Roberta Hyson

Biography

Roberta Hyson was an actress and nightclub dancer. She was in the first black talkie shorts made in Hollywood, co-starring with Evelyn Preer, and they formed a great comedy duo. Roberta had a real flair for physical comedy, too, which she utilized in her singing and dancing. She was the ultimate performer, a popular entertainer in the late 1920s and early 1930s on stage and in films. Her roles were enjoyable, and didn't descend into the stereotypical "mammy" or "maid" roles to which most black actresses were limited. She was among the few who got a chance to "just be" on screen and was one of the first black entertainers to provide positive images and role models for black people in a business that had precious few of them.