Signed drawing of Guy Bates Post by Manuel Rosenberg for the Cincinnati Post 1921
Guy Bates Post (September 22, 1875 – January 16, 1968) was an American character actor who appeared in at least 21 Broadway plays and 25 Hollywood films over a career that spanned more than 50 years. He was perhaps best remembered in the role of Omar Khayyám in the 1914 stage and 1922 film productions of Richard Walton Tully's Omar the Tentmaker and for his over 1,500 performances in John Hunter Booth's 1917 play The Masquerader.[1]
Early life
Guy Bates Post was born in Seattle, Washington, the first of two sons and a daughter (actress Madeline Post) raised by John J. Post and Mary Annette Ostrander. His father, a Canadian of English descent, was a partner in the Seattle lumber firm Stetson and Post.[2] His mother was born in Wisconsin into a family that originally went west from New York. Post received his education at schools in Seattle and later San Francisco, then he dropped out of college to embark on a career in theatre.[1][3][4]
as John Stoddard in The Bridge by Rupert Hughes c. 1909
Post remained active on Broadway until the mid-1930s achieving particular success as Captain Stuart in Soldiers of Fortune (1902) by Augustus Thomas,[8] Steve in The Virginian (1904) by Owen Wister and Kirke La Shelle, Dean in Bird of Paradise (1910) by Richard Walton Tully, Omar Khayyám in Omar the Tent Maker (1914) by Richard Walton Tully and dual rôles, as John Chilcote and John Loder, in The Masquerader (1914) by John Hunter Booth.[9][10]
Post married actress Sarah Truax on April 18, 1897, at St. John's Episcopal Church, San Francisco. At the time, the two were engaged with Skinner's company performing at the city's Baldwin Theatre.[12] The couple divorced amicably some ten years later. In August 1907, he married Jane Peyton (born Jennie Van Norman), a fellow cast member with The Heir to the Hoorah tour.[13] This union ended with an annulment seven years later.[14] Post married Adele Ritchie on February 2, 1916, at a ceremony held in Toronto two days after the actress had secured a divorce from her previous husband.[15] Post and Ritchie separated in 1926 and divorced three years later. On October 26, 1936, in Las Vegas, Post married the British actress Lillian Kemble-Cooper.[16] This union lasted for over 30 years and ended with his death in Los Angeles at the age of 92.[1][17]
