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Ralph Bates is a Actor British born on 12 february 1940 at Bristol (United-kingdom)
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 for being one of Hammer Horror's best-known actors from the latter period of the company.
Bates was born in Bristol, England, of French ancestry (he was the great-great-nephew of French scientist Louis Pasteur) and educated at Trinity College Dublin. 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, Dublin, in 1963. A career in repertory theatre soon 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, Lust for a Vampire, and Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, in which he played a deranged doctor who mistakenly transforms himself into a beautiful siren.
He portrayed Caligula in the series The Caesars and alongside Cyd Hayman in a passionate French tale of murder and mystery - Crime of Passion series. After playing Thomas Culpeper in an episode of The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970), he went on to star in the BBC drama series, Moonbase 3 (1973) and the long-running 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. Because of his French ancestry and dark looks, he was often chosen to play a Frenchman on television, as for instance in a second series 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 farcical comedy by the writer John Sullivan, which saw Bates as the loveable but loveless central character among a singles group, with each of its members looking for that perfect but ever elusive partner. Dear John (1986–87), in which he realistically played the part of a divorcé returning to single life, lasted for two series, and around the same time he appeared in the ITV Yorkshire Television sitcom Farrington of the F.O. (1986) with Angela Thorne and Joan Sims.
Bates became ill and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and died in London at age 51 from the disease. He was divorced from the actress Joanna Van Gyseghem, and survived by his second wife, the actress Virginia Wetherell (married 1973-1991). The couple had one daughter, actress Daisy Bates (b. 1974), and a son William Bates (b. 1977), an actor and musician.
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Ralph Bates
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Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 12 february 1940 at Bristol (United-kingdom)
Death 27 march 1991 (at 51 years) at London (United-kingdom)
Birth 12 february 1940 at Bristol (United-kingdom)
Death 27 march 1991 (at 51 years) at London (United-kingdom)
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 for being one of Hammer Horror's best-known actors from the latter period of the company.
Bates was born in Bristol, England, of French ancestry (he was the great-great-nephew of French scientist Louis Pasteur) and educated at Trinity College Dublin. 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, Dublin, in 1963. A career in repertory theatre soon 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, Lust for a Vampire, and Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, in which he played a deranged doctor who mistakenly transforms himself into a beautiful siren.
He portrayed Caligula in the series The Caesars and alongside Cyd Hayman in a passionate French tale of murder and mystery - Crime of Passion series. After playing Thomas Culpeper in an episode of The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970), he went on to star in the BBC drama series, Moonbase 3 (1973) and the long-running 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. Because of his French ancestry and dark looks, he was often chosen to play a Frenchman on television, as for instance in a second series 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 farcical comedy by the writer John Sullivan, which saw Bates as the loveable but loveless central character among a singles group, with each of its members looking for that perfect but ever elusive partner. Dear John (1986–87), in which he realistically played the part of a divorcé returning to single life, lasted for two series, and around the same time he appeared in the ITV Yorkshire Television sitcom Farrington of the F.O. (1986) with Angela Thorne and Joan Sims.
Bates became ill and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and died in London at age 51 from the disease. He was divorced from the actress Joanna Van Gyseghem, and survived by his second wife, the actress Virginia Wetherell (married 1973-1991). The couple had one daughter, actress Daisy Bates (b. 1974), and a son William Bates (b. 1977), an actor and musician.
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Filmography of Ralph Bates (10 films)
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King of the Wind (1990)
Genres Adventure
Themes Films about animals, Films about horses
Actors Richard Harris, Glenda Jackson, Frank Finlay, Nigel Hawthorne, Anthony Quayle, Peter Vaughan
Roles LeDuc
Rating63%
Letters to an Unknown Lover (1986)
, 1h41Genres Drama, Romance
Actors Yves Beneyton, Cherie Lunghi, Andréa Ferréol, Ralph Bates, Mathilda May, Gabriel Gobin
Roles Bernard
Rating70%
I Don't Want to Be Born (1976)
, 1h35Directed by Peter Sasdy
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Thriller, Horror
Actors Joan Collins, Ralph Bates, Eileen Atkins, Donald Pleasence, Hilary Mason, Caroline Munro
Roles Gino Carlesi
Rating42%
Lucy (Collins) is working as a dancer in a sleazy strip joint. Her stage act includes a routine with a dwarf named Hercules (George Claydon). One night after the show, she invites Hercules into her dressing-room for a drink. He declines the drink but starts to rub Lucy's neck and shoulders. Lucy feels uncomfortable but tries to pretend nothing is happening, until Hercules makes a sudden lunge for her breasts, causing her to scream out in shock. This alerts the stage manager Tommy (John Steiner), who rushes into the dressing-room and sends Hercules unceremoniously on his way, then proceeds to make love to Lucy. Later as Lucy leaves the club she is confronted by the spurned and humiliated Hercules, who curses her with the words "You will have a baby.
Persecution (1974)
, 1h35Directed by Don Chaffey
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller, Horror
Actors Lana Turner, Trevor Howard, Ralph Bates, Olga Georges-Picot, Suzan Farmer, Patrick Allen
Roles David Masters
Rating46%
Carrie Masters (Lana Turner) is a crippled, wealthy, bitter woman who takes pleasure in tormenting her young son David (Mark Weavers). She blames him for her crippled leg and, in bizarre and horrifying ways, extracts her revenge by dominating him.
