Ernest Graves (actor)

Ernest Graves (May 5, 1919 – June 1, 1983) was an American film, theatre, and television actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the original Victor Lord on the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live from 1968 to 1974.

Born in Chicago, Graves graduated from the Goodman Theatre of the Chicago Art Institute in 1940.^[1]

Graves starred in eleven broadway productions in his career. In the 1940s, he starred in Macbeth,^[2] The Russian People,^[3] Men in Shadow,^[4][5] Cyrano de Bergerac with José Ferrer,^[6][7][8][9] and Eastward in Eden.^[10] In the 1950s, Graves starred in As You Like It,^[11] Much Ado About Nothing,^[12] and Tiger at the Gates.^[13] In the 1960s, he starred in Dylan,^[14][15][16] Venus Is which never opened.^[17] In the 1970s, he starred in Poor Murderer.^[18][19] and Golda with Anne Bancroft.^[20][21] Before his death in the 1980s, Graves was on a national tour with Yul Brynner in The King and I.^[1]

Graves starred in Walk East on Beacon (1952),^[22] the cult film Hercules in New York (1970),^[23] and The Dogs of War (1980).^[24]

Graves was a regular on the NBC drama Today Is Ours (1958).^[25][26][27] He also was featured on several daytime soap operas, including The Brighter Day,^[28] Guiding Light,^[29][30] The Edge of Night, As the World Turns, and Another World. He was on three episodes of Search for Tomorrow.^[31][32] Graves starred the made-for-TV movie adaptation of the play The Ceremony of Innocence for NET Playhouse. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the original Victor Lord on the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live from 1968 to 1974.^[33][34]

Graves was married Helen Grant on December 12, 1963. Together, they had one daughter, Leslie. On June 1, 1983, he died of cancer at age 64 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.^[1]

• Schemering, Christopher (1985). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia (Paperback). New York City: Ballantine Books. pp. 126, 158–166, 200–2012, 220. ISBN 978-0345324597.
• Waggett, Gerard J. (1997). "One Life to Live". The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. New York City: Harper. pp. 150, 163–188, 220, 254–266, 382, 408–409. ISBN 978-0061011573.
• Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 1090. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
• Guernsey, Otis L. (1977). The Best Plays of 1976–1977. New York City: Dodd, Mead and Company. pp. 294–295. ISBN 978-0396075011. Archived from the original on February 26, 2020.
• Maltin, Leonard (2003). Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 2004 (Paperback). London: Penguin Group. p. 610. ISBN 978-0452284784.

• Ernest Graves at IMDb
• Ernest Graves at the Internet Broadway Database