Known For
Acting
Born
Dec 04, 1920
Died
Jan 11, 1978
Place of Birth
Jhansi, British India (now Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India)
Credits
60 titles
Michael Bates
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.
Known For
Filmography
Hokusai: An Animated Sketchbook
Narrator
Gulliver's Travels
(voice)
The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones
Madman
Comedy Premiere
Reg Forrester
Fall of Eagles
Von Ludendorff
It Ain't Half Hot Mum
Rangi Ram
No Sex Please - We're British
Mr. Arnold Needham
Last of the Summer Wine
Cyril Blamire
The Stone Tape
Eddie Holmes
Frenzy
DS Spearman
A Clockwork Orange
Chief Guard
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
Colonel Sandstream
Jason King
The Fox Trot
Arthur
Budgie
Minces Nutty
Six Dates with Barker
Gasman
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
Mr. Spimm
Every Home Should Have One
Magistrate
The Misfit
Sgt. Wilfreds
Patton
Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery
Arthur? Arthur!
Mr. Harrington
Battle of Britain
Warrant Officer Warwick
Sling Your Hook
Joe
Oh! What a Lovely War
Drunk Lance Corporal
Male of the Species
Fred
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Fred
Male of the Species
Fred
Hammerhead
Andreas / Sir Richard
Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River
Dr. Spink
Salt & Pepper
Inspector Crabbe
The Brahmin Widow
Mr. Ambekar
Ooh La La!
Vatelin
Cilla
Self
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Mr. McGregor
Bedazzled
Inspector Clarke
Man in a Suitcase
Delacroix
ITV Playhouse
Mr. Ambekar
Macready's Gala
Mike MacFarland
A Passage to India
Professor Godbole
BBC Play of the Month
Professor Godbole
Thirty-Minute Theatre
Captain Gambell
Public Eye
George
Thursday Theatre
Tommy
The Wednesday Play
Joe
Theatre 625
Shpichelsky
Cluff
Inspector Mole
The Dick Emery Show
The Saint
Joe
The Four Just Men
Corporal Bates
No Hiding Place
Alec Peters