Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE (February 17, 1934 – December 27, 2003) was an English actor.
Born in Allestree, Derby, Bates was the eldest of three brothers: his two brothers are artists, his father was a fine cellist, and his mother a pianist who had studied in Paris. His father supported the family by working in the insurance business. His parents early encouraged him to pursue music; but by age 11, he already had determined his life's course as an actor, and so they sent him for dramatic coaching instead. He earned a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where he studied before leaving to join the Royal Air Force.
He was married to the actress Victoria Ward from 1970 until her death of a suspected heart attack (following a wasting disease) in 1992. They had twin sons born in 1971, the actors Benedick Bates and Tristan Bates, who died of an asthma attack in 1990 at the age of 19 in Tokyo where he had a modeling job.
He had one granddaughter, Chatto Bates.
His companion...
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The 2002 film The Mothman Prophecies is an adaptation of the 1976 book The Mothman Prophecies by parapsychologist and Fortean John Keel.
Richard Gere plays John Klein, a hot-shot Washington, D.C. reporter whose life suddenly takes a different turn after he and his wife (Debra Messing) are involved in a car accident. Although she suffers a non-fatal head injury, his wife’s CAT scans show that she has a brain tumor which quickly turns malignant. Shortly after her death, John discovers an assortment of cryptic drawings she had made of a strange creature.
Two years later, while driving to Richmond, Virginia, John becomes lost and inexplicably finds himself almost five hours off-course, arriving in the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. He soon becomes entangled in the personal stories and a chain of mysterious events, whereby local townspeople report strange supernatural encounters, along with weird lights and phone calls. With the help of the town sheriff (Laura Linney), John...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265349
Walker (1987) is an acid western by British director Alex Cox based on the life story of William Walker, the American adventurer who invaded Mexico in the 1850s and made himself President of Nicaragua shortly thereafter.
The film stars Ed Harris, Marlee Matlin (as Walker's lover Ellen Martin), Peter Boyle (as Cornelius Vanderbilt, his financier), and Miguel Sandoval (as Parker French).
It was written by Rudy Wurlitzer (Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Two-Lane Blacktop), produced by Lorenzo O'Brien, and photographed by Dave Bridges. The art director was Cecilia Montiel. The film was scored by Joe Strummer, who also plays a small role as a member of Walker's army. Sound was by David Batchelor.
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There is no evidence that Walker ever met Vanderbilt or received his support,...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096409
Duet for One (1986) is a film based on an award-winning British play by Tom Kempinski about a world-famous concert violinist named Stephanie Anderson who is suddenly struck with multiple sclerosis. It is set in London and directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. The story is loosely based on the life of cellist Jacqueline du Pré, who was diagnosed with MS, and her husband, conductor Daniel Barenboim.
Stephanie Anderson is struck with Multiple Sclerosis and she is slipping into the depths of depression. She begins seeing a psychiatrist and despises him for not being able to feel her pain. Her conductor husband is also drifting away from her, having an affair with his secretary. Stephanie shuts herself away from the world, once locking her door and replaying her old concert tapes, watching despairingly as her on-screen self plays music that she will never be able to create again. She attempts suicide but fails when her maid rescues her. Soon, however, she comes to terms with the facts of her...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092934
Quartet is a 1981 Merchant Ivory Film, starring Isabelle Adjani, Maggie Smith and Alan Bates set in 1924 Paris. Premiere at Cannes Film Festival entry for Selection Officiel (Official Selection) and won Best actress for Isabelle Adjani.
...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064396
The Rose is a 1979 film which tells the story of a self-destructive 1960s rock star who struggles to cope with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager. The film stars Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton, Barry Primus and David Keith.
The story is loosely based on the life of Janis Joplin. It was written by Michael Cimino and Bo Goldman from a story by Bill Kerby, and directed by Mark Rydell. The film was marketed with the tagline "She gave and gave, until she had nothing left to give".
The Rose was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Frederic Forrest), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Bette Midler, in her screen debut), Best Film Editing and Best Sound.
The lyrics of the theme song, "The Rose," written by Amanda McBroom and sung in the movie by Bette Midler, play across the screen at the end of the credits. It became a top 3 hit for Midler, and one her best known songs.
In...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079826
An Unmarried Woman is a 1978 film which tells the story of a wealthy New York woman whose “perfect” life is shattered when her stockbroker husband leaves her for another woman. It stars Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy and Cliff Gorman. However as the film moves along she starts to find herself becoming and feeling more and more liberated due to her divorce and even finds love again with a rugged yet sensitive British artist. It has been released on DVD January 10, 2006.
The movie was written and directed by Paul Mazursky.
It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress (Jill Clayburgh), Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078444
Royal Flash is a 1975 film based on George MacDonald Fraser's second Flashman novel, Royal Flash. It starred Malcolm McDowell as Flashman. Oliver Reed appeared in the role of Otto von Bismarck, Alan Bates as Rudi von Sternberg, and Florinda Bolkan played Lola Montez. Fraser wrote the screenplay and the film was directed by Richard Lester.
