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Ralph Bates (12 February 1940 – 27 March 1991) was an English film and television actor, known for his role in the British sitcom '' Dear John'' and the 1975 series '' Poldark''.


Biography

Bates was born in Bristol, England. His parents were both psychiatrists; his mother was French and he was a great-great-grandson of French scientist
Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...
. He held dual-nationality and was bilingual, and was educated at
Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
. He read French there, before winning a scholarship to Yale Drama School. The course completed, Bates returned to Ireland to make his stage debut in Shaw's '' You Never Can Tell'' at The
Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochla ...
, Dublin, in 1963. A career in repertory theatre followed, and the young actor gained experience in productions ranging from '' Hedda Gabler'' to raucous comedies. Later, Bates carved a niche in the world of horror films and played important roles or the lead in several Hammer Horror productions, such as '' Taste the Blood of Dracula'', ''
The Horror of Frankenstein ''The Horror of Frankenstein'' is a 1970 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions that is both a semi-parody and semi-remake of the 1957 film ''The Curse of Frankenstein'', of Frankenstein (Hammer film series), Hammer's ''Frankenstein'' s ...
'', '' Lust for a Vampire'', and '' Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde'', in which he played a doctor who mistakenly transforms himself into a beautiful siren. He portrayed Caligula in the series '' The Caesars'' and with Cyd Hayman in the ''Crime of Passion'' series. After playing Thomas Culpeper in an episode of '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' (1970), he starred in the series '' Moonbase 3'' (1973) and '' Poldark'', in which he played villainous George Warleggan. The series ran for 29 episodes, starting in 1975. He also played communist Paul Vercors in the final season of the drama series '' Secret Army''. In 1981 he'd played a lead role in '' Second Chance''. Because of his French ancestry and dark looks, he often was chosen to play a Frenchman on television, such as in an episode of ITV comedy drama '' Turtle's Progress''. Bates also appeared in the television movie '' Minder on the Orient Express'', again as a Frenchman. It looked, for some time, as if he might remain typecast in sinister roles, but he was offered a part in a comedy series by the writer John Sullivan, which saw Bates cast in a more sympathetic role as the newly divorced member of a singles group. '' Dear John'' (1986–87) ran for two series, and gave him chance to display a talent for comic roles. Around the same time, he appeared in the sitcom '' Farrington of the F.O.'' (1986) with Angela Thorne and Joan Sims.


Personal life, illness and death

In 1964 Bates married actress Joanna Van Gyseghem. The marriage ended in divorce. In 1973 he married actress Virginia Wetherell. The couple had a daughter Daisy (born 1974) and a son Will (born 1977). Bates was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died from the disease ten weeks later in London, at the age of 51. The large metal cross marking his grave at Chiswick New Cemetery bears the epitaph "Don't Worry. Be Happy!" The Ralph Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund is a registered charity.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Ralph 1940 births 1991 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Deaths from pancreatic cancer in England English male film actors English male television actors English people of French descent Male actors from Bristol David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni 20th-century English male actors