Granville Bates

American actor (1882–1940 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Granville Bates

Granville Bates (January 7, 1882 – July 8, 1940) was an American character actor and bit player, appearing in over ninety films.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...
Granville Bates
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Bates in My Favorite Wife (1940)
Born(1882-01-07)January 7, 1882
DiedJuly 8, 1940(1940-07-08) (aged 58)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
Resting placeGraceland Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois
OccupationActor
Years active1917–1940
Spouses
  • Pearl Dowell
    (m. 1913; div. 1919)
  • Josephine Weller
    (m. 1930)
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Biography

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Bates was born in Chicago in 1882 to Granville Bates, Sr., a developer and builder,[1] and Adaline Bates (née Gleason). He grew up in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago on the southeast corner of Evanston (now Broadway) Ave. and Oakdale Ave.[2] in a townhouse that his father later demolished, along with all of the others on the block, to redevelop as a four-story commercial building with apartments above.[3]

Bates began his film career in the 1910s with Essanay Studios of the Chicago film industry,[4] and his World War I draft Registration Card listed him as a travelling actor for Francis Owen & Co. He appeared on Broadway in the late 1920s and early 1930s, notably in the original production of Merrily We Roll Along (1934) by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.[5] He was also the Conductor in the original production of Twentieth Century (1932).[6]

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Bates' grave at Graceland Cemetery

From the 1930s, he appeared in a number of classic films, although sometimes uncredited. He received favorable notice for his character roles, such as in My Favorite Wife (1940), where he played an irascible judge – The New York Times critic Bosley Crowther wrote "Mr. Bates deserves a separate mention for his masterpiece of comic creation."[7] Another New York Times reviewer noted that "Edward Ellis and Granville Bates provoked an early audience yesterday to gentle laughter in a brief but quietly amusing sequence" in Chatterbox (1936),[8] while Crowther praised his work in Men Against the Sky (1940): "The players' performances are stock and pedestrian, excepting that of Granville Bates as a cynical banker".[9]

Bates died of a heart attack in Hollywood on July 9, 1940.[10] He was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.[11]

Select stage credits

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More information Run, Title ...
Run Title Character Playwright(s) Theater/Location
Nov 12, 1924 - Jan 1925SilenceDr. ThorpeMax Marcin
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Oct 06, 1927 - Oct 22, 1927My PrincessMitchellEdward Sheldon and Dorothy Donnelly
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Nov 07, 1927 - Nov 1927The StairsGianfranchiRosso di San Secondo
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Aug 27, 1928 - Dec 1928Gentlemen of the PressBraddockWard Morehouse
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Jan 08, 1930 - Jan 1930So Was Napoleon (Sap from Syracuse)Solomon HycrossJack O'Donnell and John Wray
List
Sep 24, 1930 - Sep 05, 1931Once in a LifetimeBishop (replacement)Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman
List
Feb 18, 1932 - Apr 1932Trick for TrickLieutenant Jed DodsonVivian Crosby, Shirley Warde and Harry Wagstaff Gribble
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Sep 19, 1932 - Oct 1932Lilly TurnerDave TurnerGeorge Abbott and Philip Dunning
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Dec 29, 1932 - May 20, 1933Twentieth CenturyConductorBen Hecht and Charles MacArthur; Based on a play by Charles Bruce Millholland
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Sep 21, 1933 - Jan 1934Double DoorMortimer NeffElizabeth McFadden
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May 15, 1934 - Jun 02, 1934Come What MayDr. HughesRichard F. Flournoy
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Sep 29, 1934 - Feb 1935Merrily We Roll AlongMr. MurneyGeorge S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
List
  • - Music Box Theatre
  • - New York, NY
Feb 12, 1935 - Mar 1935RainJoe HornJohn Colton and Clemence Randolph; from a story by W. Somerset Maugham
List
  • - Music Box Theatre
  • - New York, NY
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Filmography

References

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