Agate, May (1892–1960)

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Agate, May (1892–1960)

English actress and writer. Born Dec 29, 1892, in Manchester, England; died 1960; sister of James Agate, drama critic and author; m. Wilfrid Grantham.

Studied and made stage debut with Sarah Bernhardt at her theater in Paris in La Samaritaine (1912); made London debut as Lady Howard in the Bernhardt starrer La Reine Elizabeth (1912); also appeared in Bernhardt's Phêdre (1913) and Les Cathédrales (1913); other portrayals include Mrs. 'Enderson in The Beetle, Mrs. Harold in Craig's Wife, Mrs. Vanderpool in Hocus-Pocus, and Duchess Ludoviska in Elizabeth of Austria. Wrote a biography of Bernhardt, Madame Sarah (1945); with husband, under pseudonym Grant Yates, adapted Night's Candles (1933); adapted "The Woman of Samaria" for radio (1945).