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 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 advertising, ...

adaptations of the

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

novels ''

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' is a 1974 spy novel by British author John le Carré. It follows the endeavours of taciturn, aging spymaster George Smiley to uncover a Soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service. The novel has receive ...

'' and ''

Smiley's People ''Smiley's People'' is a spy novel by British writer John le Carré, published in 1979. Featuring British master-spy George Smiley, it is the third and final novel of the " Karla Trilogy", following ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' and '' The Hon ...

'' and his role as Bret Renssalaer in

Len Deighton Leonard Cyril Deighton (; born 18 February 1929) is a British author. His publications have included cookery books, history and military history, but he is best known for his spy novels. After completing his national service in the Royal Air ...

's trilogy '' Game, Set and Match''.Gideons Way Bate's other credits include: '' Dixon of Dock Green'', '' The Saint'', '' The Avengers'', ''

Prime Suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television drama series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who ...

'', ''

Inspector Morse Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series '' Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000), ...

'', ''

A Touch of Frost A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...

'' and ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

''.

Early life

Bate was born the third son of

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

hoteliers Hubert George Cookson Bate (son of George Harry Bate, a hairdresser and trichologist, of

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The ...

; died 1986) and Cecile Marjorie Canadine (died 1973). Bate was educated at King Edward VI School, Stourbridge, and trained at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

(Gold medal). During his National Service he served with the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...

from 1945 to 1947.

Theatre

From his professional theatre debut in 1953, Bate's theatre roles included: his first West End appearance in '' Inherit the Wind'' (St Martin's) 1960, ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'' (Mermaid) 1960, ''Happy Family'' (Hampstead) 1966, ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' and ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be extended to apply to the c ...

'' (RSC Aldwych) 1969. ''Find Your Way Home'' (Open Space Theatre) 1970, ''

Eden End ''Eden End'' is a play by J. B. Priestley, first produced by Irene Hentschel at the Duchess Theatre, London, on 13 September 1934. Plot introduction In the last week of October 1912 the family of Dr Kirby, a widower in the North of England, is ...

'' (tour) 1972, ''Economic Necessity'' (Haymarket Leicester) 1973, ''Getting Away with Murder'' (Comedy) 1976, ''Shadow Box'' (Cambridge) 1979, ''The Old Jest'' (tour) 1980, and ''A Flea in her Ear'' (Plymouth Theatre Co) 1980. ''Little Lies'' (Wyndhams) 1983, '' Master Class'' (tour) 1984, '' The Deep Blue Sea'' (Theatre Royal Haymarket) 1988, '' Relative Values'' (Chichester Festival Theatre and Savoy) 1993–94.

Television

Bate's first television appearance was in 1955 and from then on he appeared as: James in Pinter's ''The Collection'', Rogojin in ''The Idiot'', MacDuff in ''Macbeth'',

Javert Javert (), no first name given in the source novel, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables.'' He was presumably born in 1780 and died on June 7, 1832. First a prison guard, and then a polic ...

in ''Les Misérables'', the title role in '' Grady'' (a trilogy), T H Huxley in ''Darwin’s Bulldog'', Nikolai in ''Fathers and Sons'', Creon in ''King Oedipus'', Victor Hugo in ''Ego Hugo'', Harry Paynter in ''Intimate Strangers'', ''The Dutch Train Hijack'' 1976, Dr Dorn in ''The Seagull'' 1977, Kim Philby in ''Philby, Burgess and Maclean'' 1977 (nominated Best Actor Monte Carlo Festival 1978), ''

An Englishman's Castle ''An Englishman's Castle'' is a BBC television serial first broadcast in 1978, written by Philip Mackie and directed by Paul Ciappessoni. The story was set in an alternative history 1970s, in which Nazi Germany won World War II and England i ...

'' (1978), the title role in ''The Trial of Uri Urlov'' 1978, ''

'' 1978, ''Crime and Punishment'' 1979, ''

Tis Pity She's A Whore ''Tis Pity She's a Whore'' (original spelling: ''Tis Pitty Shee's a Who'' 'ore'') is a tragedy written by John Ford. It was first performed or between 1629 and 1633, by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre. The play was first publis ...

