Born Roy Barnes Jones in Dade City in Pasco County, near Tampa, Florida, he began his acting career on the stage, first appearing 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. He appeared in numerous films in secondary parts and returned to perform on Broadway in such productions as Twentieth Century, My Sister Eileen, and Carnival in Flanders until he began making guest appearances on television series. After appearing on Gale Storm's My Little Margie in 1956, he became part of several television series for which he is best remembered. 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! Susanna, which aired on CBS and ABC from 1956 to 1960. 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. Roberts appeared on four episodes of the CBS legal drama, Perry Mason, including the role of murderer Arthur Janeel in the 1961 episode, "The Case of the Malicious Mariner."