While touring with Sid Caesar in the '70s, Roberts got a call from Bea Arthur asking if she'd like to join her TV show, Maude. "Bea and I were old friends," Roberts told The Archive of American Television. "She said, 'They want you to play this character as a regular. Would you like to do that?' I said, 'Oh my god, I [have] no idea.' She says, 'Honey, do it. You'll make more money in one day than you do for a week on Broadway.'" Roberts took the job but never actually appeared on the show. She said producer Rod Parker fired her for looking like "a little Bea Arthur" and replaced her with Rue McClanahan. Getting let go turned out to be a blessing in disguise as more opportunities quickly appeared. "The very next day, I was offered everything," Roberts said. "It changed my life."

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