George Gaston Bell (September 27, 1877 â€" December 13, 1963) was an
American stage and film actor active over the early decades of the
twentieth century.Bell was born in 1877 at Boston, Massachusetts to
George and Elizabeth Bell. His acting career began in 1902 as a member
of Charles Frohman’s theatrical organization shortly after his
graduation from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. In
1903 Bell toured in Hall Caine’s The Christian as Horatio Drake with
a troop headed by Lionel Adams and Bianca West. The following year he
supported Harry Beresford in Charles T. Vincent’s Our New Man, and
in the spring of 1905 he replaced William Courtenay as Little Billee
in Trilby at New York’s New Amsterdam Theatre. The next season Bell
played one of the three suitors in Clara Lipman’s Julie Bonbon. and
on New Year’s Eve, 1906 he began a long run on Broadway and on the
road playing Horace Pettingill in Brewster's Millions. In 1910 Bell
toured with the Columbia Stock Company performing in such plays as
Clyde Fitche’s Girls as the misanthrope Frank Loot, and the
supporting role Bryce Forrester in Caught in the Rain by William
Collier, Sr. and Grant Stewart. Bell’s last known Broadway
performance was in the comedy Seven Sisters which ran for 32
performances at the Lyceum Theatre in February and March 1911 before
embarking on its road tour.Bell entered film around 1912 with the
Majestic Motion Picture Company, appearing that year in at least two
short films, Opportunity and A Warrior Bold. The following year Bell
made several short films for Kinemacolor Film Company before joining
the Lubin Manufacturing Company to play in films written by playwright
Charles Klein. In 1915 he played John Froment II opposite Theda Bara
in the William Fox silent film, Destruction. His last known motion
picture was the 1919 film, The Heart of a Gypsy by Charles Miller
Productions. By late 1918 Bell was back on the road touring in The
Naughty Wife by Fred Jackson and the next year with the Max Marcin
comedy, Cheating Cheaters. Around this time his ten-year marriage to
Adelaide (née Cronley) Bell ended in a Reno, Nevada courtroom. Bell
later retired to Woodstock, New York to manage an inn, write plays and
serve as the first director of the Woodstock Community Players. He
died there in December 1963, aged 86.
American stage and film actor active over the early decades of the
twentieth century.Bell was born in 1877 at Boston, Massachusetts to
George and Elizabeth Bell. His acting career began in 1902 as a member
of Charles Frohman’s theatrical organization shortly after his
graduation from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. In
1903 Bell toured in Hall Caine’s The Christian as Horatio Drake with
a troop headed by Lionel Adams and Bianca West. The following year he
supported Harry Beresford in Charles T. Vincent’s Our New Man, and
in the spring of 1905 he replaced William Courtenay as Little Billee
in Trilby at New York’s New Amsterdam Theatre. The next season Bell
played one of the three suitors in Clara Lipman’s Julie Bonbon. and
on New Year’s Eve, 1906 he began a long run on Broadway and on the
road playing Horace Pettingill in Brewster's Millions. In 1910 Bell
toured with the Columbia Stock Company performing in such plays as
Clyde Fitche’s Girls as the misanthrope Frank Loot, and the
supporting role Bryce Forrester in Caught in the Rain by William
Collier, Sr. and Grant Stewart. Bell’s last known Broadway
performance was in the comedy Seven Sisters which ran for 32
performances at the Lyceum Theatre in February and March 1911 before
embarking on its road tour.Bell entered film around 1912 with the
Majestic Motion Picture Company, appearing that year in at least two
short films, Opportunity and A Warrior Bold. The following year Bell
made several short films for Kinemacolor Film Company before joining
the Lubin Manufacturing Company to play in films written by playwright
Charles Klein. In 1915 he played John Froment II opposite Theda Bara
in the William Fox silent film, Destruction. His last known motion
picture was the 1919 film, The Heart of a Gypsy by Charles Miller
Productions. By late 1918 Bell was back on the road touring in The
Naughty Wife by Fred Jackson and the next year with the Max Marcin
comedy, Cheating Cheaters. Around this time his ten-year marriage to
Adelaide (née Cronley) Bell ended in a Reno, Nevada courtroom. Bell
later retired to Woodstock, New York to manage an inn, write plays and
serve as the first director of the Woodstock Community Players. He
died there in December 1963, aged 86.
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