William F. Gates

Gates, William F. (d. 1843), actor. He is one of the many theatrical meteors who briefly shone brightly and then burned out. Gates's early history is unknown. It was generally believed that he was born in America and began his career in the circus. Gates made his New York debut at the Chatham Theatre as Orson in Valentine and Orson (1828), but it was during his thirteen seasons at the Bowery Theatre, commencing in 1830 and ending just before his death, that he won his real fame. Although he sometimes essayed serious roles, his forte was low comedy. He excelled as Trinculo and the First Gravedigger but was best known for his acting in contemporary, long‐discarded comedies such as The Cannibals, Blue Laws, and Loan of a Lover. Gates had a round, wide‐eyed, youthful face, with an impish quality appropriate for his sort of roles, and a broad, unpolished style. T. Allston Brown stated simply that “he became, as low comedian, the greatest favorite ever seen.”