From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia 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 Horrors bestknown 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 Shaws 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 longrunning 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 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 198687 in which he realistically played the part of a divorcee returning to single life lasted for two series and around the same time he appeared in the ITV Yorkshire Television sitcom Farrington of the FO 1986 with Angela Thorne and Joan Sims Bates became ill and was diagnosed with cancer He died in London at age 51 from pancreatic cancer He was divorced from the actress Joanna Van Gyseghem and survived by his second wife the actress Virginia Wetherell married 19731991 The couple had one daughter actress Daisy Bates b 1974 and a son William Bates b 1977 an actor amp musician Description above from the Wikipedia article Ralph Bates licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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