Bernard R. Granville (July 4, 1888 - October 5, 1936) was an American actor, singer and

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spe ...

performer who was discovered by

Florenz Ziegfeld Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...

and was known as "the twentieth century comedian".

Biography

He was born on July 4, 1888 in

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, the only child of Algernon Granville and Cora B Chamberlain Granville (1864-1937).https://www.myheritage.com/names/cora_granville He started his career as a

performer with Al G. Field at age 18, in 1906. He worked there until 1911. He worked as a

circus clown Clowns have always been an integral part of the circus, offering a source of amusement for patrons and providing relief from the array of animal acts and performances by acrobats and novelty artistes. Traditional types Traditionally, there are t ...

for

Ringling Brothers The Ringling brothers (originally Rüngling) were seven American siblings who transformed their small touring company of performers into one of the largest circuses in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four brothers ...

than went back to a minstrel show with Donnely and Hatfield He performed in

Marriage a la Carte ''Marriage a la Carte'' is a three-act Broadway musical comedy composed and written by C. M. S. McLellan and scored by Ivan Caryll. The play was staged by Austen Hurgon with musical direction provided by J. Sebastian Hiller and Carl H. Engel. ''M ...

at the La Salle Theater in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1911. He performed in

A Winsome Widow ''A Winsome Widow'' is a 1912 musical produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., which was a revised version of Charles Hale Hoyt's 1891 hit, ''A Trip to Chinatown'', with a score by Raymond Hubbell. History The show debuted at the Moulin Rouge on April ...

at the

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (P ...

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

. He then appeared in the

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

of 1912, 1915, and 1916. He served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a lieutenant and a pilot in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He married

Rosina Timponi Rosina may refer to: *Rosina, Slovakia, a municipality in Slovakia * Rosina, Bulgaria, a village in Targovishte Municipality *Rosina, West Virginia *Rosina (given name), feminine given name *Rosina (surname) *Rosina (ship), list of ships with this n ...

and they had a daughter

Bonita Granville Bonita Gloria Granville Wrather (February 2, 1923 – October 11, 1988) was an American actress and producer. The daughter of vaudevillians, Granville began her career on the stage at age three. She initially began as a child actress, making h ...

. They later divorced. He next married Eleanor Christie. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on October 5, 1936 in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

Broadway

Whistling in the Dark Whistling without the use of an artificial whistle is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. The a ...

(1932) * Castles in the Air (1927) as Monty Blair *

Earl Carroll's Vanities ''The Earl Carroll Vanities'' was a Broadway revue that Earl Carroll presented in the 1920s and early 1930s. Carroll and his show were sometimes controversial. Distinguishing qualities In 1923, the ''Vanities'' joined the ranks of New York� ...

(1923) *

Frank Fay's Fables Frank Fay (1870–1931), older brother of William Fay, was an actor and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, ...

(1922) *

Ziegfeld Follies of 1920 The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

Morris Gest Morris Gest (also Maurice Guest, March 15, 1875 – May 16, 1942) was an American theatre producer, theatrical producer of the early 20th century. Early life Moishe Gershnowitz was born near Vilna (then part of the Russian empire, now Lithuania), ...

Midnight Whirl Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours ...

(1919) *

The Little Blue Devil ''The Little Blue Devil'' was a musical comedy by Harold Atteridge and Harry Carroll that premiered on November 3, 1919 at the Central Theater on Broadway. It ran for 74 performances. Plot The show opens at the office of the fictional New York In ...

(1919) * Ziegfeld Follies of 1916 * Ziegfeld Follies of 1915 * Dancing Around (1914) * The Passing Show of 1914 * The Whirl of the World (1914) * Ziegfeld Follies of 1912

External links

Bernard R. Granville
at

Findagrave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Granville, Bernard R. 1888 births 1936 deaths Vaudeville performers Blackface minstrel performers American circus performers Deaths from pneumonia in California 20th-century American singers 20th-century circus performers