Michael Hammond Bates, (4 December 1920 — 11 January 1978), was a British actor best known for playing Blamire in Last of the Summer Wine and Rangi Ram in It Ain't Half Hot, Mum.
He was born to English parents in India, learning to speak fluent Hindi and Urdu, before moving to England at the age of seven. During World War II, he returned to India as a Major in the Indian Army.
He began to act on stage in The '50s and provided the voices of many characters in The Navy Lark. Over the rest of the '50s and '60s, Bates was a regular face in British cinema, playing supporting roles in films such as Bedazzled (1967), Battle of Britain, Patton, A Clockwork Orange, and Frenzy.
During this period, Bates made guest appearances in several popular television series, but it wouldn't be until 1973 when he would be cast in a starring role, as the snobby and pompous Cyril Blamire in Last of the Summer Wine. Bates clashed with co-star Bill Owen during pre-production over their differing political views (their other co-star Peter Sallis later described Bates as "slightly to the right of Thatcher") which almost stopped the series from being made, but the two were able to cooperate on set after this.
The following year, Bates was made up in Brownface for his most controversial role as native Indian bearer Rangi Ram in It Ain't Half Hot, Mum. Series co-creator Jimmy Perry defended this casting choice with the knowledge that Bates was born in India and spoke fluent Urdu.
Sadly, all was not well in Bates' personal life, as spent his last few years slowly dying of cancer. He left Summer Wine in 1975, as his body wasn't able to handle location filming up in the hills, so Brian Wilde was brought in to fill the role of "third man" in the Bates-Owen-Sallis trio. He stuck with Half Hot, Mum until 1977, knowing Rangi was his most popular character. He wasn't expected to have been able to star in Series 5, but despite the intense pain, Bates was able to finish the production of that series with his usual level of professionalism.
His cancer finally claimed his life at the age of 57.
Works on TV Tropes he appeared in:
Films- Dunkirk (1958) — Airman Froome
- Bedazzled (1967) — Inspector Clarke
- Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) — Drunk Lance Corporal
- Battle of Britain (1969) — Warrant Officer Warwick
- Patton (1970) — Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery
- The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970) — Mr. Spimm
- A Clockwork Orange (1971) — Chief Guard Barnes
- Frenzy (1972) — Sergeant Spearman
- The Stone Tape (1972) — Eddie Holmes
- Dixon of Dock Green, episode "A Little Bit of Luck" (1958) — Jimmy
- Ivanhoe, episode "The Raven" (1958) — Will the Simple
- The Saint, episode "The Fellow Traveller" (1963) — Joe
- Man in a Suitcase, episode "Blind Spot" (1968) — Delacroix
- Play for Today, episode "The Fox Trot" (1971) — Arthur
- Jason King, episode "As Easy as A.B.C." (1971) — Edward
- The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, episode "The Assyrian Rejuvenator" (1971) — Colonel Sandstream
- Last of the Summer Wine, 13 episodes (1973-75) — Cyril Blamire
- It Ain't Half Hot, Mum, 36 episodes (1974-77) — Rangi Ram
- Fall of Eagles, 2 episodesshow list (1974) — General Erich von Ludendorff
