Bernard R. Granville (July 4, 1888 - October 5, 1936) was an American actor, singer and minstrel show performer who was discovered by Florenz Ziegfeld and was known as "the twentieth century comedian".
He was born on July 4, 1888, in West Virginia, the only child of Algernon Granville and Cora B Chamberlain Granville (1864-1937).[1]
He started his career as a minstrel show performer with Al G. Field at age 18, in 1906. He worked there until 1911. He worked as a circus clown for Ringling Brothers than went back to a minstrel show with Donnely and Hatfield
He performed in Marriage a la Carte at the La Salle Theater in Chicago, Illinois, in 1911. He performed in A Winsome Widow at the Moulin Rouge in Manhattan, New York City. He then appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1912, 1915, and 1916.
He served in World War I as a lieutenant and a pilot in France.
He married Rosina Timponi and they had a daughter Bonita Granville. They later divorced. He next married Eleanor Christie.
He died of pneumonia on October 5, 1936, in Hollywood, California.[2]