James Bate (10 April 1945 – 19 May 1992) was a British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Early life

When he was three, Bate's family moved to

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around eas ...

. His first venture came aged 13 when he started singing an accompanying himself on the guitar. Aged 17, Tony (as he was known) became an excellent guitarist and leader of a well respected local beat group, "The Strangers" who expanded with the addition of a singer into "The Sixteen Strings" and made a record before disbanding when Anthony onyleft for college. During this time, they performed cabaret, inserting more comedy into the act and performing in clubs. In between this, Tony also had a number of other jobs including working as a van driver, labourer and fitter of artificial limbs. Moving to London, Tony sang in pubs and took whatever job he could find such as being an MC. After trying amateur theatre with the Chelsea Players, he gave up music, swapping it for acting, taking a two-year drama course at the Mount View Theatre School in

Hornsey Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner Lo ...

. This led to him playing ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' and ''

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...

'' on the campus and in a two-month tour of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

arranged by the school. Upon returning home, the actor joined the Tyneside Theatre Company.

Career

As a result of there already being an actor named

Anthony Bate Anthony Bate (31 August 1927 – 19 June 2012) was an English actor. He is possibly best known for his role as Oliver Lacon in the BBC television adaptations of the John le Carré novels ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' and ''Smiley's People'' and ...

, he chose James Bate as his professional name. On TV, he made major appearances as Corporal Ernest Bright in six episodes of '' The Regiment'' (1973) and Sammy Fenwick in the television miniseries ''

The Stars Look Down ''The Stars Look Down'' is a 1935 novel by A. J. Cronin which chronicles various injustices in an English coal mining community. A film version was released in 1940, and television adaptations include both Italian (1971) and British (1975) ve ...

'' (1975). He guested in various television shows including ''

ITV Playhouse ''Playhouse'' is a British television anthology series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour ...

'', '' Thriller'' (1 episode, 1974), ''

When the Boat Comes In ''When the Boat Comes In'' is a British television period drama produced by the BBC between 1976 and 1981. The series stars James Bolam as Jack Ford, a First World War veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken (fictional) town of Gallowshiel ...

'', Amyand in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' serial "

Planet of Fire ''Planet of Fire'' is the fifth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 23 February to 2 March 1984. In the serial, the Doctor's ...

" (1984) and Malcolm Hopwood in ''

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in ...

'' (1986). Bate's final screen role was as Stonker in one episode of ''

Spender ''Spender'' is a British television police procedural drama, created by Ian La Frenais and Jimmy Nail, that first broadcast on 8 January 1991 on BBC1. The series, which also starred Nail as the titular character, ran for three series between 1 ...

'' opposite

Jimmy Nail James Michael Aloysius Bradford (born 16 March 1954), known as Jimmy Nail, is an English singer-songwriter, actor, film producer, and television writer. He played the role of Leonard "Oz" Osborne in the television show ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' a ...

Death

James died in London's

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central Lond ...

after suffering a massive haemorrhage. He is buried in Whitley Bay Cemetery."Stars to honour James", ''

Sunday Sun The ''Sunday Sun'' is a regional Sunday newspaper on sale in North East England, Cumbria and the Scottish Borders, published in Newcastle Upon Tyne by Reach plc. First published on 31 August 1919 as ''The Sunday Sun'', the name was changed to ...

'', 24 May 1992 (pg.9)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bate, James English male television actors 1945 births 1992 deaths male actors from Leeds 20th-century English male actors