Reginald Tate
Encyclopedia
Reginald Tate was an English actor, veteran of many roles on stage
, in film
and on television
. He is best remembered as the first actor to play the television science-fiction
character Professor Bernard Quatermass
, in the 1953 BBC Television
serial The Quatermass Experiment
.
, near Leeds
in Yorkshire
, and went to school in York
. During World War I
he served with The Northamptonshire Regiment and later with the Royal Flying Corps
. He left the armed forces after the end of the war and studied acting at Leeds College of Music and Drama. He made his first professional acting appearance at Leeds Art Theatre in 1922, and for the next four years was a resident performer both there and at the city's Little Theatre.
In 1926, he moved to London
, with his first major role being in a production of Romeo and Juliet
at the Strand Theatre
. He had particular success with the lead role of Stanhope in R. C. Sherriff
's play Journey's End
, playing the part in a 1929 tour of Australia and New Zealand and again in a 1934 revival production at the Criterion Theatre
in London.
's fledgling television
service, one of its earliest major drama productions. His performance was praised by the television critic of The Times
newspaper, who wrote that: "his performance [was] brilliantly full of fiery disillusionment. It successfully dominated the stage—no easy matter when Osborne is played as well as Mr. Basil Gill played him."
At the beginning of the Second World War
he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
. He was given the rank of Pilot Officer
, and by the time his service came to an end in 1944 he had been promoted to Squadron Leader
. He also continued to act during the war, and performed small roles in the well-known films The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
(1943) and The Way Ahead
(1944).
Following the end of the war he continued to perform in the theatre and increasingly on television. He met the Austria
n television director
Rudolph Cartier
when Cartier cast him in his BBC production of It Is Midnight, Dr Schweitzer in February 1953. Cartier was impressed with Tate's performance, and later that year offered him the lead role in The Quatermass Experiment, a science-fiction serial he was directing, written by BBC staff scriptwriter Nigel Kneale
. Tate was the second choice for the part of Professor Bernard Quatermass; Cartier had previously offered it to his It Is Midnight, Dr Schweitzer co-star André Morell
, who declined the role. Morell would later play Quatermass in the third instalment of the series, Quatermass and the Pit
. Tate however was a success in the part, and in a 1986 interview Nigel Kneale named him as his favourite of all the actors to have played the character. The serial itself was also a success, with the British Film Institute
later describing it as "one of the most influential series of the 1950s." Tate took an increased interest in television, and later in 1953 enrolled on the BBC's staff training course to become a television producer
. He also began to spend much of his spare time teaching acting classes at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
(RADA), feeling that he had experience which might be useful to younger actors.
in 1955, Tate was eager to take part and play the Professor again. Production was due to begin in September, and on 7 August 1955 he produced his first television play, Night Was Our Friend. Only sixteen days before this, late at night on 23 August, he collapsed outside of his home in London. He had suffered a heart attack
, and despite being rushed to hospital in Putney
he died shortly afterwards.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. He is best remembered as the first actor to play the television science-fiction
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
character Professor Bernard Quatermass
Bernard Quatermass
Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional scientist, originally created by the writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. An intelligent and highly moral British scientist, Quatermass is a pioneer of the British space programme, heading up the British Experimental Rocket Group...
, in the 1953 BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
serial The Quatermass Experiment
The Quatermass Experiment
The Quatermass Experiment is a British science-fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television in the summer of 1953 and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, it tells the story of the first manned flight into space, overseen by...
.
Early life
Reginald Tate was born in GarforthGarforth
Garforth is a town within the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, in West Yorkshire, England. The 2001 Census lists 23,892 residents in the Garforth and Swillington ward - 80.57% of which are homeowners, 20% more than the average for Leeds. Garforth itself has 15,394 of those people...
, near Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, and went to school in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he served with The Northamptonshire Regiment and later with the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
. He left the armed forces after the end of the war and studied acting at Leeds College of Music and Drama. He made his first professional acting appearance at Leeds Art Theatre in 1922, and for the next four years was a resident performer both there and at the city's Little Theatre.
In 1926, he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, with his first major role being in a production of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
at the Strand Theatre
Novello Theatre
The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was...
. He had particular success with the lead role of Stanhope in R. C. Sherriff
R. C. Sherriff
-External links:**...
's play Journey's End
Journey's End
Journey's End is a 1928 drama, the seventh of English playwright R. C. Sherriff. It was first performed at the Apollo Theatre in London by the Incorporated Stage Society on 9 December 1928, starring a young Laurence Olivier, and soon moved to other West End theatres for a two-year run...
, playing the part in a 1929 tour of Australia and New Zealand and again in a 1934 revival production at the Criterion Theatre
Criterion Theatre
The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has an official capacity of 588.-Building the theatre:...
in London.
Film and television career
He made his film debut in 1934 in Whispering Tongues, and later in the decade also began to appear in the newer medium of television. On 11 November 1937, Tate appeared as Stanhope again in a production of Journey's End made by the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's fledgling television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
service, one of its earliest major drama productions. His performance was praised by the television critic of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper, who wrote that: "his performance [was] brilliantly full of fiery disillusionment. It successfully dominated the stage—no easy matter when Osborne is played as well as Mr. Basil Gill played him."