The film begins with Flashman making a patriotic speech to the boys of Rugby School framed by a giant Union Flag, in a scene which appears to be a parody of the opening sequence in the 1970 film Patton. The film then follows the plot of the book, which itself largely derives from The Prisoner of Zenda. Flashman is forced to impersonate a Danish prince who is about to marry a German princess by Otto von Bismarck, partly in revenge for Bismarck's humiliation at the hands of Flashman in London; Flashman stole Bismarck's mistress Lola Montez, then maneuvered him into boxing against a professional boxer, John Gully (played by Henry Cooper), at a...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073639
Butley is a 1971 play by Simon Gray. The title character, a literary professor and T.S. Eliot scholar, is an acerbic, suicidal alcoholic who loses his wife and male lover on the same day. The dark comedy encompasses several hours in which he bullies students, friends, and colleagues while falling apart at the seams.It was first produced in 1971 at the Criterion Theatre in London's West End under the direction of Harold Pinter, with Alan Bates in the title role.Bates reprised his performance the following year in a Broadway production directed by James Hammerstein at the Morosco Theatre, where it ran for 14 previews and 135 performances. Bates won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance, and Gray was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play.A 1974 film adaptation directed by Pinter starred Bates, Jessica Tandy, Richard O'Callaghan, Susan Engel, and Michael Byrne.A 2006 limited-run Broadway revival at the Booth Theatre was directed...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071260
Three Sisters is a 1970 film starring Alan Bates, Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright, based on the play by Anton Chekhov. Olivier also directed, with co-director John Sichel. The film was based on a theatre production that Olivier directed at the Royal National Theatre in 1967....
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066454
Women in Love is a 1969 British film which tells the story of the relationships between men and women during the early part of the 20th century. It stars Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson and Jennie Linden.The movie was adapted by Larry Kramer from the novel Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence. It was directed by Ken Russell.It won the Academy Award for Best Actress (Glenda Jackson) and was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.The movie is famous for an extended scene in which Alan Bates and Oliver Reed wrestle in the nude.This article contains a trivia section.The article could be improved by integrating relevant items into the main text and removing inappropriate items.Both Oliver Reed and Alan Bates were initially apprehensive about filming the legendary nude wrestling scene. Russell had to assure them that the set would be off-limits and that there would be no rehearsal. Both actors got reasonably...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066579
Far from the Madding Crowd is a 1967 feature film directed by John Schlesinger, adapted from the book of the same name by Thomas Hardy. It was Schlesinger's fourth film and marked a stylistic shift away from his earlier works which explored contemporary urban mores. The cinematography was by Nicolas Roeg and the soundtrack was by Richard Rodney Bennett. Original folk songs were also used in various scenes throughout the film.It was nominated for one Oscar for best Original music score and two BAFTA's, Best British Cinematography (Colour) and Best British Costume (Colour).The story features Bathsheba Everdene (Julie Christie), an independently minded woman who inherits her uncle's farm, and her three suitors: the steadfast but luckless shepherd Gabriel Oak (Alan Bates), the lonely and repressed farmer William Boldwood (Peter Finch), and the charming but faithless Sergeant Troy (Terence Stamp).The film is faithful to the book but the choice of Christie attracted some criticism at the...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061648
King of Hearts (original French title: Le Roi de CĹ“ur) is a French film set in a small town in France near the end of World War I.
As a German army retreats they booby-trap the whole town to explode. The locals flee and, left to their own devices, a gaggle of cheerful lunatics escape the asylum and take over the town — thoroughly confusing the lone Scottish soldier who has been dispatched to defuse the bomb.
This 1966 film, directed by Philippe de Broca, stars Alan Bates as Charles Plumpick, a kilt-wearing Scottish soldier who is sent by his commanding officer to disarm the bomb.
When Plumpick enters the town, he unknowingly leaves the door to the insane asylum open while being chased by the Germans. When the Germans have left the town, all of the inmates leave the asylum and playfully take over the town. The adorable lunatics coronate Plumpick King of Hearts with surreal pageantry as he frantically tries to find the bomb before it goes off.
The film ends with the question of who...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060908
Georgy Girl is a 1966 British film based on a novel by Margaret Forster. The film was directed by Silvio Narizzano and starred Lynn Redgrave as Georgy, Alan Bates, James Mason, Charlotte Rampling and Bill Owen.The title song, performed by Australian band The Seekers, became a hit single and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song (music by Tom Springfield, lyrics by Jim Dale). Redgrave was also Oscar-nominated for her titular performance as Best Actress.Georgina (Lynn Redgrave) is a 22-year-old, working-class Londoner. She has considerable musical talent, is well-educated, and has a rather charming if shameless manner. On the other hand, she believes herself to be plain, dresses haphazardly, and is incredibly naĂŻve on the subjects of love and flirtation; she has never had a boyfriend. She has an inventive imagination and loves children.Her parents are the live-in employees of successful businessman James Leamington (James Mason). Leamington is fiftyish and has a...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060453
Zorba the Greek (originally titled Alexis Zorbas) is a 1964 film based on the novel Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. The film was directed by Michael Cacoyannis and the title character was played by Anthony Quinn–who was not Greek but in fact Irish Mexican. The supporting cast included Alan Bates as a visiting Englishman. The theme, "Sirtaki" by Mikis Theodorakis, has become famous and popular as a song and as a dance (especially at parties).
The movie was shot on location on the Greek island of Crete. Specific places featured include the town of Chania, the Apokoronas region and the Akrotiri peninsula. The famous scene, in which Quinn's character dances the Sirtaki, was shot on the beach of the village of Stavros.
The movie won three Academy Awards. Lila Kedrova won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, Vassilis Fotopoulos won the Oscar for Best Art Direction in black-and-white set decoration, and Walter Lassally won the Oscar for Best Cinematography in black-and-white....
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057831
Alan Bates was born
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