Tudor Gates (2 January 1930 – 11 January 2007) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

ist.

Biography

Gates was involved in

stage management Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...

by the early 1950s, and began

scriptwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, devel ...

in his spare time. After ''The Guv'nor'' was broadcast on television in 1956, he took to writing full-time.BECTU News - Tudor Gates dies at 76
/ref> He wrote, co-wrote or worked on the screenplays for '' Barbarella'' (1968), '' Danger: Diabolik'' (1968), ''

The Vampire Lovers ''The Vampire Lovers'' is a 1970 British Gothic horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Ingrid Pitt, Peter Cushing, George Cole, Kate O'Mara, Madeline Smith, Dawn Addams and Jon Finch. It was produced by Hammer Film Productions. I ...

'' (1970), '' Fright'' (1971), '' Lust for a Vampire'' (1971), ''

Twins of Evil ''Twins of Evil'' (also known as ''Twins of Dracula'') is a 1971 British horror film directed by John Hough and starring Peter Cushing, with Damien Thomas and the real-life identical twins and former ''Playboy'' Playmates Mary and Madeleine ...

'' (1971), ''

The Love Box ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1972), ''

The Optimists of Nine Elms ''The Optimists of Nine Elms'', also known as ''The Optimists'', is a 1973 British drama film starring Peter Sellers and directed by Anthony Simmons, who also wrote the 1964 novel upon which the film is based. The film is about an old street mu ...

'' (1973), ''

The Sex Thief ''The Sex Thief'' is a 1973 British sex comedy film starring David Warbeck, Diane Keen and Christopher Biggins. It was an early film credit for director Martin Campbell. The film was released in North America (in January 1976) as ''Her Family J ...

'' (1973) and ''

Intimate Games ''Intimate Games'' is a 1976 British comedy film directed by Tudor Gates and Martin Campbell and starring George Baker, Anna Bergman and Ian Hendry.Pym p.634 It was shot at Twickenham Studios and on location in Oxford Oxford () is a city ...

'' (1976). He also wrote for several TV series, including ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Insp ...

'' and ''

Strange Report ''Strange Report'' is a British television crime drama series starring Anthony Quayle as Adam Strange. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and first broadcast in 1969 on ITV In the United States, NBC broadcast ''Strange Report'' between 8 Ja ...

''. In the 1966 general election, Gates stood as the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

candidate in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By ...

, and in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

he stood in the

Isle of Thanet The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island. Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in an ...

, placing a distant third on both occasions. In February 1974, he came second in

Bethnal Green and Bow Bethnal Green and Bow is a constituency in Greater London, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Rushanara Ali of the Labour Party. Boundaries Since the 2014 boundary changes, the constituency has contained the ...

, losing votes but again coming second in

October October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the sixth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôct ...

. Turning to the stage again in the mid-1970s, Gates wrote ''Who Saw Him Die?'', '' Aurelia'' and '' Who Killed Agatha Christie?'' A lifelong trade unionist, Gates became the President of the

Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians The Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians (ACTT) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1933 and 1991. History The union was founded by technicians at the Gaumont British Studios in 1933 as th ...

and supported its merger with the

Broadcasting and Entertainment Trades Alliance The Broadcasting and Entertainment Trades Alliance (BETA) was a short-lived British entertainment trade union. It was founded in 1984 with the merger of the Association of Broadcasting Staff and the National Association of Theatrical Televisio ...

which formed the

Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU), formerly the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union, became a sector of the Prospect trade union in the United Kingdom on 1 January 2017 following the ...

(BECTU), of which he served as vice president until 2004. A controversial figure, he twice took his union to court, using legislation passed by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in the 1980s. He stood unsuccessfully for the Presidency of BECTU in 2002, 2004 and 2006.

Selected Credits

*'' Danger: Diabolik'' (1968) *''

The Young, the Evil and the Savage ''The Young, the Evil and the Savage'' ( it, Nude... si muore, lit=Naked... you die) is a 1968 Italian ''giallo'' film directed by Antonio Margheriti. Plot A woman is drowned in a bathtub and then placed in a trunk that lands in a pickup truck ...

'' (1968) (uncredited) *'' Barbarella'' (1968) *''

'' (1970) *'' Lust for a Vampire'' (1971) *''

'' (1971) *'' Fright'' (1971) *''The Love Box'' (1972) *''

'' (1973) *''

'' (1975) (TV series) *'' Three for All'' (1975) *''

'' (1976) *''

Sex with the Stars Sex is the phenotypic trait, trait that determines whether a sexual reproduction, sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while ...

'' (aka ''Confessions of the Naughty Nymphos'') (1980)

References

External links

Obituary
at ''The Stage''
Obituary
at The Scotsman * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Tudor 1930 births 2007 deaths English male screenwriters English trade unionists English television writers Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Birchington-on-Sea English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers British male television writers 20th-century English screenwriters