At the beginning of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve consists of a number of groupings of individual military reservists for the management and operation of the Royal Air Force's Air Training Corps and CCF Air Cadet formations, Volunteer Gliding Squadrons , Air Experience Flights, and also to form the...
. He was given the rank of Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
, and by the time his service came to an end in 1944 he had been promoted to Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
. He also continued to act during the war, and performed small roles in the well-known films The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is a 1943 film by the British film making team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger under the production banner of The Archers. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook. The title derives from the satirical Colonel Blimp comic strip by David...
(1943) and The Way Ahead
The Way Ahead
The Way Ahead is a British Second World War drama released in 1944. It stars David Niven and Stanley Holloway and follows a group of civilians who are conscripted into the British Army to fight in North Africa. In the U.S., an edited version was released as The Immortal Battalion.The film was...
(1944).
Following the end of the war he continued to perform in the theatre and increasingly on television. He met the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n television director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
Rudolph Cartier
Rudolph Cartier
Rudolph Cartier was an Austrian television director, filmmaker, screenwriter and producer who worked predominantly in British television, exclusively for the BBC...
when Cartier cast him in his BBC production of It Is Midnight, Dr Schweitzer in February 1953. Cartier was impressed with Tate's performance, and later that year offered him the lead role in The Quatermass Experiment, a science-fiction serial he was directing, written by BBC staff scriptwriter Nigel Kneale
Nigel Kneale
Nigel Kneale was a British screenwriter from the Isle of Man. Active in television, film, radio drama and prose fiction, he wrote professionally for over fifty years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and was twice nominated for the British Film Award for Best Screenplay...
. Tate was the second choice for the part of Professor Bernard Quatermass; Cartier had previously offered it to his It Is Midnight, Dr Schweitzer co-star André Morell
André Morell
André Morell was a British actor. He appeared frequently in theatre, film and on television from the 1930s to the 1970s...
, who declined the role. Morell would later play Quatermass in the third instalment of the series, Quatermass and the Pit
Quatermass and the Pit
Quatermass and the Pit is a British television science-fiction serial, originally transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's Quatermass serials, although the character would reappear in a 1979 ITV production simply entitled Quatermass...
. Tate however was a success in the part, and in a 1986 interview Nigel Kneale named him as his favourite of all the actors to have played the character. The serial itself was also a success, with the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
later describing it as "one of the most influential series of the 1950s." Tate took an increased interest in television, and later in 1953 enrolled on the BBC's staff training course to become a television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
. He also began to spend much of his spare time teaching acting classes at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
(RADA), feeling that he had experience which might be useful to younger actors.
Death
When the BBC commissioned a second Quatermass serialQuatermass II
Quatermass II is a British science-fiction serial, originally broadcast by BBC Television in the autumn of 1955. It is the second in the Quatermass series by writer Nigel Kneale, and the first of those serials to survive in its entirety in the BBC archives...
in 1955, Tate was eager to take part and play the Professor again. Production was due to begin in September, and on 7 August 1955 he produced his first television play, Night Was Our Friend. Only sixteen days before this, late at night on 23 August, he collapsed outside of his home in London. He had suffered a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, and despite being rushed to hospital in Putney
Putney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
he died shortly afterwards.
Selected filmography
- The Riverside MurderThe Riverside MurderThe Riverside Murder is a 1935 British crime film directed by Albert Parker and starring Basil Sydney, Judy Gunn and Zoe Davis.- Plot summary :...
(1935) - The Phantom LightThe Phantom LightThe Phantom Light is a 1935 British Thriller film directed by Michael Powell and starring Binnie Hale, Gordon Harker, Milton Rosmer and Herbert Lomas. Criminals pose as ghosts to scare a lighthouse keeper on the Welsh coast, in attempt to distract him....
(1935) - Poison PenPoison Pen (film)Poison Pen is a 1939 British psychological drama, directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Flora Robson, Reginald Tate and Ann Todd. The film is an adaptation of a novel by Welsh author Richard Llewellyn...
(1939) - Madonna of the Seven MoonsMadonna of the Seven MoonsMadonna of the Seven Moons is a 1945 British drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Phyllis Calvert, Stewart Granger and Patricia Roc. The film was one of the Gainsborough melodramas. It was based on a novel by Margery Lawrence.-Plot:...
(1945) - The Man from MoroccoThe Man from MoroccoThe Man from Morocco is a 1945 action adventure film directed by Mutz Greenbaum. The film was produced by Welwyn Studios in Great Britain.-Plot:...
(1945) - Uncle SilasUncle Silas (film)Uncle Silas is a 1947 British drama film directed by Charles Frank and starring Jean Simmons, Katina Paxinou and Derrick De Marney. It is an adaptation of the novel Uncle Silas...
(1947) - Malta StoryMalta StoryMalta Story is a 1953 British war film based on the heroic defence of Malta, the island itself, its people and the RAF aviators who fought to defend it...
(1953) - King's RhapsodyKing's Rhapsody (film)King's Rhapsody is a 1955 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Errol Flynn and Patrice Wymore. It was based on the musical King's Rhapsody by Ivor Novello.-Cast:* Anna Neagle - Marta Karillos...
(1955)