Lillian (Roberts) Culver, Actress

(extracted from Robert Battle, Harry Hazel Culver and Lillian Roberts: a Pictorial History (2010))

Lillian Roberts was born March 23, 1896, in Loveland, Larimer County, Colorado, the second of two daughters of William Porter Roberts and Clara Ellen ―Ella‖ Lackey.

Lillian Roberts, 1896

Above: Lillian and Lucile Roberts, 1896; below: Roberts family, about 1898

Later, they moved to Joplin, Missouri, where W. P. Roberts served as high school superintendant from 1904 to 1905. Due to issues with his health, the family moved to Long Beach, California.

Lillian and Lucile Roberts

Lillian Roberts, about 1909

Lucile and Lillian attended Long Beach High School, Lucile graduating in 1911 and Lillian in 1912.

Roberts sisters and friends (Lillian top left; Lucile top row, third from right), Long Beach, CA, about 1911 Miscellaneous pictures from Lillian Roberts’ junior and senior years at Long Beach High School, 1911-1912 (taken from her memory book):

Lillian first began acting as a junior in high school, appearing in the play All a Mistake as ―Sarah, the Maid‖:

Directly after graduating from high school, Lillian worked in the Oliver Morosco Stock Company. Among her other roles, she appeared as Emma in the play Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm:

Lillian Roberts, 1915

A couple of years later, she set her sights on the new film industry. According to her experience blurb in the program for the play Life with Mother (playing January through February of 1953, with Billie Burke in the title role), Lillian ―played ingenue roles for Ince, including one in Billie Burke’s first motion picture.‖ That motion picture was Peggy, released on January 2, 1916. Lillian’s acting career was soon to be put on hold, though, as about this time she met Harry Culver. Harry saw her one day, was smitten, arranged to meet her, and within three months married her.

Marriage announcement for Lillian Roberts and Harry Hazle[sic] Culver

Once married, Lillian postponed her acting career in favor of several new roles—wife, social hostess, and mother. She kept her hand in by acting in small productions from time to time, but it was not until after Harry’s death that she returned to acting as a career.

Lillian Culver did not completely abandon show business, though. She appeared from time to time in small-scale productions, such as indicated in the following clipping from the Los Angeles Evening Herald of May 24, 1926 (from her sister Lucile’s scrapbook):

She also wrote and put on a radio talk show called ―Smart Women‖ in 1937 on station KFAC:

Clippings from the Los Angeles Times (March 23, 1937) and the Los Angeles Daily News (April 1, 1937)

Clipping from the Los Angeles Times (November 27, 1937) Her acting career picked up significantly in the 1950s and 1960s. As she was past the age where she could appear as an ―ingénue,‖ her roles were supporting ones. She played matrons, society women, and the like, though she did get to change it up on occasion (playing for instance Van Johnson’s maid Flora in Easy to Love and Jimmy Stewart’s tough mother in Carbine Williams).

The following is a (certainly incomplete) list of the known stage plays, television programs, and movies in which Lillian appeared:

Stage Plays

Present Laughter – Lady Saltburn (Pasadena Playhouse, November 1950) The Shattered Rock (P. P., December 1950) The Pied Piper of Hamelin (P. P., December 1950) Harvey (P. P., February-March 1951) His Wife Hath Learned to Kiss (P. P., April 1951) The Swallow’s Nest (P. P., June 1951) The Tavern (P. P., July-August 1951) Nothing but the Truth – Mrs. E. M. Ralston (P. P., February-March 1952) Life with Mother – Bessie (P. P., June 1952) Ring Round the Moon – Mother of Isabelle (P. P., October-November 1952) Life with Mother – Bessie Fuller Logan (touring with Billie Burke, January-February 1953) Dear Brutus – Mrs. Coade (Los Palmas Theater, June 1953) Mr. Blank’s Family – Madam Blank (Civic Playhouse, November 1953)

