Matty Roubert

Matthew "Matty" Roubert (January 22, 1907 – May 17, 1973) was an American actor, who started out as a child actor working in silent films. As an adult, he mainly worked in B movie western films. Roubert made his film debut at the age of two in Uncle Tom's Cabin^[1]

Matty Roubert
Roubert at twelve years old
Born	Matthew Roubert (1907-01-22)January 22, 1907 Manhattan, New York
Died	May 17, 1973(1973-05-17) (aged 66) Honolulu, Hawaii
Occupation	Actor
Known for	The Universal Boy

At the age of seven, The Universal Company hired Roubert to star in a series of short films as "The Universal Boy", who visited many prominent people and celebrities.^[2] When he was twelve, Reelcraft Picture Company cast him in the Romances of Youth series, which were marketed to a wider audience. Roubert was inducted into the Young Hollywood Hall of Fame in 1913.^[3]

Biography

Matty Roubert was born on January 22, 1907, in Manhattan, New York to William and Rachel Roubert.^[4] His father was an actor and director, and his mother was a member of the Powers Motion Picture Company.^[5] Roubert made his film debut at the age of two in Uncle Tom's Cabin^[1] His father also established a production company, named after his son, Matty Roubert Productions, which produced Heritage.^[6]

Career

Roubert first appeared in films for Vitagraph and Biograph before starring in comedies for Pat Powers. He was frequently featured alongside Baby Early. They were known as the "Powers Kids".^[7] In 1914, the Universal company hired him to star in a series of short films, and he was known as the Universal Boy.^[8][9] In 1920, Reelcraft Picture Company cast him in several short films known as the Romance of Youth series.^[10] As an adult, he starred primarily in western films, sometimes working as a stunt double. Roubert has over 140 credits as an actor.^[11]

In 1917, while directing Roubert in Parentage, Hobart Henley remarked that Roubert was "probably the greatest boy actor in the industry" at that time. Henley said he didn't bother with costumes or make-up for the actor, because he "wanted him just as he found him, just as he looked when he went to school each day".^[12] Film historian Anthony Slide suggested that during the 1910s, there were more children on the screen than at any other period in film history, with Roubert being one of the most prominent.^[13] When he turned 18, Roubert recalled working with Norma Talmadge and Mary Pickford before they became well known, and D. W. Griffith directed him in the first two-reeler he made. Roubert also starred in the first three-reeler made in the United States.^[14]

Personal life

In 1924, he was dating Thelma Salter, who he had starred with in several productions when they were child actors. That same year, Roubert also told the Los Angeles Times, that when he was a boy, he once had lunch with Theodore Roosevelt, after he climbed on the running board of Roosevelt's car.^[15] In 1934, he married Helen Gutierrez, while living in Hollywood. She appeared in several Community Playhouse productions.^[16] In 1936, Roubert and his wife traveled to Tahiti, where they lived for six months.^[17] By 1973, Roubert was living in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he died in May 1973.^[4]

