Larry Gates

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.