Ralph Bates

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Biography

Template:More citations needed Bates was born in Bristol, England. His parents were both psychiatrists; his mother was French<ref name=stage1>Template:Cite news</ref> and he was a great-great-grandson of French scientist Louis Pasteur.<ref name=aber>Template:Cite news</ref> He held dual-nationality and was bilingual,<ref name=stage1/> and was educated at Trinity College Dublin.<ref name=aber/> 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 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 doctor who mistakenly transforms himself into a beautiful siren.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He portrayed Caligula in the series The Caesars<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>; 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also played communist Paul Vercors in the final season of the drama series Secret Army.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bates also appeared in the television movie Minder on the Orient Express, again as a Frenchman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

It looked, for some time, as if he might remain typecast in sinister roles, but he was offered a part in comedy series Dear John by the writer John Sullivan, which saw Bates cast in a more sympathetic role as the newly divorced member of a singles group.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Free access</ref> It ran for two series, and gave him chance to display a talent for comic roles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=diabolique>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1973 he married actress Virginia Wetherell. The couple had a daughter Daisy (born 1974) and a son Will (born 1977).<ref name=diabolique/>

Bates was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died from the disease ten weeks later<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in London, at the age of 51.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The large metal cross marking his grave at Chiswick New Cemetery bears the epitaph "Don't Worry. Be Happy!"

Ralph Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund

The Ralph Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund is a registered charity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The charity mainly funds research at St George's University of London, where work is currently focused on the effectiveness of drugs or a combination of drugs on pancreatic cancer cells and also their effectiveness in inhibiting cell resistance to chemotherapy. The research has resulted in a high impact publication in the International Journal of Cancer, showing that a commonly used antibiotic, Doxycycline, is capable of inducing cell death in human pancreatic cancer cells.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> .

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	Taste the Blood of Dracula	Lord Courtley
1970	The Horror of Frankenstein	Victor Frankenstein
1971	Lust for a Vampire	Giles Barton	Alternate titles: Love for a Vampire, To Love a Vampire
1971	Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde	Dr. Henry Jekyll
1972	Fear in the Night	Robert Heller
1974	Persecution	David Masters	Alternate titles: Sheba, The Terror of Sheba, The Graveyard
1975	I Don't Want to Be Born	Gino Carlesi	Alternate titles: The Devil Within Her, The Monster
1986	Letters to an Unknown Lover	Bernard	TV movie
1990	King of the Wind	LeDuc

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	Mrs Thursday	Window dresser	Episode: "Charity Begins at a Ball"
	Coronation Street	Russ Parks	1 episode
1968	The Caesars	Caligula	3 episodes
1970	The Six Wives of Henry VIII	Thomas Culpepper	Episode: "Catherine Howard"
1971	Jason King	Alan Keeble	Episode: "Variations on a Theme"
	Play for Today	Peter	Episode: "Thank You Very Much"
1972	The Persuaders!	Michel	Episode: "Nuisance Value"
1973	Moonbase 3	Dr. Michael Lebrun	6 episodes
	The Protectors	David Lee	Episode: "Petard"
1975	Z-Cars	Roy Hurst	Episode: "Distance"
	Thriller	Michael Spencer	Episode: "Murder Hotel"
1975-1977	Poldark	George Warleggan	23 episodes
1976	Dangerous Knowledge	Sanders	6 episodes
	Softly, Softly: Task Force	Text	Episode: "Text"
1979	Penmaric	Laurence Castallack	3 episodes
	Secret Army	Paul Vercors	4 episodes
1980	Turtle's Progress	Peter Sablon	1 episode
1981	Second Chance	Chris Hurst	6 episodes
1982	Tales of the Uxexpected	Paul Foster	Episode: "Blue Marigold"
	The Agatha Christie Hour	Vincent Easton	Episode: "Magnolia Blossom"
1983	The Gentle Touch	Wally Tate	Episode: "Who's Afraid of Josie Tate"
1984	The Odd Job Man	Major Drew	3 episodes
1985	Minder	Francois LeBlanc	Episode: "Minder on the Orient Express"
1986-1987	Dear John	John Lacey	Episode: "Text"
1987	Farrington of the F.O.	James Mapley	Episode: "We're Having a Heat Wave"
1989	Screen Two	Ed	Episode: "Flying in the Branches"

External links

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