September 24 Birthday Wishes

Larry Gates [1915 - 1996]

Howdy Manco!!

Larry Gates was 37 years old, when he first appeared in film in 1952. He was 41 years old, when he got his big break in the Broadway stage production of Bell, Book And Candle opposite Rex Harrison and Lili Palmer. This led to his being cast in the original 1956 film, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers as .Dr Dan Kaufman, opposite Eugene McCarthy and as .Dr Baugh in the 1958 film, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof with Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman. He also appeared in Some Came Running, The Sand Pebbles, Heat Of The Night, Hour Of The Gun and the Robert Taylor film, Cattle King as the President of the U.S. Gates had a knack for portraying dignified roles and V.I.P.'s in film. He also appeared as the mayor in the Richard Widmark film, Death Of A Gunfighter and as the Secretary Of State in the t.v. movie, The Missles Of October. Along the way, he appeared in many of the t.v. shows popular during the 50's and 60's, such as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Rawhide, The Invaders, Checkmate etc. Gates spent his last years appearing as H.B.Lewis on the t.v. soap opera, The Guiding Light from 1984-1996. He made his final appearance about 1 month before his death, even though he was required to use oxygen to breathe. A professional until the end. If you don't recall his face, there is a picture of him on IMDb.com, but don't let it throw you. Gates in the tall, silver haired individual standing between Eugene McCarthy and King Donovan. NOT the shorter fellow on the right. as they have listed. That's King Donovan.

Ed

Ed, I think you mean Kevin McCarthy in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Eugene McCarthy was a politician. Although, it's good you're not confusing him with Joseph McCarthy!

Also today:

James Burke (1886-1968) was a stage actor in New York before going to Hollywood in the 1930s, appearing in a variety of movies, often playing cops. He was in about 700 films or TV episodes (many of them uncredited). His film credits include Beau Geste (1939), The Maltese Falcon (1941), At the Circus, The Big Clock, and as Sgt. Velie in the Ellery Queen movie series. on TV, he played Sgt. Tim Maloney on Mark Saber and Zeke Bonner on Stagecoach West, as well as appearances on I Love Lucy, Cheyenne, The Life of Riley, Wagon Train, and Wanted Dead or Alive.

Herb Jeffries (1913-) is a retired African-American actor and singer who starred in several all-Black Westerns in the 1930s and '40s (sometimes billed as Herb Jeffrey), and also sang with Earl Hines and Duke Ellington. In 1957 he starred in the Movie Calypso Joe with Angie Dickinson, and played a gunslinger terrorizing the town in an episode of The Virginian, as well as appearing in a few episodes of Hawaii Five-O.

Lee Aaker (1943-) was a child actor, best remembered as Rusty on the Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin, as well as Geraldine Paige's son in Hondo and Eli in Destry with Audie Murphy. He was in 25 movies and several TV shows, but had no luck as an adult actor. He later became a carpenter and ski instructor.