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Michael Bates
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 | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 2.183 |
Birthday | 1920-12-04 |
Place of Birth | Jhansi, British India (now Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India) |
Also Known As | Michael Hammond Bates, |
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1971
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A Clockwork Orange
8.2/13008
In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of...
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A Clockwork Orange
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1970
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Patton
7.491/1108
"Patton" tells the tale of General George S. Patton, famous tank commander of World War II. The film begins with Patton's career in North Africa and p...
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Patton
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1969
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Oh! What a Lovely War
6.67/44
The working-class Smiths change their initially sunny views on World War I after the three boys of the family witness the harsh reality of trench warf...
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Oh! What a Lovely War
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1969
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Battle of Britain
6.8/314
In 1940, the Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle against the might of the Luftwaffe for control of the skies over Britain, thus preventing the N...
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Battle of Britain
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1968
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Salt & Pepper
5.3/20
After discovering the body of a murdered female agent in their trendy Soho, London nightclub, groovy owners Charles Salt and Christopher Pepper partak...
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Salt & Pepper
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1966
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Macready's Gala
0/0
The Headmaster and governors of a boarding school are accidentally locked in the new memorial room with the convicted Great Train Robbers.
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Macready's Gala
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1969
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Sling Your Hook
0/0
A group of coal miners from Nottingham go on their annual trip to Blackpool.
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Sling Your Hook
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1967
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Bedazzled
6.2/158
A hapless loser sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for seven wishes, but has trouble winning over the girl of his dreams.
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Bedazzled
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1954
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The Stratford Adventure
6/3
This short film depicts how a small Canadian city, bearing the name of Stratford and by a river Avon, created its own renowned Shakespearean theatre....
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The Stratford Adventure
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1968
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Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
5.7/16
Jamie McGregor is a virginal sixth-former in suburbia delivering groceries for the local supermarket, but he is more interested in other matters - Mar...
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Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
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1968
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Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River
6.1/7
George Lester is a man who is chasing rainbows, looking for the pot of gold at the end. When his wife, Pamela grows tired of being dragged all over th...
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Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River
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1969
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Arthur? Arthur!
3/2
The inventor of sure-fire failures leads such an abysmal life that he creates a second identity, that of a dashing, debonair womaniser.
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Arthur? Arthur!
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1978
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Hokusai: An Animated Sketchbook
0/0
A BAFTA award winning short tribute to the artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), which explores a small number of the thousands of drawings he is rep...
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Hokusai: An Animated Sketchbook
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1977
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Gulliver's Travels
5.6/19
Based on the novel of the same name by Jonathan Swift and built around the Lilliput and Blefuscu episode. It was made partly in live action and partly...
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Gulliver's Travels
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1968
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Hammerhead
5.3/10
An American agent has tracked down the stronghold of an evil criminal mastermind, determined to take over the world (what, another one ?).
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Hammerhead
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1969
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Male of the Species
5.5/2
Never trust a man whoever he is. This is the bitter lesson learned by Mary MacNeil in her relationships with three different men: her father, a mendac...
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Male of the Species
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1959
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I'm All Right Jack
6.7/72
Naive Stanley Windrush returns from the war, his mind set on a successful career in business. Much to his own dismay, he soon finds he has to start fr...
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I'm All Right Jack
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1965
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A Passage to India
0/0
The BBC's 1965 adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel, screened as part of their Play of the Month strand, adapted by Santha Ramu Rau and John Maynard, an...
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A Passage to India

1968
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The Brahmin Widow
0/0
A British soldier returns to India to find the woman he fell in love wit
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The Brahmin Widow
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1972
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The Stone Tape
5.9/34
A research team from an electronics company move into an old Victorian house to start work on finding a new recording medium. When team member Jill Gr...
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The Stone Tape
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1958
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Dunkirk
6.7/63
A British Corporal in France finds himself responsible for the lives of his men when their officer is killed. He has to get them back to Britain someh...
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Dunkirk
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1973
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No Sex Please: We're British
5.1/17
A porn-store owner orders some new stuff from his supplier, but the delivery address gets mixed with the address of the local Barclays Bank. Here, Dav...
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No Sex Please: We're British

1976
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The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones
2/2
Another stab at Henry Fielding's hilarious novel about the amorous misadventures of a dashing young man in 18th century England. The brilliant 1963 ve...
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The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones
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1970
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Every Home Should Have One
4.6/17
Teddy works for a large advertising company. Given the seemingly impossible task of selling frozen porridge, he decides to produce commercials that ma...
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Every Home Should Have One
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1971
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The Fox Trot
0/0
The first in a series of new plays. Arthur and Gwen, a cosy middle-aged couple, remember with nostalgia the pre-Motorway Britain of their youth. When...
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The Fox Trot
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1972
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Frenzy
7.1/908
After a serial killer strangles several women with a necktie, London police identify a suspect—but he claims vehemently to be the wrong man.
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Frenzy
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1970
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The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
6/16
Fresh-faced young Michael Rimmer worms his way into an opinion poll company and is soon running the place. He uses this as a springboard to get into p...
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The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
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1954
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Carrington V.C.
5.9/19
Major Charles Carrington (David Niven) is arrested for taking £125 from the base safe. He also faces two other charges that could finish his distingui...
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Carrington V.C.
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1956
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The Spanish Gardener
6.2/16
Harrington Brande, a British diplomat who recently broke up with his wife, is stationed in a small coastal town in Spain with his son, Nicholas. Harri...
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The Spanish Gardener
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1955
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Quay South
0/0
Facing pressure from authorities to relinquish control of his ship the Ebb Tide, Capt. Daniel Thwaite (Roger Livesey) struggles to decide what course...
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