Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was a British actor of stage, screen and television. Early life Bates was born in Allestree, Derby, Derbyshire, England on 17 February 1934, the eldest of three sons of Florence Mary (née Wheatcroft), a homemaker and a pianist, and Harold Arthur Bates, an insurance broker and a cellist. The family briefly moved to Mickleover, then returned to Allestree.