Jesse Graves

Biography

Jesse Graves (1879–1949), also known as Jessie Graves or Jesse A. Graves, was an American character actor of the 1930s and 1940s. During his career he appeared in over 100 films. Some of the more notable include: After the Thin Man in 1936, which stars William Powell, Myrna Loy, and James Stewart; 1938's Jezebel with Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, and George Brent; the Mickey Rooney version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939); Frank Capra's 1939 political comedy-drama, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, starring James Stewart and Jean Arthur; the Orson Welles classic, Citizen Kane (1941); the George Gershwin biopic, Rhapsody in Blue (1945); and the 1948 Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn romantic comedy, State of the Union. His final film was the 1949 western, El Paso, starring John Payne and Gail Russell. As a Black American during this era, most of his roles were as butlers, redcaps, porters, waiters and other servant positions.

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