Clarence "Stax" Graves

real name: Clarence Graves
nickname: "Stax"
born October 1, 1885, in Falmouth, KY
died June 15, 1972, in Indio, CA

Special note: Many sources, including Maltin & Bann, identify Graves as Bud "Stax" Graves, but this is actually a conflation of two brothers: Clarence "Stax" Graves and Chester "Bud" Graves, both of whom worked in the still photography department at Hal Roach Studios. This page focuses on Stax, who worked at the studio for a much longer period than his older brother, and is usually identified on the backs of his prints simply as "Stax."

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. Very little is mentioned about him in the various books written about the Roach comedians. IMDb lists his involvement with four of the Laurel & Hardy features made in the late thirties.

During the late 1910's, Stax was a still photographer at the Frank S. Darrin studio in Berkeley. His brother Bud was the first to gain employment at the Roach studio sometime between April and September of 1921, and left the studio at some point in the mid-20's.

1923

Stax first shows up in the payroll summaries for the week ending on February 17th. For a period of eight weeks, up to the week ending on April 7th, he was part of the Jackman company, which was busy making "The King Of Wild Horses," a feature film starring Rex the Wonder Horse. (Fred Jackman was the director.) For the next 11 weeks (the week ending April 14th to the week ending June 23rd), Stax remained on the payroll, but wasn't assigned to any specific unit. Then, for the next seven weeks (the week ending June 30th to the week ending August 11th), he was back with the Jackman unit, which was still making the same Rex feature. After this, beginning with the week ending on August 18th, he remained on the payroll without being a part of any specific unit. It seems probable that Graves was taking photos of the other units during this year, including the Our Gang. This was definitely the case in subsequent years.

1924

In the latter part of this year, Stax's wife, Anna Graves, was hired as a printer in the stills department, where she continued to work until early 1925. She was in charge of retouching the photos. She returned at some point during 1926, and was still around off and on until at least 1933.

The King Of Wild Horses (still photographer): Mar. 30, 1924 - Roach/Pathé - 5 reels - prod. J-2 - Rex the Wonder Horse feature; Also listed for Apr. 6, 1924, and Apr. 13, 1924. Cast includes Charley Chase. Filmed Jan. 27 to Oct. 13, Nov. 12 to Dec. 4, and Dec. 12 to 26, 1923, and Jan. 8, 1924. ©Mar. 26, 1924. Working title: Whisk Away.

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. 12 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 titled The Whacky West.

1938

The Our Gang series moved to MGM during this year, so this is where they parted ways with Stax, who remained at the Roach studio.

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.

1940

Stax's employment at the Roach studio ended during this year.

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.

See anything that needs changing? Contact me at BtheW@aol.com.

My thanks to the following people for assisting with this page:
Randy Skretvedt (for info on Stax's town of birth, his time with Frank Darrin, and the starting and ending years at Roach, and also for clearing up the confusion between Stax and Bud)
Rob Stone (for providing production numbers)