[1] He first appeared on Broadway in May 1931 before making his motion picture debut in Gold Bricks, a 1936 two-reel comedy short released by 20th Century-Fox.

In a show that was the precursor to The Love Boat, Roberts played the ship's captain for four years in Storm's next hit, Oh!

He guest-starred in scores of series, including the western-themed crime drama, Sheriff of Cochise, the western series, My Friend Flicka, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (as Texas cattle baron Shanghai Pierce, and The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, and Brian Keith's Cold War drama, Crusader.

During the middle 1960s, Roberts was one of the most recognizable faces on television, and had recurring roles concurrently on a number of popular programs, including: In the 1940s and 1950s, Roberts was a regular in many films noir, including Force of Evil (1948), He Walked by Night (1948), Nightmare Alley (1947), The Brasher Doubloon (1947), Borderline (1950) and The Enforcer (1951).

Roberts died in St. Vincent's Hospital[1] in Los Angeles, California, of a heart attack on May 28, 1975, and was interred at Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas.