Arthur ("Chubby") Oates (23 December 1942 – 10 November 2006) was a Cockney clubland comic and character actor.

Life

Born in Bermondsey, South London Oates started out as a reporter for the ''South London Observer'', he shared an office with future editor of '' The Sun'', Kelvin MacKenzie.
In the evenings Oates began to perform as a comic and by the early sixties he'd turned professional. He was also a noted

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...

performer usually appearing as the

dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

. In this capacity he played "Mum" to some of the biggest and best names in showbusiness. He also claimed the record for the heaviest Ugly Sisters when his co-star in a production of "Cinderella" at Yeovil's Octagon Theatre was Steve King. Their combined weight was in excess of 30 stone!
In 1973-74 he co-starred with Fiona Richmond in ''Pyjama Tops'', a long-running Paul Raymond comedy at the

Whitehall Theatre Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to i ...

. As a character actor Oates appeared in shows such as ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' and '' Dixon of Dock Green'', and also played the coach driver in the cult horror film ''

Killer's Moon ''Killer's Moon'' is a 1978 British slasher film written and directed by Alan Birkinshaw, with uncredited dialogue written by his novelist sister, Fay Weldon, and starring Anthony Forrest, Tom Marshall, Jane Hayden, JoAnne Good, Nigel Gregory, ...

'' (1978). He played a common soldier, providing a monologue in the BBC drama '' The Devil's Crown'' also in 1978. He died in Deal in Kent on 10 November 2006 aged 63 from diabetic complications and a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

after giving a performance at a showbusiness luncheon. Appropriately, one of the last pictures taken of Chubby showed veteran comedy legends Roy Hudd and

June Whitfield Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress. Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy ''Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...

laughing at a joke Chubby had just cracked.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Times obituary

Chubby Oates
at Theatricalia 1942 births 2006 deaths People from Bermondsey English male comedians 20th-century English comedians Comedians from London {{UK-comedian-stub