Diane Roter
Encyclopedia
Diane Roter is an American actress best known for her appearances in the long running TV western The Virginian
in its fourth season which ran from 1965 to 1966. She then appeared in an episode of Laredo
which was a spin off from The Virginian series in 1966 and later appeared in an episode of the TV show Family Affair
in 1969. She is also known as Danielle Roter and made appearances in television and film from 1962 until 1970. She currently is a freelance writer with the pen name Dani Roter.
) niece. She joined the show taking the place of Betsy Garth (Roberta Shore
) who left the show in the previous season. Her time in the TV series was cut short when Lee J. Cobb left the series before his contract was completed in the middle of the fourth season. Jennifer Sommers' character was independent, confident, sharing and she helped others in her day to day activities. She was left "home alone" many times as Judge Garth made business trips preparing to become the new Wyoming Territory Governor. Other cast members of The Virginian that she appeared with were James Drury
, Doug McClure
, Clu Gulager
and Randy Boone
.
award from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
in 1966 for her acting in the episode titled "The Horse Fighter" with the following cast and crew:
Randy Boone, Lee J. Cobb, James Drury, Harry Guardino, Clu Gulager and Doug McClure (actors). Norman MacDonnell and James Duff McAdams (producers). Richard Fielder (writer) and Anton Leader (director).
in Paris and performed as a mime at the Mark Taper Forum
. She has taught mime and movement, as well as acting and writing in private classes and in schools. She taught algebra to adults at Los Angeles Valley College
and earned a BA in Bio-Psychology from UCLA and was honored with a research training award. She has been published in journalism and art criticism in the Los Angeles Times
, San Jose Mercury News
, The Daily News, LA Weekly and The Advocate.
She will be joining her fellow cast members from The Virginian for their 50th anniversary celebration at the Memphis Film Festival on May 31, 2012. The event is 20 minutes south of Memphis in Olive Branch, MS. She will appear with James Drury, Gary Clarke, L.Q. Jones, Roberta Shore, Randy Boone, Sara Lane and Don Quine.
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
in its fourth season which ran from 1965 to 1966. She then appeared in an episode of Laredo
Laredo (TV series)
Laredo is an NBC Western television series starring Neville Brand, William Smith, Peter Brown, and Philip Carey as Texas Rangers. The program premiered on September 16, 1965, and the final new episode was broadcast on April 7, 1967. The series was produced by Universal Television.-Synopsis:Laredo...
which was a spin off from The Virginian series in 1966 and later appeared in an episode of the TV show Family Affair
Family Affair
Family Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional...
in 1969. She is also known as Danielle Roter and made appearances in television and film from 1962 until 1970. She currently is a freelance writer with the pen name Dani Roter.
The Virginian Overview
On The Virginian, she played the character of Jennifer Sommers, Judge Henry Garth's (Lee J. CobbLee J. Cobb
Lee J. Cobb was an American actor. He is best known for his performance in 12 Angry Men his Academy Award-nominated performance in On the Waterfront and one of his last films, The Exorcist...
) niece. She joined the show taking the place of Betsy Garth (Roberta Shore
Roberta Shore
Roberta Jymme Schourop , better known as Roberta Shore, is an American actress and performer, most famous for her youthful television and movie roles in the 1950s and early 1960s....
) who left the show in the previous season. Her time in the TV series was cut short when Lee J. Cobb left the series before his contract was completed in the middle of the fourth season. Jennifer Sommers' character was independent, confident, sharing and she helped others in her day to day activities. She was left "home alone" many times as Judge Garth made business trips preparing to become the new Wyoming Territory Governor. Other cast members of The Virginian that she appeared with were James Drury
James Drury
James Child Drury, Jr. is an American actor probably best known for his success in playing the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, broadcast on NBC from 1962-1971...
, Doug McClure
Doug McClure
Douglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
, Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager is an American television and film actor. He is particularly noted for his co-starring role as William H. Bonney in the 1960–62 NBC TV series The Tall Man and for his role in the later NBC series The Virginian...
and Randy Boone
Randy Boone
Clyde Wilson Randall Boone, Jr., known as Randy Boone , is a former actor who co-starred in two of the three 90-minute westerns telecast during the 1960s on the national television networks, NBC's The Virginian and CBS's Cimarron Strip...
.
The Virginian Guest Stars
She also worked with a diverse line up of guest stars. These included (alphabetically by last name):- Lou AntonioLou AntonioLou Antonio is an American actor and TV director best known for performing in the films Cool Hand Luke and America, America...