Filmography

Clip from Uncle Tom's Cabin, featuring Roubert in his debut at two years old

Advertisement for silent film The Waif

Advertisement for Heritage

Roubert publicity photograph circa 1914

Roubert with Hobart Henley in a scene from Parentage

Roubert at eighteen years old

Year	Film	Ref.
1910	Uncle Tom's Cabin	[18]
1911	The Freshet	[19]
1912	Baby Sherlock	[20]
	The Coming Generation	[21]
	The Golden Rule	[22]
	Ransom	[23]
	Tangled	[24]
1913	A Man's Awakening	[25]
	Mrs. Brown's Burglar	[26]
	When Dolly Died	[27]
1914	How Villains Are Made	[28]
	John Barleycorn	[29]
	Little Billy's City Cousin	[30]
	One Day Of Matty's Life	[31]
	The Race	[32]
	Vasco the Vampire	[33]
1915	A Bachelor's Christmas	[34]
1916	The Big Sister	[35]
	Blind Man's Bluff	[36]
	The Scarlet Mark	[37]
1917	The Waif	[38]
1918	Parentage	[39]
1920	Heritage	[40]
1923	For You My Boy	[41]
	The Stolen Child	[42]
1925	After a Reputation	[43]
1929	Close Harmony	[44]
1931	The Wife Wins	[45]
	Up Pops the Devil	[46]
1932	Tom Brown of Culver	[47]
1933	The Prizefighter and the Lady	[48]
1934	Broadway Bill	[49]
	Evelyn Prentice	[49]
	Jealousy	[49]
	The Merry Widow	[49]
	The Mighty Barnum	[49]
1935	Mad Love	[50]
	The Four Star Boarder	[51]
1936	Divot Diggers	[52]
1937	Crusade Against Rackets	[53]
1938	Gold Mine in the Sky	[54]
	Shine On, Harvest Moon	[55]
1939	Saga of Death Valley	[56]
1940	Adventures of Red Ryder	[57]
	Frontier Vengeance	[58]
	Lone Star Raiders	[59]
	Knute Rockne, All American	[60]
	One Man's Law	[61]
	The Trail Blazers	[62]
	Under Texas Skies	[63]
1941	Arizona Bound	[64]
	Gauchos of Eldorado	[65]
	The Phantom Cowboy	[66]
1943	The Blocked Trail	[67]
	West of Texas	[68]
1945	Gangster's Den	[69]
	Song of the Prairie	[70]
1946	Daughter of Don Q	[71]
	The Fighting Frontiersman	[11]
	Galloping Thunder	[11]
	Gunning for Vengeance	[11]
	Heading West	[72]
	Lone Star Moonlight	[73]
	Prairie Outlaws	[11]
	Romance of the West	[74]
	Santa Fe Uprising	[75]
	Stars Over Texas	[11]
	Terror Trail	[72]
	That Texas Jamboree	[11]
	Thunder Town	[11]
	Tumbleweed Trail	[76]
	Two-Fisted Stranger	[73]
1947	Border Feud	[11]
	Buffalo Bill Rides Again	[11]
	The Fighting Vigilantes	[11]
	Law of the Lash	[77]
	The Lone Hand Texan	[78]
	Valley of Fear	[11]
1948	G-Men Never Forget	[79]
	Phantom Valley	[11]
1949	Challenge of the Range	[80]
1950	Gunfire	[11]
	Hoedown	[11]
	I Shot Billy the Kid	[11]
1951	Cyclone Fury	[81]
1952	The Rough, Tough West	[82]

Short films series

Circus Days, 1920 silent film starring Roubert, Romances of Youth series

Advertisement for The Universal Boy series

Advertisement for Romances of Youth series

Roubert was seven years old when he became the Universal Boy. During his stint in the series, Roubert would meet a well known celebrity in each short, among them: American actors King Baggot, William Shay, Frank Crane, DeWolf Hopper, American aviator Lincoln Beachey, New York Giants manager John McGraw, Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman, American lyricist Oscar Hammerstein, New York Giants pitcher Christy Mathewson, Secretary of War Lindley Garrison, the Columbia University rowing crew, Theodore Roosevelt, American race car driver Barney Oldfield, American businessman Nathan Straus, and German-American editorial cartoonist Hy Mayer.^[83][84][85]

Roubert was twelve when he was cast in the Romance of Youth series. According to R.C. Cropper, president of Reelcraft Pictures, "this will be the biggest series of its kind ever attempted in the independent field. These will be feature productions in every sense of the word, from the preparation of the story right on through cast and production. The stories will concern adventures of boys and girls, in other words, the days of youth, but they will appeal to audiences of all ages."^[10]

Universal Boy Series
Year	Film	Ref.
1914	The Universal Boy	[86]
	The Universal Boy Joins the Boy Scouts
	The Universal Boy Solves the Chinese Mystery
	The Universal Boy in the Juvenile Reformer
	The Universal Boy as the Newsboy's Friend
	The Universal Boy in Rural Adventures
	The Universal Boy in the Gates of Liberty
	The Universal Boy in the Mystery of the New York Docks
	The Universal Boy in Cupid and the Fishes
	The Universal Boy in the Young Philanthropist
Romances of Youth series
1920	A Bold Bad Pirate	[87]
	At The Old Swimming Hole	[88]
	Circus Days	[89]
	Everyone's Orphan	[90]
	Romance	[91]
	She's a Vamp	[92]
	Summer Days	[93]
	Sunshine	[87]

Gallery

Roubert meeting various individuals for the Universal Boy series.

Roubert meets the police

Roubert at the White House

Roubert meets the Columbia University rowing crew

Roubert meets Secretary of War Lindley Garrison

See also

• Film portal

• List of American former child actors
• List of lost silent films (1910–1914)
• List of lost silent films (1915–1919)
• List of lost silent films (1920–1924)