Fear in the Night (1972)
, 1h34Directed by Jimmy Sangster
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Thriller, Horror
Actors Judy Geeson, Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Ralph Bates, James Cossins, Brian Grellis
Roles Robert Heller
Rating59%
Peggy (Judy Geeson), an unassuming twenty-two year old caregiver, has recently married Robert Heller (Ralph Bates), and is scheduled to move with him to a secluded boys' boarding school south of London for his work. The night before she is to meet Robert to leave the city, she is attacked in her home by a one-armed man with a prosthetic hand who strangles her until she falls unconscious. Rattled by the attack, she leaves with Robert the following morning to the boarding school, which is run by headmaster Michael Carmichael (Peter Cushing).
Fear in the Night (1972)
, 1h34Directed by Jimmy Sangster
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Thriller, Horror
Actors Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Judy Geeson, Ralph Bates, James Cossins, Brian Grellis
Roles Robert Heller
Rating59%
Une jeune femme Peggy Heller : (Judy Geeson) est attaquée dans son appartement par un mystérieux personnage, elle ne distingue pas son visage mais remarque son bras gauche en bois. Quand Robert (Ralph Bates), son mari, la rejoint, elle lui demande d'appeler la police mais ce dernier veut croire que son épouse a été victime d'hallucinations. Le couple va s'installer dans une propriété bâtie près d'une école où Robert enseigne. Elle est de nouveau attaquée dans cette nouvelle maison puis est surprise pendant la visite de l'école de n'y rencontrer aucune trace de vie, alors que les classes et les réfectoires s'emplissent des chants et des cris des enfants. Devant rester seule une journée, à la suite d'un déplacement de son mari, Peggy voit entrer chez elle Michael Carmichael : (Peter Cushing) avec son bras en bois bien visible. Alors elle lui tire dessus avec une carabine….
Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971)
, 1h37Directed by Roy Ward Baker
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Adventure, Horror
Themes Serial killer films
Actors Ralph Bates, Martine Beswick, Gerald Sim, Lewis Fiander, Dorothy Alison, Ivor Dean
Roles Dr. Jekyll
Rating65%
Dr. Henry Jekyll dedicates his life to the curing of all known illnesses, however his lecherous friend, Professor Robertson, remarks that Jekyll's experiments take so long to actually be discovered, he will no doubt be dead by the time he is able to achieve anything. Haunted by this remark, Jekyll abandons his studies and obsessively begins searching for an elixir of life, using female hormones taken from fresh cadavers supplied by murderers Burke and Hare, reasoning that these hormones will help him to extend his life since women traditionally live longer than men and have stronger systems. In the apartment above Jekyll's lives a family: an elderly mother, her daughter Susan Spencer, and Susan's brother Howard. Susan is attracted to Jekyll, and he too returns her affections, but is too obsessed with his work to make advances. Once mixing the female hormones into a serum and drinking it, it not only has the effect of changing Jekyll's character (for the worse) but also of changing his gender, transforming him into a beautiful but evil woman. Susan becomes jealous when she discovers this mysterious woman, but when she confronts Jekyll, to explain the sudden appearance of his female alter ego, he calls her Mrs. Hyde, saying she is his widowed sister who has come to live with him. Howard, on the other hand, develops a lust for Mrs.
Lust for a Vampire (1971)
, 1h31Directed by Jimmy Sangster
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Horror
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Films about sexuality, Bisexuality-related films, Erotic films, LGBT-related films, Vampires in film, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film, Lesbian-related films
Actors Yutte Stensgaard, Ralph Bates, Barbara Jefford, Suzanna Leigh, Helen Christie, Pippa Steel
Roles Giles Barton
Rating57%
In 1830, at a finishing school in Styria, Mircalla arrives as a new student. A visiting author, Richard Lestrange, instantly falls in love with her; but Mircalla is a vampire—Carmilla Karnstein—who has been resurrected by her vampiric family. As students in the school, inhabitants of the nearby village and those who suspect Mircalla is responsible start to die, suspicion turns toward the Karnsteins and their ominous castle.
The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)
, 1h35Directed by Jimmy Sangster
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Horror
Themes Films about computing, Films based on science fiction novels, Frankenstein films, Cyberpunk films
Actors Ralph Bates, Kate O'Mara, Veronica Carlson, David Prowse, Dennis Price, Jon Finch
Roles Victor Frankenstein
Rating58%
Victor Frankenstein, a cold, arrogant and womanizing genius, is angry when his father forbids him to continue his anatomy experiments. He ruthlessly murders his father by sabotaging the old man's shotgun, consequently inheriting the title of Baron von Frankenstein and the family fortune. He uses the money to enter medical school in Vienna, but is forced to return home when he impregnates the daughter of the Dean.
Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)
, 1h31Directed by Peter Sasdy
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Fantastic, Horror
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Dracula films, Vampires in film
Actors Christopher Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Gwen Watford, Martin Jarvis, Linda Hayden, Anthony Higgins
Roles Lord Courtley
Rating62%
Three English gentlemen - Hargood, Paxton and Secker - have formed a circle ostensibly devoted to charitable work but in reality they indulge themselves in brothels. One night they are intrigued by a young man who bursts into the brothel and is immediately tended to after snapping his fingers, despite the brothelkeeper's objections. The gentlemen are informed that he is Courtley, who was disinherited for celebrating a Black Mass.