Garry Linwood Bates, Jr., of Sherman Oaks, CA, passed away on the evening of Monday, June 22, 2020.
The funeral service will be held at 2pm ET on Saturday, July 18, 2020 at Metropolitan Funeral Home (Granby location). Reverend Floyd Bates of The Mount in Chesapeake, VA will be officiating. Visitation will be held at 11:00am ET on Saturday, July 18, 2020. The service will be live streamed the day of the funeral, on the Metropolitan Funeral Home website.
Garry was from Alexandria, VA, a suburb of Washington, DC, born on May 19, 1982. He was the youngest of two children. He attended Hayfield Elementary and Hayfield Secondary Schools. During his teenage years, he battled chronic migraines and was a test subject for medications which caused his school attendance to suffer dramatically. This resulted in an alternative means of education, with Garry enrolling in The American School of Correspondence where he earned his diploma. He then went on to study Television Broadcasting at The New England Institute of Art (The Art Institute) in Brookline, MA, where he earned an Associate’s degree. During that time, he discovered his love for acting after taking a class as an elective. He then transferred to Emerson College in Boston, MA. At Emerson, he was accepted into the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting program, where he earned a degree in Theater Studies. He performed in several of the school’s main-stage productions. His performance experience in theater spans the cities of Boston, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles.
Garry was an accomplished actor in films such as Love Addict, Sully and Schlomo, and The Paradigm Shift: Involution; Internet web series such as Struggling, Love On A Platter, Vote or Else, Dads Like Us, Pizza, Cheez-Its vs. Goldfish, and America’s Next Top Leader; Theater productions including Homeward LA, The Midnight Mission, Mama G, Woyzeck, Commodity, and Fun On The Bayou at Emerson College, The Crucible at Roxbury Repertory Theater, Langston and Nicolas at Towne Street @ Stella Adler, and A Movie Star Has To Star and The Witch of Blackbird Pond at Emerson Mainstage.
Garry worked for many years as a Sales Associate for Old Navy in Springfield, VA and Boston, MA; Sunglass Hut in Boston, MA and Los Angeles, CA; Fandango in Los Angeles, CA. Most recently, Garry worked as a personal trainer at DC Fitness in Los Angeles, CA. Garry had a special love for this work, as he was able to help others accomplish their health and fitness journeys. He enjoyed improv performances, singing (especially karaoke), rapping, skateboarding, bicycling, billiards, bowling, swimming, video games, and watching professional wrestling (WWE and AEW).
His parents, Garry Linwood, Sr. and Linda Faye Perry Bates; sister, Tina Rochelle Bates Baldera; nephew, Joshua Perry Baldera; and niece Arianna Noël Baldera, survive Garry. Garry is also survived by his extended family: Aunts Paulette Bates McKinnon, Tawana Bates Burtt, Lugretha Parker (Terry), Delphine Claude (Frank), Theresa “Josie Lee” Smith (Joseph) and Carolyn Davis-Smith and Uncles Anthony Bates, Sr. (Virginia), Floyd Bates (Valerie), Sterling Bates, Sr. (Cynthia), Raymond Hawkins, Stephen Bates, Sr., Gerald Bates and Paul Perry (Milessa). He was blessed to have many Bates and Perry cousins, as well as many family and friends, who loved and miss him dearly.
Garry is preceded in death by sister, Melissa “infant”; grandmothers: Sarah Jane Bates and Josephine Manning Ellis; grandfathers, Jerome Bates, Willie Ellis, and Frank Perry; aunt, Earnestine Hawkins; uncles, Anthony Perry, Wayne Bates, Dwight Perry, Sr., and Frederick Perry. Garry cared about all people with genuine compassion, willing to help others without asking anything in return. His smile was also infectious, able to lighten any space with laughter and positivity.
Those who choose to give a gift to honor Garry are asked to make a contribution in his name to the YOUNG ACTORS SPACE, 5918 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91401 and/or the Acting Program at Emerson College, 120 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116.
We will miss you, Garry Jr.
“The song is ended but the melody lingers on”
– Irving Berlin