- Ed BegleyEd BegleyEdward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
- Tony BillTony BillGerard Anthony "Tony" Bill is an American actor, producer, and director. He produced the 1973 movie The Sting, for which he shared the Academy Award for Best Picture with Michael Phillips and Julia Phillips...
- Brooke BundyBrooke BundyBrooke Bundy is an American actress who has appeared in a number of films and television shows.-Movie:She is perhaps best known for her role as Elaine Parker in the 1987 hit horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and its sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master...
- Anthony CarusoAnthony Caruso (actor)Anthony Caruso was an American character actor in over 100 American films, usually playing villains, including the First Season of Walt Disney's Zorro as Don Juan Ortega...
- Michael ConstantineMichael ConstantineMichael Constantine is a Greek American actor.He is probably now best known for his portrayal of Gus Portokalos, the Windex bottle-toting Greek father of Toula Portokalos , in the 2002 surprise hit film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.Prior to that, he was well-known for his extensive TV work, especially...
- John DehnerJohn DehnerJohn Dehner was an American actor in radio, television, and films, playing countless roles, often as a droll villain. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in over 260 films and television programs. Prior to acting, Dehner had worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios, and later became a radio...
- Jack DodsonJack DodsonJack Dodson Born John S. Dodson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was an American television actor best remembered for the milquetoast character Howard Sprague in The Andy Griffith Show and its spin-off Mayberry R.F.D. From 1959 until his death in 1994, Dodson was married to television art director...
- Virginia GreyVirginia GreyVirginia Grey was an American actress.She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of director Ray Grey. One of her early babysitters was movie star Gloria Swanson. Grey debuted at the age of ten in the silent film Uncle Tom's Cabin as Little Eva...
- Harry GuardinoHarry GuardinoHarry Guardino was an American actor whose career spanned from the early 1950s to the early 1990s. In 1964, he was cast in a short-lived CBS series entitled The Reporter, a drama about a hard-hitting investigative journalist named Danny Taylor. His principal co-star was Gary Merrill as city...
- L.Q. Jones
- James MacArthurJames MacArthurJames Gordon MacArthur was an American actor best known for the role of Danny "Danno" Williams, the reliable second-in-command of the fictional Hawaiian State Police squad Hawaii Five-O.-Early life:...
- David McLean
- Lois NettletonLois NettletonLois June Nettleton was an American actress of film, stage, and television. She was Miss Chicago of 1948 as well as a semifinalist at that year's Miss America Pageant.-Early years:...
- Sheree NorthSheree NorthSheree North was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She was known for being 20th Century Fox's answer to Marilyn Monroe from 1954 to 1956...
- Barry PrimusBarry PrimusBarry Primus is an American television and film actor.Primus is primarily an actor, but has also doubled and tripled as writer and director. He worked on stage for the first decade of his career. He gained some experience on TV in shows like The Defenders, East Side/West Side and The Virginian...
- Robert RandomRobert RandomRobert Random , usually billed as Bob Random, is a Canadian-born character actor, who appeared in both movies and television from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s.-Television and film roles:...
- Louise Sorel
- Harold J. StoneHarold J. StoneHarold J. Stone was an American film and television character actor.Born Harold Hochstein to a Jewish acting family, he began his career on Broadway in 1939 and appeared in five plays in the next six years, including One Touch of Venus and Stalag 17, following which he made his motion picture...
- James WhitmoreJames WhitmoreJames Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
The Virginian Directors
She also worked with a diverse line up of directors. These included (alphabetically by last name):- Richard BenedictRichard BenedictRichard "Pepe" Benedict was an Italian-born television and film actor and director.He appeared in dozens of television programs and movies from the 1940s to the 1960s, most notably Ace in the Hole , directed by Billy Wilder...
- Charles S. Dubin
- William Hale
- Herman Hoffman
- Alf KjellinAlf KjellinAlf Kjellin was a Swedish film actor and director, who also appeared on some television shows.He was well established as a film actor when he occasionally took on roles in television shows. For example in 1965 he prominently guest-starred as Stalag Luft Kommandant Col...
- Anton Leader
- Don Richardson
- Paul StanleyPaul Stanley (director)Paul Stanley was an American television director.Stanley worked in television from the early 1950s until the mid-1980s...
The Virginian Producers
She also worked with a diverse line up of producers. These included (alphabetically by last name):- Norman MacDonnellNorman MacDonnellNorman MacDonnell was an American radio and television producer best known for co-creating and producing the Western radio and television series, Gunsmoke. He was also a long-time executive producer for the television series The Virginian....