'' 1980, ''The Human Crocodile'' 1980, ''

'' 1982, ''

A Woman Called Golda ''A Woman Called Golda'' is a 1982 American made-for-television film biopic of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir directed by Alan Gibson and starring Ingrid Bergman. It also features Ned Beatty, Franklin Cover, Judy Davis, Anne Jackson, Robert L ...

'' (with

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary '' Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is ofte ...

) 1982, J A D Ingres in ''Artists and Models'' 1983, '' Shackleton'', '' Game, Set and Match'' (TV mini series 1988), ''

War and Remembrance ''War and Remembrance'' is a novel by Herman Wouk, published in October 1978 as the sequel to Wouk's '' The Winds of War'' (1971). ''The Winds of War'' covers the period 1939 to 1941, and ''War and Remembrance'' continues the story of the extende ...

'' 1988, ''

'' (Dr Crowther in Last Bus to Woodstock) 1988, ''

Countdown to War ''Countdown to War'' is a television film made in 1989 as a co-production by Granada Television and PBS. It recounts the events that occurred between 15 March 1939, when the German army commanded by Adolf Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia and created ...

'' 1989, Agatha Christie's Poirot 1990, ''Medics'' 1991 and 1992, ''Prime Suspect'' 1994, ''Rebecca'' 1996, ''A Touch of Frost'' 1996, ''Bodyguards'' 1996, ''Silent Witness'' 1997, ''Midsomer Murders'' 2000. He also appeared in '' Spindoe'' and '' Beasts''.

Films

Bate's film credits include ''

Dentist in the Chair ''Dentist in the Chair'' is a 1960 British comedy film, directed by Don Chaffey and starring Bob Monkhouse, Ronnie Stevens, Eric Barker and Vincent Ball. The screenplay was written by Val Guest, and based on a novel by Matthew Finch. Additiona ...

'' (1960), ''

Dentist on the Job ''Dentist on the Job'' is a 1961 British comedy film directed by C. M. Pennington-Richards, the sequel to ''Dentist in the Chair'' (1960). It was released in the US with the title ''Get On with It!''. The film was co-written by Hugh Woodhouse ...

'' (1961), ''

Payroll A payroll is the list of employees of some company that is entitled to receive payments as well as other work benefits and the amounts that each should receive. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time worked or tasks pe ...

'' (1961), ''

A Prize of Arms ''A Prize of Arms'' is a 1962 British crime film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Stanley Baker, Helmut Schmid, Patrick Magee and Tom Bell with early appearances by several actors including Fulton Mackay, Michael Ripper, Stephen Lewis, Ge ...

'' (1962), '' Act of Murder'' (1964), ''

Ghost Story A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature'' ...

'' (1974), ''

Give My Regards to Broad Street ''Give My Regards to Broad Street'' is the fifth solo studio album by Paul McCartney and the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The album reached number 1 on the UK chart. The lead single, " No More Lonely Nights", was BAFTA and Golden ...

'' (1984), ''

Eminent Domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

'' (1990) and '' Nowhere in Africa'' (2001) (winner Oscar for Best Film in a Foreign Language). He was a member of BAFTA from 1985.

Personal life

On 22 May 1954, he married Diana Fay, the daughter of Kenneth Alfred Charles Caws Watson (d. 29 October 1940), of

Seaview, Isle of Wight Seaview is a small Edwardian resort located on the north-eastern corner of the Isle of Wight, overlooking the Solent. The village is popular with tourists and is from the town of Ryde, where most tourists reach the island by ferry or hovercraft. ...

. His two sons are Gavin Watson (born 1961) and Mark Hewitt (born 1963).

Death

Bate died at St. Mary's Hospital, Isle of Wight, on 19 June 2012 at the age of 84, after a brief illness. He had been rushed into the hospital on 17 June because of his condition. He was survived by his wife Diana and his two children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bate, Anthony 1927 births 2012 deaths English male stage actors English male television actors Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama People from Stourbridge People educated at King Edward VI College, Stourbridge