.

She was bitten by the acting bug at age 11 when she drew laughter from the audience during a school play. She went to New York University and The Actor’s Studio before launching her Broadway career.

She hasn’t slowed down since, and shared a bit of wisdom that helps explain how she does it.

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are,” she asked the audience. “That’s the number you keep in your head.” Roberts said she feels like she’s 48.

As “Raymond” continues to conquer the globe, Roberts isn’t resting on her professional laurels.

She had a role in the family film “Aliens in the Attic,” which was released this year — and in which she did her own stunts. She also was in the 2008 comedy “Play the Game.”

Roberts also will be seen in two movies that will be released this year: the Hallmark Channel’s “Mrs. Miracle,” in which she plays the title role; and the feature film “Another Harvest Moon,” which also stars Ernest Borgnine, Anne Meara and Piper Laurie.

She has also written a book entitled “Are You Hungry, Dear? Life, Laughs and Lasagna.”