Stage and screen star Sir Alan Bates has died at the age of 69, after a prolonged battle with cancer.
The self-confessed workaholic, who enjoyed a career that spanned almost half a century, passed away on Saturday night at a London hospital, with his son Benedick at his side.
Sir Alan made his name on stage in the early 1950s in such ground-breaking works as Look Back In Anger and The Caretaker. But he will be remembered by many for his film roles in classics like Women In Love, Zorba The Greek, Far From The Madding Crowd, and more recently, Gosford Park.
Of his nude wrestling scene with Oliver Reed in the 1970 film Women In Love, the actor said, "It was a great lesson in humility. If you can get over the awfulness of yourself in the flesh, you can get over anything."
Described as a "most delightful person" by another co-star in that film, Glenda Jackson, Sir Alan had had more than his share of personal tragedy: his other son Tristan died of an asthma attack at just 19 in 1990, and two years later, his wife Victoria also passed away.
Family and friends paid tribute to a man they described as not just a landmark actor but also "a gentle soul with a great sense of humour".
Photo: © Alphapress.com
