Roberta Semple Salter was the daughter of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson and half-sister to Aimee's other child, Rolf McPherson. Roberta was the original heir to her mother's ministry, which was later taken over by son Rolf.
Early life
Salter was born Roberta Star Semple in Hong Kong, where her mother and father, Robert James Semple, were doing missionary work. Robert died of dysentery and malaria shortly before her birth, and her mother named her Roberta Star – "Roberta" in her father's memory and "Star" because she had brightened what her mother perceived to be a grim future. Roberta inherited her mother's "brilliant smile," biographer Daniel Mark Epstein noted in his 1993 book Sister Aimee. She led children's services at her mother's revivals. Roberta also hosted a radio program and wrote a youth column, "Aunt Birdie", for the church newspaper.
Adulthood
At the age of 21, Roberta fell in love with a ship's purser while accompanying her mother on a crusade. The young couple married in Singapore, but the marriage only lasted three years. By age 24, Roberta had become vice president of her mother's Church of the Foursquare Gospel. A few years later, she sued her mother's attorney for slander. The two-week trial ended with a ruling in the daughter's favor. Roberta's status as her mother's heir ended when she was removed from the church's leadership in 1937. Roberta's daughter said her mother and grandmother remained in contact following the legal battle, despite reports to the contrary. Roberta continued to provide financial support to the Church of the Foursquare Gospel, according to her daughter. Roberta was prevented from attending her mother's funeral in 1944 by military priorities during World War II. She attempted to fly from New York to Los Angeles for the memorial service at Angelus Temple and Forest Lawn, but was bumped from the flight in Chicago when seats were appropriated for military personnel.
Commercial broadcasting
Following the trial, Roberta was invited to be a guest on a NBC radio program, Hobby Lobby. She later was hired as researcher for the show, which featured celebrities and their hobbies. In 1941, Roberta married Harry Salter, music director of Hobby Lobby, and the couple had a daughter. The two later developed radio and television game shows such as Stop the Music and Name That Tune.
