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Roscoe Ates (January 20, 1895–March 1, 1962) was an actor and musician in primarily western films and television. Ates was born in the rural hamlet of Grange, Mississippi, northwest of Hattiesburg. Grange is no longer included on road maps. Ates spent much of his childhood overcoming a severe stutter. He entered the entertainment medium as a concert violinist but found economic opportunities greater as a vaudeville comedian. He revived his long-gone stutter for humorous effect. Besides his early films, Ates starred in his own short subject series with RKO and Vitaphone. His first film... MORE

Roscoe Ates (January 20, 1895–March 1, 1962) was an actor and musician in primarily western films and television. Ates was born in the rural hamlet of Grange, Mississippi, northwest of Hattiesburg. Grange is no longer included on road maps. Ates spent much of his childhood overcoming a severe stutter. He entered the entertainment medium as a concert violinist but found economic opportunities greater as a vaudeville comedian. He revived his long-gone stutter for humorous effect. Besides his early films, Ates starred in his own short subject series with RKO and Vitaphone. His first film role was at the age of thirty-four in 1929 as a ship's cook in South Sea Rose. The next year he was cast as "Old Stuff" in the film Billy the Kid with Johnny Mack Brown (1904–1974) as Billy the Kid and Wallace Beery (1885–1949) as Deputy Sheriff Pat Garrett. In 1931, Ates appeared in a total of fourteen films, some roles uncredited. He appeared in the following: From 1946-48, Ates appeared as the western character Soapy Jones in fifteen films, including Colorado Serenade, Driftin' River (with Shirley Patterson), Stars Over Texas, and Tumbleweed Trail (all 1946), West to Glory, Shadow Valley, and Wild LESS