Bates was born in Bristol, England. His parents were both psychiatrists; his mother was French[1] and he was a great-great-grandson of French scientist Louis Pasteur.[2] He held dual-nationality and was bilingual,[1] and was educated at Trinity College Dublin.[2] He read French there, before winning a scholarship to attend Yale Drama School.[3]
Career
In 1968, he made his screen debut portraying Caligula in the BBC television series The Caesars (1968).[3][4]
He also played communist Paul Vercors in the final season of the drama series Secret Army (1979).[8] In 1981 he had played a lead role in Second Chance (1981).[5] Because of his French ancestry and dark looks, he often was chosen to play a Frenchman on television, such as in an episode of ITV comedy drama Turtle's Progress (1980).[9] Bates also appeared in the television movie Minder on the Orient Express (1985), again as a Frenchman.[10]
It looked, for some time, as if he might remain typecast in sinister roles, but he was offered a part in comedy series Dear John (1986-1987), by the writer John Sullivan, which saw Bates cast in a more sympathetic role as the newly divorced member of a singles group.[11] It ran for two series, and gave him chance to display a talent for comic roles.[12]
His last roles were as Ed in the episode: "Flying in the Branches" in Screen Two (1989),[5] and as LeDuc in the film King of the Wind (1990).[5]
Personal life, illness and death
In 1964 Bates married actress Joanna Van Gyseghem. The marriage ended in divorce.[3] In 1973 he married actress Virginia Wetherell. The couple had a daughter Daisy (born 1974) and a son Will (born 1977).[3]
Bates was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died from the disease ten weeks later[13] in London, at the age of 51.[14][15]
Ralph Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund
The Ralph Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund is a registered charity.[16]
The charity mainly funds research at St George's University of London, where work is currently focused on the effectiveness of drugs or a combination of drugs on pancreatic cancer cells and also their effectiveness in inhibiting cell resistance to chemotherapy. The research has resulted in a high impact publication in the International Journal of Cancer, showing that a commonly used antibiotic, Doxycycline, is capable of inducing cell death in human pancreatic cancer cells.[17]
