Doris Roberts dies at 90; Italian mamma from ‘Everybody Loves Raymond'

Doris Roberts, a five-time Emmy winner best known for her work as Mamma Barone on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “died peacefully in her sleep of natural causes,” her family said. She was 90.

“Doris Roberts had an energy and a spirit that amazed me,” co-star Ray Romano said in a statement. “She never stopped. Whether working professionally or with her many charities, or just nurturing and mentoring a young, green comic trying to make it as an actor, she did it all with such a grand love for life and people, and I will miss her dearly.”

Roberts was a part of the “Raymond” cast from 1996 to 2005, but also counted an Emmy-winning turn on “St. Elsewhere” and credits on well-known 1970s and ‘80s shows, including “Remington Steele,” “Soap,” “Fantasy Island,” “The Love Boat” and “The Streets of San Francisco.” She starred as Theresa Falco, mother to Donna Pescow’s title character on the show “Angie,” which ran for two seasons.

Last month, Roberts appeared at an actors’ union event that focused on the scarcity of female directors in entertainment. The outspoken critic of age discrimination asked the panel why there were so few roles for elder actors.

“Everyone Loves Raymond” show creator Phil Rosenthal said that although Roberts had been “waning in the last few months” she still had her “fierce” spirit until the end. “She was taking acting classes right up to the end,” he said. “And really cared about being an actress and being professional. She was very dedicated to the craft. She was the real thing. She wanted to always stay sharp.”

Earlier this year, Rosenthal accompanied her to see Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett perform at the Hollywood Bowl. “Lady Gaga couldn’t believe she was getting to meet Doris Roberts!” he said. “We had dinner in the box, we drank, we watched the show and loved it.”

Rosenthal said Roberts will always be remembered as “the rock of the show.” “She was fearless and fierce and strong,” he said.

He added: “I liked that she was a strong female character. That’s what people really responded to her. It was universal: that meddling mom.”

Long before she became a sitcom icon, Roberts was a young actress trying to make a name for herself in New York in the 1950s.

“I was a member of the Actors Studio,” Roberts told The Times in a 2009 interview. “Marilyn Monroe used to come to class. Martin Balsam was there. Anne Bancroft was there. Geraldine Page.”

Roberts made her Broadway debut at age 24 in a 1955 revival of William Saroyan’s “The Time of Your Life,” which closed after 15 performances. She played a hooker in a bar. Later that year, Roberts had a small role and understudied star Shirley Booth in the comedy hit “The Desk Set.”

She was nominated for 11 Emmys throughout her career. She won best supporting actress in a drama for “St. Elsewhere” in 1983 and four times for best supporting actress in a comedy for “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Among Roberts’ Emmys was one for her work on “Remington Steele,” and in 2003, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

After “Raymond” went off the air in 2005, she continued to work, appearing in various TV series, plays and movies with credits running into this year.

“Desperate Housewives,” “The King of Queens,” “The Middle,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Law & Order: SVU” were among her more recent TV credits.

In 2000, she told The Times, “I’m at the age now where I don’t have to do anything. But I do have to see my grandchildren – Kelsey, Andrew and Devon.” She talked about taking them to amusement parks and to see “The Lion King.”

“Sometimes what I do for fun with friends is go on a ramble,” Roberts said. “Most of the time you have to plan for everything. My life is always planned. When you ramble, you choose north, south, east or west and you just go. And when you see something you like, you stop. It could be anything – a flea market or restaurant. And if you find you don’t like it, you can just leave. You come across extraordinary little villages in the middle of the mountains. Or you can go in another direction and you’ve got the ocean.”

Roberts was born in St. Louis on Nov. 4, 1925, and grew up in New York. She was married to Michael Cannata from 1956 to 1962 and had one son, Michael Cannata Jr. William Goyen, a writer, was her husband from 1963 until his death in 1983.

She is survived by her son, Michael Cannata Jr., daughter-in-law, Jane, and three grandchildren, Kelsey, Andrew and Devon Cannata.

(Times staff writer Brenda Rodriguez and special correspondents Susan King and Robin Rauzi contributed to this report. The story includes information from the Associated Press.)

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Doris Roberts dies at 90; Italian mamma from ‘Everybody Loves Raymond'."