Michael Bates
Born: 1920-12-04 in Jhansi, British India (now Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India)
Died: 1978-01-11
Known For: Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Michael Hammond Bates was an Indian-born English actor. He was educated at Uppingham School in Rutland and St Catharine's College, Cambridge. Bates served as a Major serving with the Brigade of Gurkhas in Burma before his discharge at the end of World War II. In 1953, while an ensemble member with the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, he appeared in Richard III and All's Well That End's Well. In 1956 he appeared in Hotel Paradiso which starred Alec Guinness, at the Winter Garden Theatre in London. He appeared in many UK television series including Last of the Summer Wine from 1973 to 1975 as Cyril Blamire and It Ain't Half Hot Mum from 1974 to 1977 as Rangi Ram, as well as many others. His role as Rangi Ram caused some controversy as it required Bates to be made-up with fake tan to look like an Indian, which he took to naturally as he was born in India and spoke the Hindi language fluently. On radio he played a variety of characters in the BBC's long-running comedy series The Navy Lark. These were: Able Seaman Ginger, Lt. Bates, Rear Admiral Ironbridge, the Padre and Captain Ignatius Aloysius Atchison. Bates' film roles include Battle of Britain (1969) as Warrant Officer Warwick, Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) as a Lance-corporal, Patton (1970) as Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery (to whom he bore a striking resemblance), Frenzy (1972) by Alfred Hitchcock, and the Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange (1971). On stage, he did Shakespeare at Stratford and the Old Vic and made a big impression as Inspector Truscott in the West End production of Loot by Joe Orton in 1966. He died of cancer in Cambridge, aged 57. Description above from the Wikipedia article Michael Bates (actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
1978
- Hokusai: An Animated Sketchbook as Narrator
1977
- Gulliver's Travels as (voice)
1976
- The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones as Madman
1974
- Fall of Eagles as Von Ludendorff
- It Ain't Half Hot Mum as Rangi Ram
1973
- Last of the Summer Wine as Cyril Blamire
- No Sex Please - We're British as Mr. Arnold Needham
1972
- The Stone Tape as Eddie Holmes
- Frenzy as Sergeant Spearman
1971
- A Clockwork Orange as Chief Guard
- The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes as Colonel Sandstream
- Jason King
- Budgie as Minces Nutty
- Six Dates with Barker
- The Fox Trot as Arthur
1970
- Patton as Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery
- Every Home Should Have One as Magistrate
- The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer as Mr. Spimm
- The Misfit as Sgt. Wilfreds
1969
- Arthur? Arthur! as Mr. Harrington
- Battle of Britain as Warrant Officer Warwick
- Oh! What a Lovely War as Drunk Lance Corporal
- Sling Your Hook as Joe
- Male of the Species as Fred
- Male of the Species as Fred
1968
- Salt & Pepper as Inspector Crabbe
- Hammerhead as Andreas / Sir Richard
- Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River as Dr. Spink
- Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush as Mr. McGregor
- The Brahmin Widow as Mr. Ambekar
- Cilla as Self
- Ooh La La! as Vatelin
1967
- Bedazzled as Inspector Clarke
- Man in a Suitcase as Delacroix
1966
- Macready's Gala as Mike MacFarland
1965
- BBC Play of the Month as Professor Godbole
- Public Eye as George
- A Passage to India as Professor Godbole
1964
- The Wednesday Play as Joe
- Theatre 625 as Shpichelsky
- Cluff
- Thursday Theatre as Tommy
1963
1962
- The Saint as Joe
1959
- No Hiding Place
- I'm All Right Jack as Bootle
1958
- Dunkirk as Froome
- A Midsummer Night's Dream as Starveling
- Ivanhoe as Will The Simple
1956
- The Spanish Gardener as Consular Official (uncredited)
- Armchair Theatre
1955
- Quay South as Captain Alan Gerald
1954
- Carrington V.C. as Major Broke-Smith
- The Stratford Adventure as Self
1950
- Sunday Night Theatre as Starveling