Top TV Moments: Tony Roberts

The obituaries for the recently passed Tony Roberts identified him as a sidekick in Woody Allen films and a Tony-nominated Broadway star. All of which is true – but to me he’ll always be the guy who almost married Julie McCoy on The Love Boat. 

Television was, admittedly, the least heralded aspect of Roberts’ multifaceted career. The credits that stand out on his IMDB page are classics like Annie Hall, Serpico and Hannah and Her Sisters. But over the course of a six-decade career he also made regular appearances on TV in good shows, bad shows and those long forgotten. 

To his credit Roberts certainly wasn’t a snob who looked down on the small screen when that was a prominent mindset among film actors in the 1970s. In fact, he agreed to recurring roles in four different series, none of which lasted a full season. Their fate was not his fault – in fact I can’t remember any TV show or movie that didn’t benefit from his combination of class, professionalism, and approachability. 

Many of the Top TV Moments listed below are more obscure than most in these career retrospective pieces, but most are accessible on YouTube and worth a look. 

The Trials of O’Brien (1965)

The first credit on Roberts’ IMDB page is for an episode of this short-lived series starring Peter Falk and Elaine Stritch (sounds interesting already, doesn’t it?). A handful of episodes are on YouTube but not “Charlie’s Got All the Luck,” featuring Roberts as Charlie. 

Night Gallery (1971)

Night Gallery episodes are notoriously hit-and-miss, but “The Messiah on Mott Street” belongs in the win column. Edward G. Robinson plays a dying man concerned over the fate of his grandson in this tale that borrows from Jewish traditional stories of the Messiah and the Angel of Death. Tony Roberts plays the man’s doctor, and Yaphet Kotto is wonderful as the Messiah. It’s a sad story until it isn’t, and I’m sure has become annual holiday viewing in many homes. 

McMillan (1977)

Many viewers likely lost some interest in McMillan and Wife when it became just McMillan, after the departure of Susan Saint James. But “Philip’s Game” is a solid entry with two intriguing mysteries. The first – how was the key witness in the prosecution of a crooked land developer killed, before his car seemed to start automatically and plunge into San Francisco Bay? The second begins when McMillan meets Philip (Tony Roberts) who introduces himself to the police commissioner, says he’s a hit man and that McMillan is his next target. He also reveals how he plans to do the job. 

Roberts is terrific here – he exudes both good manners and menace, and the suspense builds nicely until it’s time to carry out his assignment. I admit I was slightly bummed by the ending but getting there was still fun. 

Rosetti and Ryan (1977)

This was Tony Roberts’ first attempt at series stardom, and the one I think had the most potential. He and Squire Fridell played law partners with opposite personalities; Roberts, as Joe Rosetti, was something like Arnie Becker on L.A. Law: high-class style, active social life, while Fridell’s Frank Ryan, a former cop, was more focused on a by-the-book approach to each case. 

Had NBC not pulled the plug after just six episodes, I think the show would have found an audience. The two leads worked well together, and the scripts were better than those used in other legal dramas that lasted longer. Fridell would later find a career-defining role as the successor to King Moody in the role of Ronald McDonald, which he played in dozens of commercials from 1984 to 1991. 

The Girls in the Office (1979)

This TV movie follows the stories of three women working in the corporate offices of a major Houston department store, as it prepares for the grand opening of a new location. Tony Roberts plays second in command to the company’s founder (well-played by David Wayne). Barbara Eden is outstanding as an executive assistant who falls for a younger construction worker (Joe Penny), as is Susan Saint James as a ruthlessly ambitious woman determined to move up the corporate ladder by any means necessary. There are some dated elements to this look at office politics in the 1970s, but like so many long-out-of-circulation TV movies from this era, it’s a joy to rediscover on YouTube. 

The Love Boat (1978)

Romances among the Pacific Princess crewmembers and their passengers were part of nearly every Love Boat episode, but every so often they got more serious than a single-episode fling. When Julie met Jack (Roberts), a widower with two daughters, it was love at first sight for all of them. He proposed, but Julie couldn’t move with him to Alaska and felt unprepared to become a wife and mother all at once. But by the series’ next season she had changed her mind, and with the ship sailing to Alaska she was eager to reunite with Jack and accept his proposal, but fate had other ideas. 

The Four Seasons (1984)

It was 13 episodes and out for this adaptation of the 1981 Alan Alda film about the friendships and other relationships between three middle-class couples. Alda produced the series, but only Jack Weston returned from the film to reprise his role. It’s the only one of Roberts’ series that didn’t work for me at all. Tina Fey is apparently bringing a new version to Netflix later this year. 

The Lucie Arnaz Show (1985)

Series attempt #3 was a workplace sitcom set in New York, starring Arnaz as a radio psychologist, albeit one without the neurotic hangups of Frasier Craine. Roberts plays her understanding (sometimes) boss. The whole thing was a bit too low-key for me, but Arnaz and Roberts are both eminently likable performers, and the older I get the more I appreciate that aspect of a series. But viewers back then were more interested in TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes on another network, and The Lucie Arnaz Show was gone after just six episodes. 

Hotel (1985)

After such memorable appearances on The Love Boat, it’s fitting that Roberts also shined in another series featuring rotating lineups of celebrity guests. In “Wins and Losses” he plays a rival hotel manager pursuing Christine (Connie Selleca) personally and professionally. His approach is two parts smarm to one part charm, but that’s enough to pique her interest and make Peter (James Brolin) jealous, something that happens about a hundred times over the course of five seasons. 

The Thorns (1988)

Now this was an interesting show, and certainly one that was ahead of its time. Today’s audience that prefers dysfunctional families to happy ones would have enjoyed the selfish exploits of this aptly named clan. Roberts played Sloan Thorn opposite Kelly Bishop (Gilmore Girls!) as his wife Ginger. Twelve episodes were made, only seven aired, but watching it in 2024 you’d never suspect it was more than 30 years old. The characters are petty, insecure, sniping and greedy – and yet somehow still remain likable.