Rhonda Bates (born 1949) is an American actress. Bates was best known for playing geeky, man-hungry, hillbilly

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...

s in TV shows and films of the 1970s. She was a gangly 6'2" tall with a wide toothy smile, curly hair and an unmistakable southern down-home drawl.

Early life

Bates grew up in Evansville, Indiana. She received her master's degree in drama from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

. She was a member of

Chi Omega Chi Omega (, also known as ChiO) is a women's fraternity and a member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the umbrella organization of 26 women's fraternities. Chi Omega has 181 active collegiate chapters and approximately 240 alumnae chapte ...

fraternity and so is her daughter. She then taught health and physical education at Cynthia Heights Elementary School in Evansville before heading for California in 1975.

Career

Bates first received attention doing a standup comedy act at

The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...

. She was noticed by a producer who hired her for a

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's '' Enter La ...

TV special. In 1975, Bates was hired as a featured player on the short-lived variety sketch show ''Keep on Truckin featuring

Didi Conn Edith "Didi" Conn (née Bernstein; born July 13, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her work as Frenchy in '' Grease'', Denise Stevens Downey in ''Benson'' and Stacy Jones in ''Shining Time Station''. Early life Edith Bernstei ...

Fred Travalena Frederick Albert Travalena III (October 6, 1942 – June 28, 2009) was a U.S. entertainer, specializing in comedy and impressions. Early life Bronx, New York-born and Long Island-raised, Travalena moved to Los Angeles and developed a multi ...

and

Wayland Flowers Wayland Parrott Flowers Jr. (November 26, 1939 – October 11, 1988) was an American actor, comedian and puppeteer. Flowers was best known for the comedy act he created with his puppet Madame. His performances as "Wayland Flowers and Madam ...

. Bates became a semi-regular on Rickles' sitcom '' CPO Sharkey'' (1976–78) as the love-interest of 6'7" tall Seaman Pruitt (played by actor Peter Isacksen). Bates went on to co-star on ''

Blansky's Beauties ''Blansky's Beauties'' is an American sitcom television series and ostensible spin-off of ''Happy Days'' that aired on ABC from February 12 to June 27, 1977. The main character of the series was introduced on an episode of ''Happy Days'', then ...

'' (a 1977 spin-off of ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most succ ...

'') where she played “Arkansas” a gawky Vegas showgirl. She also appeared on the short-lived sitcom ''

The Roller Girls ''The Roller Girls'' (on-screen title: ''Rollergirls'') is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from April 24, 1978 to May 10, 1978. Premise The series features the exploits of a fictional all-female roller derby team, the Pittsburgh Pitts, owne ...

'' as roller derby queen “Mongo Sue Lampert”. Bates also guest starred in a ''

Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pac ...

'' episode where she played an ugly stepsister in a ‘Cinderella’ storyline. In 1979, Rhonda Bates played “Enid” in

Gabe Kaplan Gabriel Weston Kaplan (born March 31, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, and professional poker player. He played the eponymous teacher in the 1970s sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter''. He later became a professional poker player and a commenta ...

’s college basketball comedy film ''Fast Break''. In 1980, Bates was in the film '' Roadie (film)'', co-starring rocker

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

and comedy legend

Art Carney Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed ...

. She followed her various film & TV, game show, ''

Battle of the Network Stars ''Battle of the Network Stars'' is a series of competitions in which television stars from ABC, CBS and NBC would compete in various sporting events. A total of 19 of these competitions were held between 1976 and 1988, all of which were aired b ...

'' appearances with a co-hosting role on 1980s '' Speak Up, America'' (a ''

Real People ''Real People'' is an American reality television series that originally aired on NBC from 1979 to 1984, Wednesdays from 8 pm to 9pm Eastern Time. Its initial episodes aired live in the Eastern and Central time zones. ''Real People'' featured "re ...

'' – inspired TV magazine / reality show). One of her co-hosts was former-child-evangelist-turned-actor

Marjoe Gortner Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner (born January 14, 1944) is a former Evangelism, evangelist preacher and actor. He first gained public attention during the late 1940s when his parents arranged for him to be Ordination, ordained as a preacher at age four ...

. Rhonda Bates continued to work in a few TV guest shots up until 1988, then apparently quit acting around age 40. She now lives in Texas.

External links

* * http://www.rip-her-to-shreds.com/archive_press_others_roadiepresskit.php Roadie press kit bio {{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Rhonda American film actresses American television actresses Living people 1949 births University of Arkansas alumni 21st-century American women