Alan Bates

17 February 1934 - 28 December 2003
Born: Derbyshire, England

Bates was one of a generational breed of versatile British actors which includes Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay.

But for many he will always be remembered for his naked fireside wrestling match with Oliver Reed in Ken Russell's Woman in Love in 1969.

Since his London stage debut in The Mulberry Bush in 1956, he was closely associated with playwrights John Osborne, Harold Pinter and Simon Gray, both on the boards and in film.

He made his feature film debut in John Osborne's The Entertainer, starring Laurence Olivier, and then played the role of Mick in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker in the movie version, The Guest.

Bates flourished on the big screen during the Sixties, establishing a long-standing relationship with director John Schlesinger (A Kind of Loving, Far From The Madding Crowd).

He also provided able support for Anthony Quinn in Zorba The Greek and Lynn Redgrave in Georgy Girl, and starred in cult hit King Of Hearts.

Bates received his lone best actor Oscar nomination for John Frankenheimer's The Fixer before Women In Love and a return to the stage.

He starred opposite Julie Christie in Joseph Losey's The Go-Between and reprised his award-winning role for Pinter's film version of Butley.

After The Return Of The Hero and Lindsay Anderson's Brittania Hospital in 1982, his best feature work was as Gary Oldman's lover in We Think The World Of You and as Claudius in Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet.

His head butler at Gosford Park helped lead the ensemble cast to a handful of Oscars, and he also starred in the Richard Gere thriller Mothman Prophecies and the Tom Clancy thriller The Sum of All Fears.

He starred opposite Pierce Brosnan in Evelyn and his last film role was alongside Matthew Modine in the straight to video comedy Hollywood North.