Television Programs

Letter to Loretta (The Loretta Young Show), ―Turn of the Card‖ – Mrs. Wilcox (October 18, 1953) Fireside Theatre, ―Moses and Mr. Aiken‖ (January 5, 1954) It’s a Great Life (The Bachelors), ―The Surprise Party‖ – Clubwoman (January 11, 1954) Death Valley Days, ―Husband Pro Tem‖ (March 27, 1954) The Ford Television Theatre, ―Turn Back the Clock‖ – Mrs. Pierce (April 1, 1954) The Lux Video Theatre, ―A Visit from Evelyn‖ – Vinnie (October 14, 1954) It’s a Great Life (The Bachelors), ―A Date for Mrs. Morgan‖ – Myra Jameson (November 23, 1954) The Burns and Allen Show, episode 5.15 (January 10, 1955) The Millionaire, ―The Story of Dan Mulcahy‖ – Dowager (February 9, 1955) Medic, ―Break Through the Bars‖ – Martha Fisher (March 14, 1955) Letter to Loretta (The Loretta Young Show), ―Fear Me Not‖ (August 28, 1955) The Lux Video Theatre, ―It Started with Eve‖ – Mrs. Pennington (March 29, 1956) The Gale Storm Show, ―The Magician‖ – Mrs. Guthrie (December 29, 1956) Dragnet, ―The Big Game‖ (February 21, 1957) December Bride, ―The Hobo Show‖ – Mrs. Adams (March 25, 1957) The Jack Benny Program, ―Mary Has May Co. Reunion‖ – Helga (April 7, 1957) Highway Patrol, ―Mother’s March‖ (a.k.a. ―90B‖) – Lucy Briscoe (1957) Official Detective, ―Extortion‖ – Mrs. Manson (1957) The Gale Storm Show, ―Mardi Gras‖ – Miss McIntyre (December 7, 1957) The Gale Storm Show, ―One Captain too Many‖ (January 10, 1959) The Gale Storm Show, ―Alias Susanna Valentine‖ – Mrs. Weaver (March 21, 1959) Highway Patrol, ―Revenge‖ – Tommy’s Aunt (1959) The Gale Storm Show, ―Happy Horoscope‖ – Mrs. Page (November 5, 1959) Dennis the Menace, ―Dennis’ Garden‖ – Mrs. Schooner (November 8, 1959) Goodyear Theatre, ―Capital Gains‖ – Mrs. Spaulding (February 1, 1960) The Gale Storm Show, ―It’s Magic‖ – Mrs. Culver (March 17, 1960) The Ann Sothern Show, ―The Roman Hatter‖ – Mrs. Townsend (April 18, 1960) Ben Blue’s Brothers, pilot (July 5, 1960) Alfred Hitchcock Presents, ―Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat‖ – lady in dentist chair (September 27, 1960) The Andy Griffith Show, ―The Manhunt‖ – Barney Fife’s mother (October 10, 1960) Dennis the Menace, ―Dennis and the Radio Set‖ – Mrs. Schooner (October 16, 1960) Dennis the Menace, ―Paint-up, Clean-up Week‖ – Mrs. Schooner (November 27, 1960) Hot Off the Wire (The Jim Backus Show), ―The Three Sisters‖ – Bernice (December 17, 1960) Pete and Gladys, ―Junior‖ – Mrs. J. (April 17, 1961) Dennis the Menace, ―Dennis and the Miracle Plant Food‖ – Mrs. Schooner (May 14, 1961) The Law and Mr. Jones, ―No Law for Ghosts‖ – Vera Ribak (May 26, 1961) Checkmate, ―Portrait of a Man Running‖ – Mrs. Tuppeny (October 4, 1961) Dennis the Menace, ―Best Neighbor‖ – Mrs. Schooner (October 8, 1961) The New Bob Cummings Show, ―Lavender Hale’s Mob‖ (December 7, 1961) Dennis the Menace, ―The Junior Pathfinders Ride Again‖ – Mrs. Schooner (April 8, 1962) Dennis the Menace, ―Dennis, the Rain Maker‖ – Mrs. Schooner (January 27, 1963) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, ―And Still the Champ‖ – Mrs. Harrington (February 16, 1963) My Favorite Martian, ―Hitch-Hiker to Mars‖ – Woman eating in Lucky Shamrock Café (March 1, 1964) Hazel, ―Maid for a Day‖ – Emily Deerborne (April 23, 1964) My Favorite Martian, ―The Magnetic Personality and Who Needs It‖ – Mrs. Peabody (March 21, 1965) My Favorite Martian, ―A Martian Sonata in Mrs. B’s Flat‖ – Plump lady (May 30, 1965)

Movies

The Bad and the Beautiful – Real estate woman (1952) Carbine Williams – Mrs. Laura Williams (1952) Million Dollar Mermaid – Wife (1952) Phone Call from a Stranger – Lady at table (1952) Skirts Ahoy! – Servant (1952) The Band Wagon – Investor (1953) Dream Wife – Woman at airport (1953) Easy to Love – Flora (1953) I Love Melvin – Visitor (1953) So Big – Mrs. Robinson (1953) Athena – Mrs. Tremaine (1954) Ain’t Misbehavin’ – Mrs. Hall (1955) Daddy Long Legs – Inquisitive woman (1955) The Glass Slipper – Townswoman (1955) Sincerely Yours – Plump woman (1955) All that Heaven Allows – Mrs. Taylor (1956) The Girl He Left Behind – Member of women’s club (1956) The Harder They Fall – Mrs. Wilson Harding (1956) The Garment Jungle – Buyer (1957) Jeanne Eagels – Equity Board woman (1957) Nightfall – Woman (1957) Tammy and the Bachelor – Woman at exhibition (1957) Home Before Dark – Mrs. Franklin (1958) Ride a Crooked Trail – Mrs. Weller (1958) Pillow Talk – Woman in elevator (1959) Blue Hawaii – Matron (1961) Critic’s Choice – Fat woman (1963) The Thrill of It All – Autograph seeker (1963)

For Lillian Culver’s page in the Internet Movie Database, see here.