Bud "Stax" Graves

real name: Clarence Graves
nicknames: "Bud" and "Stax"
born October 1, 1885, in Kentucky
died June 15, 1972, in Indio, CA

Being a still photographer, Stax Graves was apparently never given onscreen credit, and indeed, this filmography is limited to the few films for which he's given 'uncredited' credit in the Internet Movie Database. Exactly when Graves started with Hal Roach Studios and when he departed is not entirely clear. Very little is mentioned about him in the various books written about the Roach comedians. But we do know that Graves was working with the Roach studio by the beginning of August 1922, the point in time when the studio payroll summaries begin to name names. It's clearly possible that Graves was taking Our Gang photos from the very start of the series. Graves also shot still photos for all of the various other series at Roach, and IMDb lists his involvement with four of the Laurel & Hardy features made in the late thirties. He presumably stayed with Roach as Our Gang moved on to MGM, so his association with that series would have lasted from 1922 until 1938. It's more than apparent that he shot still photos for scores of Our Gang films, since his name appears on the backs of quite a few press photos, where he's identified simply as "Stax."

1936

The Bohemian Girl (uncredited still photographer): Feb. 14, 1936 - Roach/MGM - 7 reels - prod. F-8 - Laurel & Hardy feature; Filmed Oct. 9 to around Nov. 30, 1935, with retakes Dec. 31, 1935, to Jan. 6, 1936. ©Feb. 12, 1936.
Our Relations (uncredited still photographer): Oct. 30, 1936 - Roach/MGM - 6 reels - prod. F-11 - Laurel & Hardy feature; Filmed around Mar. 16 to May 4, 1936. ©Sep. 29, 1936. Re-released in Jan. 1948. US cut version titled Sailors' Downfall.

1937

Way Out West (uncredited still photographer): Apr. 16, 1937 - Roach/MGM - 6 reels - prod. F-14 - Laurel & Hardy feature; Filmed Aug. 27 to early Nov. 1936. ©Apr. 9, 1937. This film was reissued in the early '50s as a two-reeler entitled The Whacky West.

1938

The last Roach film listed in Graves' IMDb filmography is "Swiss Miss" from this year. After that, there's a gap of ten years before the next credit. So he apparently left Roach sometime in the early forties.

Swiss Miss (uncredited still photographer): May 20, 1938 - Roach/MGM - 7 reels - prod. F-20 - Laurel & Hardy feature; Filmed Dec. 28, 1937 to Feb. 26, 1938, with added scenes Apr. 1, and retakes Apr. 21, 1938. ©May 3, 1938.

1948

It's apparent that Graves was working for the B studios by this time, and it can be assumed that the films listed do not constitute a complete listing by any means. However, he was nearing retirement age during this period, so it's reasonable to assume that his career ended by the mid-fifties.

1949

Sky Liner (uncredited still photographer): July 28, 1949 - Lippert - 61 min.; ©Oct. 8, 1949. Listed as Stack Graves in IMDb for this film.