Granville Bates
Granville Bates (January 7, 1882 – July 8, 1940) was an American character actor and bit player, appearing in over ninety films.
Biography
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]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Grave_of_Granville_Bates_%281882%E2%80%931940%29_at_Graceland_Cemetery%2C_Chicago.jpg/125px-Grave_of_Granville_Bates_%281882%E2%80%931940%29_at_Graceland_Cemetery%2C_Chicago.jpg)
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]
Selected plays in which Granville Bates appeared
Run | Title | Character | Playwright(s) | Theater/Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 12, 1924 - Jan 1925 | Silence | Dr. Thorpe | Max Marcin | List
|
Oct 06, 1927 - Oct 22, 1927 | My Princess | Mitchell | Edward Sheldon and Dorothy Donnelly | List
|
Nov 07, 1927 - Nov 1927 | The Stairs | Gianfranchi | Rosso di San Secondo | List
|
Aug 27, 1928 - Dec 1928 | Gentlemen of the Press | Braddock | Ward Morehouse | List
|
Jan 08, 1930 - Jan 1930 | So Was Napoleon (Sap from Syracuse) | Solomon Hycross | Jack O'Donnell and John Wray | List
|
Sep 24, 1930 - Sep 05, 1931 | Once in a Lifetime | Bishop (replacement) | Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman | List
|
Feb 18, 1932 - Apr 1932 | Trick for Trick | Lieutenant Jed Dodson | Vivian Crosby, Shirley Warde and Harry Wagstaff Gribble | List
|
Sep 19, 1932 - Oct 1932 | Lilly Turner | Dave Turner | George Abbott and Philip Dunning | List
|
Dec 29, 1932 - May 20, 1933 | Twentieth Century | Conductor | Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur; Based on a play by Charles Bruce Millholland | List
|
Sep 21, 1933 - Jan 1934 | Double Door | Mortimer Neff | Elizabeth McFadden | List
|
May 15, 1934 - Jun 02, 1934 | Come What May | Dr. Hughes | Richard F. Flournoy | List
|
Sep 29, 1934 - Feb 1935 | Merrily We Roll Along | Mr. Murney | George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart | List
|
Feb 12, 1935 - Mar 1935 | Rain | Joe Horn | John Colton and Clemence Randolph; from a story by W. Somerset Maugham | List
|
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (December 2022) |
Selected filmography
- Young Mother Hubbard (1917) - James
- The Kill-Joy (1917) - The Crab
- Jealousy (1929) - Lawyer
- The Sap from Syracuse (1930) - Nycross
- Honor Among Lovers (1931) - Clark
- The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - Bill Collector (uncredited)
- The Wiser Sex (1932) - City Editor
- Midnight (1934) - Henry McGrath
- Woman in the Dark (1934) - Sheriff Grant
- Woman Wanted (1935) - Casey (scenes deleted)
- Pursuit (1935) - Auto Camp Proprietor
- O'Shaughnessy's Boy (1935) - Doctor
- I Live My Life (1935) - Yacht Captain (uncredited)
- Chatterbox (1936) - Philip Greene Sr
- Here Comes Trouble (1936)
- The Music Goes 'Round (1936) - Political Speaker (uncredited)
- 13 Hours by Air (1936) - Pop Andrews
- Times Square Playboy (1936) - Mr. Mort Calhoun
- Hearts Divided (1936) - Robert Livingston (uncredited)
- Poppy (1936) - Mayor Farnsworth
- The Captain's Kid (1936) - Sheriff Pengast
- The Plainsman (1936) - Van Ellyn
- Sing Me a Love Song (1936) - Mr. Goodrich (uncredited)
- Beloved Enemy (1936) - Ryan
- Larceny on the Air (1937) - Prof. Rexford Sterling
- Breezing Home (1937) - Head Politician (uncredited)
- Green Light (1937) - Sheriff
- The Great O'Malley (1937) - Jake - Bar Proprietor (uncredited)
- When's Your Birthday? (1937) - Judge O'Day
- Nancy Steele Is Missing! (1937) - Joseph F.X. Flaherty
- Waikiki Wedding (1937) - Uncle Herman
- Let's Get Married (1937) - Hank Keith
- The Good Old Soak (1937) - Sam (uncredited)
- Mountain Justice (1937) - Judge Crawley at Jeff's Trial
- Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) - Mr. Hunter (uncredited)
- Wings over Honolulu (1937) - Grocery Clerk (uncredited)
