Alan Arthur Bates
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Awards
Alan Bates decided to become an actor at age 11. He made his West End debut in 1956 in the first production of the English Stage Company, and later starred in John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger, which defined the angry young men generation. Bates earned an Oscar nomination for The Fixer in 1968, won two Tony Awards, and was knighted in 2003. He died of pancreatic cancer on December 27, 2003.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Alan Bates — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Alan Bates by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Alan Bates — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
At age 11, Alan Bates decided to become an actor. Born on February 17, 1934 in Allestree, Derbyshire, he was the eldest of three brothers in an artistic family: his father was a cellist and his mother a pianist. After attending grammar school in Derbyshire, he earned a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where he trained before serving two years in the Royal Air Force.
Bates made his West End debut in 1956 at age 22, appearing in the first production of the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre. That same year, he starred in John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger, a play that defined the angry young men generation and made Bates a star. He made his film debut in 1960 in The Entertainer, playing Laurence Olivier’s son. In 1968, Bates earned an Academy Award nomination for his role in The Fixer. He won Tony Awards for Butley in 1973 and Fortune’s Fool in 2002. Bates also starred in films such as Women in Love 1969, Zorba the Greek 1964, and Gosford Park 2001.
Bates married actress Victoria Ward in 1970. The couple had twin sons, Benedick and Tristan, born in 1971. Their son Tristan died from an asthma attack in Tokyo in 1990. Two years later, Ward died from a suspected heart attack after a wasting disease. Bates later shared his life with lifelong friend and actress Joanna Pettet, his co-star from the 1964 Broadway play Poor Richard.
His knighthood in January 2003 recognized his services to drama. As Patron of the Actors Centre in Covent Garden, he supported theatre, and the Tristan Bates Theatre was named after his son. Ken Russell wrote in his Evening Standard tribute that Bates was one of the great actors ever to grace the screen and stage.
The complete filmography of Alan Bates — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Alan Bates — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Alan Bates — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
Of Course, You Start with Dreams of Being a Star. You Want Recognition, Public Recognition. and Why Not? You’re Doing Public Work.
I Think All Plays Should Be Filmed. I Think We Should Forget About This Division of Cinema and Theatre. I Think Any Sort of Great Production Should Be Filmed, Just for the Future If for Nothing Else.
I Think Actors Are Privileged. Acting Feeds You.
It Can Happen That Two People Can Love Each Other and Not Be Able to Get on at All.
Little-known facts about Alan Bates — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Following the death of their son Tristan, Bates’s wife Victoria Ward died in 1992 from a suspected heart attack after battling a wasting disease similar to anorexia.
Bates had twin sons, Benedick and Tristan. Tristan died of an asthma attack in Tokyo in 1990, and his wife Victoria Ward passed away two years later.
He was the eldest of three brothers in an artistic family: his two brothers are artists, his father was a fine cellist, and his mother a pianist who studied in Paris. His father supported the family by working in the insurance business.
Director John Schlesinger handpicked Bates to star in Sunday Bloody Sunday 1971 as Dr. Daniel Hirsh. Bates was held up filming The Go-Between and became a father, so he passed with regrets; Ian Bannen was fired, and Peter Finch earned an Oscar nomination in the role.
Bates suffered a stroke in 2003.
In his later years, Bates shared his time between New York and London with his lifelong friend and companion, actress Joanna Pettet, who co-starred with him in the 1964 Broadway play Poor Richard.
He was awarded the CBE Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1995 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his services to drama.
In the early 1970s, Bates financed a very small film titled Second Best 1972, adapted from a D.H. Lawrence short story. It was made on location in Derbyshire with a cast of three actors, including his wife Victoria Ward and Annette Widdowson.
Bates won two Tony Awards for his only two nominations: in 1973 as Best Actor Dramatic for Butley, a role he also played in the film version Butley 1974, and in 2002 as Best Actor Play for Fortune’s Fool.
In 1969, alongside Oliver Reed, Bates became the first actor to perform frontal nudity in a major studio motion picture, in Ken Russell’s Women in Love.
He was created a Knight Bachelor in the 2003 Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for his services to Drama.
Bates co-starred with Julie Christie in four films: Far from the Madding Crowd 1967, The Go-Between 1971, The Return of the Soldier 1982, and Separate Tables 1983.
In the early 1960s, he worked for the Padded Wagon Moving Co. while acting at the Circle in the Square Theater in New York City.
He had one granddaughter, Chatto Bates.
Theatre awards include: 2002 Tony and Drama Desk for Fortune’s Fool; 2000 Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Award for Unexpected Man; 1983 Variety Club Award for A Patriot for Me; 1975 Variety Club Award for Otherwise Engaged; 1971 Evening Standard Best Actor Award for Butley; 1972 Tony for Butley; 1959 Clarence Derwent Award for A Long Day’s Journey Into Night.
According to Malcolm McDowell in the documentary Never Apologize 2007, Bates often wore scarves in later life on and off screen because he was self-conscious about his double chin.
Bates was Patron of The Actors Centre, Covent Garden, London from 1994 until his death in 2003, succeeding previous patrons Lord Laurence Olivier and Sir Alec Guinness.
He was on the shortlist for the male lead Arthur Parker in Pennies from Heaven 1978.
Because he died in the last few days of 2003, his tombstone incorrectly reads 2004 as his year of death.
He was an Associate Member of RADA.
Although he played Roger Livesey’s grandson in The Entertainer 1960, Bates was only 28 years younger than Livesey in real life.
His unfulfilled ambition was to sing in a musical.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Alan Bates.
Celebrities similar to Alan Bates — same craft, ranked by reach.
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