In April 1964, Walter and Betty Roberts opened the Actors and Writers Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia, “to provide younger talent in all fields with an opportunity to develop and showcase their talents, and to encourage an interest and participation in theater arts among young people, especially high school students.” Walter and Betty met nine years earlier during the casting of a play. Walter and Better were cast as husband and wife who bitterly hated each other, but in real life, it was love at first sight. Three days after they met, Walter proposed and Betty instantly accepted. As soon as the tour ended, they eloped. They worked in theater together until they decided to form their own production company. The A&W Workshop guided the young actors and writers by hosting various performances based on their talents. In celebration of William Shakespeare’s 400th birthday, they selected for their first touring production, “Othello.” Walter directed and played the part of the jealous Moor who killed the tragic Desdemona, who was played by Betty. Since it was a new venture with little capital, “Othello” was presented in modern dress. Walter had an orchestra, which included three musicians from the local Briarcliff High School, prerecord the music for the production. The announcement invited “Artists wishing to associate with the group [to] apply by letter. No fees are involved.”
In 1965, Coretta King called the A&W Workshop and asked if her nine-year-old daughter Yolanda could join the troupe. At just eight years old, Yolanda had written her first play, but she had been turned away from other theater groups because they did not accept black students. Betty, who thought talent was colorblind, told Coretta, “Sure. Come on over.” Yolanda was welcomed into the A&W Workshop and was regularly cast as the lead female in productions. By April 1966, Yolanda was one of two assistant directors of the company. She was just 10 years old at the time. Walter and Betty became close friends with Coretta and her husband, Martin.
In the following year, 1967, Betty was pregnant with her second child. Although the A&W Workshop had a full tour schedule, it was struggling financially. In June, the young performers opened the summer season with “Joan of Arc,” followed by “Little Plays for Little People,” “Green Pastures,” and “Once Upon a Mattress.” In September 1967, the A&W Workshop began its fall season and advertised that although it had already begun, they were still accepting applications for membership. Walter and Betty were in a financial slump and needed more students. On October 28, 1967, Walter and Betty welcomed their second child, a daughter, into the world. It was a happy occasion, mostly. Walter, Betty, and their son, Eric, were overjoyed with the new addition to their family, but Walter and Betty worried about the looming hospital bill which they were unable to afford. When Yolanda’s parents learned about their financial difficulty, they remembered when Walter and Betty had accepted their daughter when everyone else turned her away. Yolanda’s parents, Coretta Scott King and her husband, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., paid the full hospital bill for Walter and Betty. You know Walter and Betty’s daughter. Her name is Julia Roberts.
Sources:
Caitlin O’Kane, “Julia Roberts reveals Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King paid for her parents’ hospital bill when she was born,” CBS News.com, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/julia-roberts-martin-luther-king-jr-and-coretta-scott-king-paid-birth-hospital-bill/, accessed February 8, 2026.Enter the first part of your article here…
The Atlanta Journal, April 12, 1964, p.10-D.
The Atlanta Journal, April 23, 1964, p.71.
The Atlanta Journal, May 10, 1964, p.104.
The Atlanta Journal, July 31, 1964, p.26.
The Atlanta Journal, April 22, 1966, p.29.
The Atlanta Journal, June 29, 1967, p.79.
The Atlanta Constitution, September 9, 1967, p.37.