- James Duff McAdams
- Arthur H. Nadel
- Joel Rogosin
- Paul StanleyPaul Stanley (director)Paul Stanley was an American television director.Stanley worked in television from the early 1950s until the mid-1980s...
The Virginian Awards
She won the Bronze WranglerBronze Wrangler
The Bronze Wrangler is an award presented annually by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum to honor the top works in Western music, film, television and literature.The awards were first presented in 1961...
award from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of American rodeo, photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies...
in 1966 for her acting in the episode titled "The Horse Fighter" with the following cast and crew:
Randy Boone, Lee J. Cobb, James Drury, Harry Guardino, Clu Gulager and Doug McClure (actors). Norman MacDonnell and James Duff McAdams (producers). Richard Fielder (writer) and Anton Leader (director).
Television Filmography
On The Virginian the following fourth season episodes were the ones that she had a significant role in the show:| Diane Roter as "Jennifer Sommers" in The Virginian TV Series | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Season | Episode # | Episode Name |
| November 3, 1965 | 4 | 7 | Jennifer |
| November 10, 1965 | 4 | 8 | Nobility Of Kings |
| December 1, 1965 | 4 | 11 | The Dream Of Stavros Karas |
| December 15, 1965 | 4 | 13 | The Horse Fighter |
| December 22, 1965 | 4 | 14 | Letter Of The Law |
| January 5, 1966 | 4 | 16 | Nobody Said Hello |
| January 26, 1966 | 4 | 19 | Chaff In The Wind |
| February 2, 1966 | 4 | 20 | The Inchworms Got No Wings At All |
| February 9, 1966 | 4 | 21 | Morgan Starr |
| March 30, 1966 | 4 | 27 | That Saunders Woman |
| April 20, 1966 | 4 | 30 | Mark Of A Man |
| Diane Roter Additional Television Filmography | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Show | Date | Season | Episode # | Episode Name |
| Laredo Laredo (TV series) Laredo is an NBC Western television series starring Neville Brand, William Smith, Peter Brown, and Philip Carey as Texas Rangers. The program premiered on September 16, 1965, and the final new episode was broadcast on April 7, 1967. The series was produced by Universal Television.-Synopsis:Laredo... |
September 23, 1966 | 2 | 2 | The Dance Of The Laughing Death |
| Family Affair Family Affair Family Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional... |
April 7, 1969 | 3 | 27 | Flower Power |
| Danielle Roter Additional Television Filmography | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Show | Date | Season | Episode # | Episode Name |
| Dick Powell Show | October 30, 1962 | 2 | 6 | The Great Anatole |
| Hondo Hondo (TV series) Hondo is a Western television series starring Ralph Taeger, that aired in the United States on ABC during the 1967 fall season.-Overview:Hondo was based on the film of the same name starring John Wayne, which was in turn based on an early Louis L'Amour novel... |
October 13, 1967 | 1 | 6 | Hondo And The Apache Kid |
| The Rat Patrol The Rat Patrol The Rat Patrol is an American television program that aired on ABC during the 1966–1968 seasons. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers who are part of a long-range desert patrol group in the North African campaign during World War II... |
February 19, 1968 | 2 | 22 | The Double Jeopardy Raid |
- In 1970, Danielle Roter appeared in the 87 minute drama film titled "Triangle"
Post Television
After her appearances in television, she trained with Marcel MarceauMarcel Marceau
Marcel Marceau was an internationally acclaimed French actor and mime most famous for his persona as Bip the Clown.-Early years:...
in Paris and performed as a mime at the Mark Taper Forum
Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles...
. She has taught mime and movement, as well as acting and writing in private classes and in schools. She taught algebra to adults at Los Angeles Valley College
Los Angeles Valley College
Los Angeles Valley College is a community college located in the Valley Glen district of Los Angeles, California in the east-central San Fernando Valley. The school is a part of the Los Angeles Community College District....
and earned a BA in Bio-Psychology from UCLA and was honored with a research training award. She has been published in journalism and art criticism in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
, The Daily News, LA Weekly and The Advocate.
She will be joining her fellow cast members from The Virginian for their 50th anniversary celebration at the Memphis Film Festival on May 31, 2012. The event is 20 minutes south of Memphis in Olive Branch, MS. She will appear with James Drury, Gary Clarke, L.Q. Jones, Roberta Shore, Randy Boone, Sara Lane and Don Quine.