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Michael Bates

Michael Bates

Actor · 1920 – 1978 · Jhansi, British India (now Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India)

​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.

Movies24

  • Movie8.2

    A Clockwork Orange

    1971 · 14K votes

  • Movie7.4

    Patton

    1969 · 1.3K votes

  • Movie7.1

    Frenzy

    1972 · 1.1K votes

  • Movie6.8

    Battle of Britain

    1969 · 362 votes

  • Movie6.6
  • Movie6.2

    Bedazzled

    1967 · 180 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Oh! What a Lovely War

    1969 · 54 votes

  • Movie6.6

    I'm All Right Jack

    1959 · 83 votes

  • Movie6.9

    Dunkirk

    1958 · 77 votes

  • Movie5.3

    Salt & Pepper

    1968 · 26 votes

  • Movie4.9
  • Movie3.5
  • Movie6.0
  • Movie5.2
  • Movie5.5

    Male of the Species

    1969 · 2 votes

  • Movie5.8
  • Movie5.6

    Gulliver's Travels

    1977 · 23 votes

  • Movie6.3

    The Spanish Gardener

    1956 · 20 votes

  • Movie5.7

    Hammerhead

    1968 · 11 votes

  • Movie7.0
  • Movie3.8

    Arthur? Arthur!

    1969 · 4 votes

  • Movie8.0

    A Passage to India

    1965 · 1 votes

  • Movie6.1

    The Stone Tape

    1972 · 44 votes

  • Movie8.0

    Sling Your Hook

    1969 · 1 votes

Series24

  • TV7.4

    The Saint

    1962 · 136 votes

  • TV5.2

    BBC Play of the Month

    1965 · 8 votes

  • TV7.2

    Last of the Summer Wine

    1973 · 41 votes

  • TV7.2

    Theatre 625

    1964 · 5 votes

  • TV5.2

    The Wednesday Play

    1964 · 5 votes

  • TV7.0

    ITV Playhouse

    1967 · 3 votes

  • TV4.8

    No Hiding Place

    1959 · 4 votes

  • TV7.0
  • TV4.3

    Thirty-Minute Theatre

    1965 · 8 votes

  • TV3.5

    Sunday Night Theatre

    1950 · 2 votes

  • TV
  • TV8.2

    Public Eye

    1965 · 6 votes

  • TV7.5
  • TV7.2

    Man in a Suitcase

    1967 · 10 votes

  • TV8.0

    Cilla

    1968 · 3 votes

  • TV7.2

    Budgie

    1971 · 6 votes

  • TV7.8

    Jason King

    1971 · 12 votes

  • TV7.0

    Fall of Eagles

    1974 · 10 votes

  • TV6.4

    Ivanhoe

    1958 · 9 votes

  • TV7.7

    The Four Just Men

    1959 · 3 votes

  • TV10.0

    Ooh La La!

    1968 · 1 votes

  • TV7.3

    It Ain't Half Hot Mum

    1974 · 19 votes

  • TV9.0

    The Misfit

    1970 · 1 votes

  • TV7.4

    Six Dates with Barker

    1971 · 5 votes