Alan Bates

Alan Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor born at the Queen Mary Nursing Home, Darley Abbey, Derby, and raised in Allestree, England. The eldest of three sons born to Florence Mary Bates, a housewife and amateur pianist, and Harold Arthur Bates, an insurance broker and amateur cellist, he decided to pursue acting by the age of eleven. He attended Herbert Strutt Grammar School in Belper, Derbyshire, before earning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where his fellow students included Albert Finney and Peter O'Toole. He subsequently left RADA to fulfill National Service with the RAF at RAF Newton.

Bates made his stage debut in 1955 in You and Your Wife in Coventry. The following year he made his West End debut at the Royal Court Theatre, originating the role of Cliff in Look Back in Anger, a production that established him as a prominent stage presence. He brought that role to Broadway, where his career spanned from 1957 to 2002. His Broadway credits include Look Back in Anger, Fortune, Poor Richard, The Caretaker, Butley, and a 2002 production for which he received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He had previously won the same award in 1973, and both productions also earned him Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 2002. Beyond Broadway, he was a member of the 1967 acting company at the Stratford Festival in Canada, where he played the title role in Richard III. His stage work extended to the plays of Simon Gray, including Butley and Otherwise Engaged.

His film career began with a supporting role in The Entertainer (1960) alongside Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright, followed by lead performances in Whistle Down the Wind (1961) and A Kind of Loving (1962), the latter directed by John Schlesinger and earning Bates a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. He co-starred with Anthony Quinn in Zorba the Greek (1964), directed by Michael Cacoyannis, and appeared opposite Lynn Redgrave in Georgy Girl (1966), a role that brought him Golden Globe nominations for Best Comedy or Musical Actor and Best Male Newcomer. He reunited with Schlesinger for Far From the Madding Crowd (1967), earning an additional Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama Actor. His performance in The Fixer (1968), adapted from Bernard Malamud's novel and co-starring Dirk Bogarde and Ian Holm, brought him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor as well as another BAFTA nomination. In Women in Love (1969), directed by Ken Russell and co-starring Oliver Reed and Glenda Jackson, Bates and Reed appeared in a scene of full frontal male nudity that was considered groundbreaking for a studio film at the time.

His later film work included The Go-Between (1971) for director Joseph Losey, An Unmarried Woman (1978) opposite Jill Clayburgh, and The Rose (1979), in which he played the ruthless business manager of the character portrayed by Bette Midler. He reprised his Tony-winning stage role in the film adaptation of Butley (1974) and also appeared in the film version of In Celebration (1975). Additional film credits from this period include The Shout (1978) with Susannah York and John Hurt, and Nijinsky (1980) directed by Herbert Ross. He appeared in Quartet (1981) alongside Maggie Smith, Isabelle Adjani, and Anthony Higgins, and in The Return of the Soldier (1982), which reunited him with Julie Christie, Glenda Jackson, and Ian Holm. He starred opposite Julie Andrews in Duet for One (1986) and alongside Mickey Rourke and Bob Hoskins in A Prayer for the Dying (1987).

For television, Bates took on a range of notable dramatic roles. He played Michael Henchard in The Mayor of Casterbridge (1978), a role he described as his favorite. He portrayed Guy Burgess, a gay member of the Cambridge spy ring living in exile in Moscow, in An Englishman Abroad (1983), and played a British Secret Service agent in Pack of Lies (1987). Additional television work included Harold Pinter's The Collection and A Voyage Round My Father. In the early 1960s, while working in New York City, he acted at the Circle in the Square Theatre. Bates held the title of Sir, having been knighted, and died on 27 December 2003.