Michael Bates (actor)

Bates was born in Jhansi, United Provinces, India (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India).^[1] His parents were of Cheshire families; his father, Henry Stuart "Harry" Bates (16 March 1893 – 1 September 1985), son of Albert Bates (born 1868), of Congleton, Cheshire,^[2][3] was educated at Denstone School and Cambridge University before entering the Indian Civil Service in 1920. He served as Deputy Secretary of the Revenue Department and a Member of the Board of Revenue for the United Provinces of India until 1947 (in which year he was created CSI) and was later of the Colonial Office.^[4][5] Bates's mother, Sarah Clarke Walker (June 19 1896 – from October to December 1982) was daughter of William Hammond Walker (1851 – 19 May 1904), also of Congleton.^[2]

Having been sent home to England aged seven by his parents,^[6] Bates was educated at Uppingham School and his father's alma mater, St Catharine's College, Cambridge.^[4] He was commissioned in the Indian Army in March 1942.^[7] During the Second World War he served in the Burma Campaign as a major with the 3rd Battalion, The 9th Gurkha Rifles,^[8] and was mentioned in dispatches in 1944.^[9]

In 1953, while an ensemble member with the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, Bates appeared in Richard III and All's Well That Ends Well.

In 1956, Bates appeared in Hotel Paradiso (L'Hôtel du libre échange), which starred Alec Guinness, at the Winter Garden Theatre in London. On radio, he played a variety of characters in the BBC's long-running comedy series The Navy Lark, including Able Seaman Ginger, Lieutenant Bates, Rear Admiral Ironbridge, the Padre, and Captain Ignatius Aloysius Atchison.

Bates appeared in many British television series, including Last of the Summer Wine from 1973 to 1975 (as Cyril Blamire) and It Ain't Half Hot Mum from 1973 to 1977 (as Rangi Ram).

Bates's film roles include Bedazzled (1967) as the flirtatious police inspector, Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1967) as Mr. McGregor, Battle of Britain (1969) as Warrant Officer Warwick, Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) as a Lance-Corporal, Patton (1970) as Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery (to whom he bore a striking resemblance), A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Frenzy (1972). On stage, he played Shakespearean roles at Stratford and at the Old Vic and made a big impression as Inspector Truscott in the West End production of Loot by Joe Orton in 1966.

In 1954, Bates married Margaret M. J. Chisholm. They had three children.^[10] He was a supporter of the Conservative Party. Peter Sallis described Bates as being "slightly to the right of Thatcher" politically and said that Bates's right-wing opinions contrasted so sharply with the left-wing views of fellow Last of the Summer Wine star Bill Owen that the series was almost not made because of their arguments.^[11]

Bates died of cancer on 11 January 1978 at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, London, aged 57.^[1][12] Bates had reportedly started to suffer from a rapid health decline around eighteen months before his death.^[12] He died shortly after the fifth series of It Ain't Half Hot Mum had been broadcast; his character was written out of the show with no explanation.^[13]

His role as Rangi Ram led to the allegation that he had performed in brownface.^[14] Series co-creator Jimmy Perry told Stuart Jeffries in 2003 that they had been unable to find a suitable Asian actor. "But Michael was ideal for the role", Perry said.^[15] Interviewed by the journalist Neil Clark for The Daily Telegraph in 2013, Perry said that all Bates wore "was a light tan. He wasn't blacked up! Michael spoke fluent Urdu, and was a captain in the Gurkhas".^[16][17] The show is not repeated in the UK by the BBC, which uses the "blacked up" description of Bates's performance in its website's article about the series.^[16][18] The series has been repeatedly shown on the UK channel That's TV since the summer of 2023, with an on-screen 'disclaimer' at the beginning of each episode reminding viewers that it contains language and attitudes reflecting the era in which it was made.