- They Won't Forget (1937) - Detective Pindar
- It Happened in Hollywood (1937) - Sam Bennett
- Back in Circulation (1937) - Dr. Evans
- The Perfect Specimen (1937) - Hooker - Garage Owner
- Under Suspicion (1937) - K.Y. Mitchell
- Mannequin (1937) - Mr. Gebhart (uncredited)
- Wells Fargo (1937) - Bradford - Banker
- The Buccaneer (1938) - Gentleman Wanting to Surrender (uncredited)
- The Jury's Secret (1938) - Judge Pendegast
- Gold Is Where You Find It (1938) - Nixon (scenes deleted)
- The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) - Venetian Business Man (uncredited)
- Go Chase Yourself (1938) - Halliday
- Romance on the Run (1938) - Phelps
- Cowboy from Brooklyn (1938) - Pop Hardy
- Mr. Chump (1938) - Abner Sprague
- The Affairs of Annabel (1938) - Mr. Fletcher
- Youth Takes a Fling (1938) - Mr. Judd
- Garden of the Moon (1938) - Angus McGillicuddy
- A Man to Remember (1938) - George Sykes
- Young Dr. Kildare (1938) - Harry Cook (uncredited)
- The Sisters (1938) - Taft Election Announcer (uncredited)
- Hard to Get (1938) - Judge Harkness
- The Shining Hour (1938) - Second Man on Plane (uncredited)
- Next Time I Marry (1938) - H.E. Crocker
- The Great Man Votes (1939) - The Mayor
- Blackwell's Island (1939) - Prison Warden Stuart 'Stu' Granger
- Twelve Crowded Hours (1939) - James McEwen
- Sweepstakes Winner (1939) - Pop Reynolds
- Naughty but Nice (1939) - Judge Kennith B. Walters, Superior Court
- At the Circus (1939) - (uncredited[12])
- Indianapolis Speedway (1939) - Mr. Greer
- Espionage Agent (1939) - Phineas T. O'Grady
- Fast and Furious (1939) - Chief Miller
- Pride of the Blue Grass (1939) - Col. Bob Griner
- Eternally Yours (1939) - Ship Captain (uncredited)
- Our Neighbors – The Carters (1939) - Joseph Laurence
- Charlie McCarthy, Detective (1939) - Judge Black (uncredited)
- Of Mice and Men (1939) - Carlson
- Thou Shalt Not Kill (1939) - Mr. Miller
- Internationally Yours (1939)
- Brother Rat and a Baby (1940) - First Doctor (uncredited)
- Granny Get Your Gun (1940) - Tom Redding
- Millionaire Playboy (1940) - Stafford
- My Favorite Wife (1940) - Judge Bryson
- Brother Orchid (1940) - Pattonsville Superintendent
- The Mortal Storm (1940) - Professor Berg
- Anne of Windy Poplars (1940) - Dr. Walton (uncredited)
- Private Affairs (1940) - Judge Samuel Elmer Hamilton
- Flowing Gold (1940) - Charles Hammond / Shylock
- Men Against the Sky (1940) - Mr. Burdett (final film role)
References
- ^ "GENERAL NOTICES - Champion Builders of Chicago". The Chicago Tribune. XXIII (213): 1. January 19, 1870.
- ^ The Lakeview Directory. Chicago: R.R. Donnelly & Sons. 1888. p. 86.
- ^ "Recent Sales, Leases and Loans". The Chicago Tribune. LIX (329): 38. November 25, 1900.
- ^ "No Holiday for Death". Oakland (CA) Tribune. July 14, 1940. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
- ^ "Granville Bates". Playbill. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
- ^ "Twentieth Century". IBDB.com. Internet Broadway Database.
- ^ Bosley Crowther (May 31, 1940). "The Screen; 'My Favorite Wife' a Lively Farce, With Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, at the Music Hall--2 Other Films". The New York Times.
- ^ T. M. P. (February 15, 1936). "At the RKO Albee". The New York Times.
- ^ Bosley Crowther (September 12, 1940). "The Screen; At the Rialto". The New York Times.
- ^ "Veteran Actor Taken by Death". Los Angeles Times. July 10, 1940. p. 37. Retrieved November 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "OBITUARIES - Granville Bates". The Chicago Tribune. XCIX (167): 14. July 12, 1940.
- ^ The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Volume 1. University of California Press. 1993. p. 63. ISBN 9780520079083. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Granville Bates at IMDb
- Granville Bates at the Internet Broadway Database