Larry Gates
![Larry Gates](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/LarryGates.69184.1.jpg)
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
Nominated for a Tony Award in 1964 for Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Drama) for "A Case of Libel."
Biography
American character actor Larry Gates got his proverbial break late in his career, and is best known for his roles on the soap "Guiding Light" and in the film "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." After appearing on stage and on screen for several years he was "discovered" in a 1956 version of the Broadway show "Bell, Book and Candle." He also had a prominent role in the sci-fi classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," which also came out in '56, and subsequently had a long and successful career in supporting screen roles. His most prominent film role came in the 1958 Tennessee Williams adaptation "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," playing Dr. Baugh. He appeared in Samuel Fuller's exploitation noir "Underworld U.S.A.," the Lillian Hellman classic "Toys in the Attic," and Italian Mafia crime drama "Lucky Luciano," playing a judge. He could also be seen playing a landowner in Norman Jewison's racially charged "In the Heat of the Night" and was in the Frank Sinatra vehicle "Some Came Running." On TV Gates played an enormous range of roles, including multiple appearances on the true-crime drama "The F.B.I." and President Herbert Hoover in the miniseries "Backstairs at the White House." He was most recognizable, however, for his long-term part as H.B. Lewis on "Guiding Light," a role he continued until his death in 1996.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1938
Moved to New York to become an actor
1939
New York debut in "Speak of the Devil"
1951
Appeared in "Bell, Book and Candle" on Broadway with Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer
1952
Regular on CBS daytime drama "Guiding Light"
1953
Performed in Peter Ustinov's "Love of Four Colonels" again with Harrison and Palmer
1975
Appeared as Polonius in the New York Shakespeare Festival
1981
Performed "King Lear" for the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland, OH
Videos
Movie Clip
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Trailer
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Family
Companions
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com//img/global/logo-AFI.png)
Bibliography
Notes
Nominated for a Tony Award in 1964 for Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Drama) for "A Case of Libel."