Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
December 4, 1920
Place of Birth:
Jhansi, British India (now Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India)
Social Media
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
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Hokusai: An Animated Sketchbook | Narrator |
| 1977 | Gulliver's Travels | (voice) |
| 1976 | The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones | Madman |
| 1973 | No Sex Please: We're British | Mr. Needham |
| 1972 | The Stone Tape | Eddie Holmes |
| 1972 | Frenzy | Sergeant Spearman |
| 1971 | A Clockwork Orange | Chief Guard |
| 1971 | The Fox Trot | Arthur |
| 1970 | Patton | Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery |
| 1970 | Every Home Should Have One | Magistrate |
| 1970 | The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer | Mr. Spimm |
| 1969 | Oh! What a Lovely War | Drunk Lance Corporal |
| 1969 | Battle of Britain | Warrant Officer Warwick |
| 1969 | Sling Your Hook | Joe |
| 1969 | Arthur? Arthur! | Mr. Harrington |
| 1969 | Male of the Species | Fred |
| 1968 | Salt & Pepper | Inspector Crabbe |
| 1968 | Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush | Mr. McGregor |
| 1968 | Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River | Dr. Spink |
| 1968 | Hammerhead | Andreas / Sir Richard |
| 1968 | The Brahmin Widow | Mr. Ambekar |
| 1967 | Bedazzled | Inspector Clarke |
| 1966 | Macready's Gala | Mike MacFarland |
| 1965 | A Passage to India | Professor Godbole |
| 1959 | I'm All Right Jack | Bootle |
| 1958 | Dunkirk | Froome |
| 1956 | The Spanish Gardener | Consular Official (uncredited) |
| 1955 | Quay South | Captain Alan Gerald |
| 1954 | The Stratford Adventure | Self |
| 1954 | Carrington V.C. | Major Broke-Smith |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Curry Up Harry! | Din |
| 1974 | It Ain't Half Hot Mum | Rangi Ram |
| 1974 | Fall of Eagles | Von Ludendorff |
| 1973 | Last of the Summer Wine | Cyril Blamire |
| 1971 | Jason King | |
| 1971 | Six Dates with Barker | |
| 1971 | The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes | Colonel Sandstream |
| 1971 | Budgie | Minces Nutty |
| 1969 | Male of the Species | Fred |
| 1968 | Cilla | Self |
| 1968 | Ooh La La! | Vatelin |
| 1967 | Man in a Suitcase | Delacroix |
| 1965 | BBC Play of the Month | Professor Godbole |
| 1965 | Public Eye | George |
| 1964 | Cluff | |
| 1964 | The Wednesday Play | Joe |
| 1963 | The Dick Emery Show | |
| 1962 | The Saint | Joe |
| 1959 | No Hiding Place | |
| 1958 | Ivanhoe | Will The Simple |
| 1956 | Armchair Theatre |