Granville Bates
Granville Bates 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, and Adaline Bates. He grew up in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago on the southeast corner of Evanston Ave. and Oakdale Ave. 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.
Bates began his film career in the 1910s with Essanay Studios of the Chicago film industry, 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 by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. He was also the Conductor in the original production of Twentieth Century.
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, 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." 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, while Crowther praised his work in Men Against the Sky : "The players' performances are stock and pedestrian, excepting that of Granville Bates as a cynical banker".
Bates died of a heart attack in Hollywood on July 9, 1940. He was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.
Select stage credits
Filmography
Young Mother Hubbard - JamesThe Kill-Joy - The CrabJealousy - LawyerThe Sap from Syracuse - NycrossHonor Among Lovers - ClarkThe Smiling Lieutenant - Bill Collector The Wiser Sex - City EditorMidnight - Henry McGrathWoman [in the Dark (1934 film)|Woman in the Dark] - Sheriff GrantWoman Wanted - Casey Pursuit - Auto Camp ProprietorO'Shaughnessy's Boy - DoctorI Live My Life - Yacht Captain Chatterbox - Philip Greene SrHere Comes Trouble The Music Goes 'Round - Political Speaker 13 Hours by Air - Pop AndrewsTimes Square Playboy - Mr. Mort CalhounHearts Divided - Robert Livingston Poppy - Mayor FarnsworthThe Captain's Kid - Sheriff PengastThe Plainsman - Van EllynSing Me a Love Song - Mr. Goodrich Beloved Enemy - RyanLarceny on the Air - Prof. Rexford SterlingBreezing Home - Head Politician Green Light - SheriffThe Great O'Malley - Jake - Bar Proprietor When's Your Birthday? - Judge O'DayNancy Steele Is Missing! - Joseph F.X. FlahertyWaikiki Wedding - Uncle HermanLet's [Get Married (1937 film)|Let's Get Married] - Hank KeithThe Good Old Soak - Sam Mountain Justice - Judge Crawley at Jeff's TrialMake Way for Tomorrow - Mr. Hunter Wings over Honolulu - Grocery Clerk They Won't Forget - Detective PindarIt Happened in Hollywood - Sam BennettBack in Circulation - Dr. EvansThe Perfect Specimen - Hooker - Garage OwnerUnder Suspicion - K.Y. MitchellMannequin - Mr. Gebhart Wells Fargo - Bradford - BankerThe Buccaneer - Gentleman Wanting to Surrender The Jury's Secret - Judge PendegastGold Is Where You Find It - Nixon The Adventures of Marco Polo - Venetian Business Man Go Chase Yourself - HallidayRomance on the Run - PhelpsCowboy from Brooklyn - Pop HardyMr. Chump - Abner SpragueThe Affairs of Annabel - Mr. FletcherYouth Takes a Fling - Mr. JuddGarden of the Moon - Angus McGillicuddyA Man to Remember - George SykesYoung Dr. Kildare - Harry Cook The Sisters - Taft Election Announcer Hard to Get - Judge HarknessThe Shining Hour - Second Man on Plane Next Time I Marry - H.E. CrockerThe Great Man Votes - The MayorBlackwell's Island - Prison Warden Stuart 'Stu' GrangerTwelve Crowded Hours - James McEwenSweepstakes Winner - Pop ReynoldsNaughty but Nice - Judge Kennith B. Walters, Superior CourtAt the Circus - Indianapolis Speedway - Mr. GreerEspionage Agent - Phineas T. O'GradyFast and Furious - Chief MillerPride of [the Blue Grass (1939 film)|Pride of the Blue Grass] - Col. Bob GrinerEternally Yours - Ship Captain Our Neighbors – The Carters - Joseph LaurenceCharlie McCarthy, Detective - Judge Black Of [Mice and Men (1939 film)|Of Mice and Men] - CarlsonThou Shalt Not Kill - Mr. MillerInternationally Yours Brother Rat and a Baby - First Doctor Granny Get Your Gun - Tom ReddingMillionaire Playboy - StaffordMy Favorite Wife - Judge BrysonBrother Orchid - Pattonsville SuperintendentThe Mortal Storm - Professor BergAnne of Windy Poplars - Dr. Walton Private Affairs - Judge Samuel Elmer HamiltonFlowing Gold - Charles Hammond / ShylockMen Against the Sky - Mr. Burdett