Florence Bates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Florence Bates (born Florence Rabe, April 15, 1888 – January 31, 1954) was an American film and stage character actress who often played grande dame characters in supporting roles. Her path to becoming an actress had many turns. She had a degree in Mathematics, taught school until married, then became the first Texas female lawyer. Then she became a bilingual radio commentator. After her husband lost her fortune, she and her husband opened a bakery in Los Angeles. In the mid-1930s, Bates auditioned for and won the role of Miss Bates in a Pasadena Playhouse adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. When she decided to continue working with the theatre group, she changed her professional name to that of the first character she played on stage. In 1939, she was introduced to Alfred Hitchcock, who cast her in her first major screen role, the vain dowager Mrs. Van Hopper, in Rebecca (1940). Bates appeared in more than sixty films over the course of the next thirteen years. Among her cinema credits are Kitty Foyle, Love Crazy, The Moon and Sixpence, Mr. Lucky, Heaven Can Wait, Lullaby of Broadway, Mister Big, Since You Went Away, Kismet, Saratoga Trunk, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Winter Meeting, I Remember Mama, Portrait of Jennie, A Letter to Three Wives, On the Town, and Les Misérables. In television, Bates had a regular role on The Hank McCune Show and made guest appearances on I Love Lucy, My Little Margie, I Married Joan and Our Miss Brooks.
Filmography
Paris Model
as Nora Sullivan
Paris Model
as Nora Sullivan
Main Street to Broadway
as Mrs. Bessmer in Fantasy Sequence
Main Street to Broadway
as Mrs. Bessmer in Fantasy Sequence
Les Miserables
as Madame Bonnet
Les Miserables
as Madame Bonnet
The San Francisco Story
as Sadie
The San Francisco Story
as Sadie
Havana Rose
as Mrs. Fillmore
Havana Rose
as Mrs. Fillmore
The Tall Target
as Mrs. Charlotte Alsop
The Tall Target
as Mrs. Charlotte Alsop
Father Takes the Air
as Minerva Bobbin
Father Takes the Air
as Minerva Bobbin
Lullaby of Broadway
as Mrs. Anna Hubbell
Lullaby of Broadway
as Mrs. Anna Hubbell
County Fair
as Nora 'Ma' Ryan
County Fair
as Nora 'Ma' Ryan
The Second Woman
as Amelia Foster
The Second Woman
as Amelia Foster
On the Town
as Madame Dilyovska
On the Town
as Madame Dilyovska
A Letter to Three Wives
as Mrs. Manleigh
A Letter to Three Wives
as Mrs. Manleigh
Portrait of Jennie
as Mrs. Jekes
Portrait of Jennie
as Mrs. Jekes
My Dear Secretary
as Horrible Hannah Reeve (the landlady)
My Dear Secretary
as Horrible Hannah Reeve (the landlady)
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
as Mandy
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
as Mandy
River Lady
as Ma Dunnegan
River Lady
as Ma Dunnegan
Winter Meeting
as Mrs. Castle
Winter Meeting
as Mrs. Castle
The Inside Story
as Geraldine Atherton
The Inside Story
as Geraldine Atherton
I Remember Mama
as Florence Dana Moorhead
I Remember Mama
as Florence Dana Moorhead
The Judge Steps Out
as Chita
The Judge Steps Out
as Chita
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
as Mrs. Griswold
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
as Mrs. Griswold
Love and Learn
as Mrs. Bella Davis - Landlady
Love and Learn
as Mrs. Bella Davis - Landlady
The Brasher Doubloon
as Mrs. Murdock
The Brasher Doubloon
as Mrs. Murdock
The Time, The Place and The Girl
as Mme. Lucia Cassel
The Time, The Place and The Girl
as Mme. Lucia Cassel
The Man I Love
as Mrs. Thorpe (uncredited)
The Man I Love
as Mrs. Thorpe (uncredited)
The Diary of a Chambermaid
as Rose
The Diary of a Chambermaid
as Rose
San Antonio
as Henrietta
San Antonio
as Henrietta
Saratoga Trunk
as Sophie Bellop
Saratoga Trunk
as Sophie Bellop
Out of This World
as Harriet Pringle
Out of This World
as Harriet Pringle
Tonight and Every Night
as May Tolliver
Tonight and Every Night
as May Tolliver
Tahiti Nights
as Queen Liliha
Tahiti Nights
as Queen Liliha
Belle of the Yukon
as Viola Chase
Belle of the Yukon
as Viola Chase
The Mask of Dimitrios
as Madame Elise Chavez
The Mask of Dimitrios
as Madame Elise Chavez
Heaven Can Wait
as Mrs. Edna Craig (uncredited)
Heaven Can Wait
as Mrs. Edna Craig (uncredited)
Mister Big
as Mrs. Mary Davis
Mister Big
as Mrs. Mary Davis
Slightly Dangerous
as Mrs. Amanda Roanoke-Brooke
Slightly Dangerous
as Mrs. Amanda Roanoke-Brooke
They Got Me Covered
as Gypsy Woman
They Got Me Covered
as Gypsy Woman
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
as Mrs. Saunders
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
as Mrs. Saunders
The Moon and Sixpence
as Tiare Johnson
The Moon and Sixpence
as Tiare Johnson
The Tuttles of Tahiti
as Emily
The Tuttles of Tahiti
as Emily
Mexican Spitfire at Sea
as Mrs. Baldwin
Mexican Spitfire at Sea
as Mrs. Baldwin
The Chocolate Soldier
as Madame Helene
The Chocolate Soldier
as Madame Helene
Love Crazy
as Mrs. Cooper
Love Crazy
as Mrs. Cooper
Strange Alibi
as Katie
Strange Alibi
as Katie
The Devil and Miss Jones
as Store Shopper
The Devil and Miss Jones
as Store Shopper
Road Show
as Mrs. Newton
Road Show
as Mrs. Newton
Kitty Foyle
as Customer
Kitty Foyle
as Customer
Hudson's Bay
as Duchess (scenes deleted)
Hudson's Bay
as Duchess (scenes deleted)
The Son of Monte Cristo
as Countess Mathilde Von Braun
The Son of Monte Cristo
as Countess Mathilde Von Braun
Calling All Husbands
as Emmie Trippe
Calling All Husbands
as Emmie Trippe
Rebecca
as Edythe Van Hopper
Rebecca
as Edythe Van Hopper