Ralph Bates

About Ralph Bates

Who is it?: Actor
Birth Day: February 12, 1940
Birth Place:  Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Died On: 27 March 1991(1991-03-27) (aged 51)\nLondon, England
Birth Sign: Pisces
Cause of death: Pancreatic Cancer
Occupation: Actor
Years active: 1967–1991
Spouse(s): Joanna Van Gyseghem (1964-1973 1 child) (divorced) Virginia Wetherell (1973-1991; (2 children) his death)

Ralph Bates Net Worth

Ralph Bates was born on February 12, 1940 in  Bristol, England, United Kingdom, is Actor. The great, great nephew of the renowned French scientist Louis Pasteur developed into a strangely handsome dark haired, pale complexioned English actor. Ralph Bates was born in 1940 in Bristol, England and attended the University of Dublin and studied at the Yale Drama School. His dramatic talents first came to audiences attention playing the evil Emperor Caligula in the well received BBC TV series The Caesars (1968). However, the Hammer studios resurrection of the horror genre was then in full stride, and Bates was soon engulfed in the swirling cloak of Hammer's success as he appeared in several horror films in quick succession. Firstly in a support role as demonic Lord Courtley in Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), followed as the lead character Baron Frankenstein in The Horror of Frankenstein (1970), then as Giles Barton in the sexy Lust for a Vampire (1971) and as the well meaning Dr. Jekyll in an unusual spin on the Robert Louis Stevenson story in Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971), Bates brought a new zest to Hammer and with his stylish dialogue delivery and film acting methods, he quickly won himself quite a few fans in both critics and regular film goers!Unfortunately, by the early 1970s there had been a downturn in Hammer studios fortunes, and Bates then found himself turning to more traditional character work in other production houses and he appeared in several films before snaring other superb villainous role as George Warleggan in the 18th century period piece Poldark (1975).After Poldark, Bates himself kept busy in a few forgettable UK made TV shows and television film roles which did not really do justice to his remarkable talents. In the late 1980s his health rapidly deteriorated, and he passed away from cancer aged only 51 on 27th March 1991.
Ralph Bates is a member of Actor

💰 Net worth: Under Review

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Biography/Timeline

1963

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.

1970

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.

1973

Bates 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.

1986

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.