- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMichael Edward John Pate
- Height5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- The future movie bad man was born in Drummoyne, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, and got his career start as an interviewer on the government's radio station. Pate also worked on the Australian stage and in Down Under movies before relocating to the U.S. in the early 1950s to appear in Universal's "Thunder on the Hill, " the film version of a Charlotte Hastings play ("Bonaventure") in which he had appeared. Pate acted in many American films and TV series, then returned to Australia in the late '60s and worked (again) in that country's film industry; he co-starred in his own Aussie TV series, "Matlock Police". Pate also began working behind the camera; one of his best-known writing-producing-directing credits is "Tim", the story of the relationship between an older woman (Piper Laurie) and a mentally challenged young man (Mel Gibson).- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tom Weaver <TomWeavr@aol.com>
- Michael Pate began his career in 1938 writing and broadcasting a program called "Youth Speaks" for ABC Radio with George Ivan Smith. He also wrote for newspapers and magazines and worked as a book and theatre critic. His book of short stories was published in Australia and the United States. Michael was one of the original members of "The Youth Radio" at Sydney's 2GB radio station. He starred in 1939 in "Lux Radio Theatre" and played at The Minerva Theatre and Theatre Royal. He was cast by Charles Chauvel for the film 40,000 Horsemen (1940). During World War II he served in the Australian Army in the SWPA unit. He was later seconded to the 1st Australian Army Amenities Entertainment Unit--The Islanders--in various combat areas. From 1946-1950 he starred in many radio plays and serials. He also had parts in such films as The Rugged O'Riordans (1949) and Bitter Springs (1950).
He produced, wrote, directed and adapted plays for the theatre and radio. In 1950 he had two plays in Australia, "Dark of the Moon" and "Bonaventure". In 1950 Michael went to the US to do a film version of his play "Bonaventure" for Universal Pictures. It was released as Thunder on the Hill (1951) starring Claudette Colbert.
Subsequently, he appeared in over 50 feature films, guest-starred in over 300 TV shows and appeared in numerous live and taped shows for most major US networks. While in the US he played in a version of his Lux Radio Theatre which was hosted by Cecil B. DeMille. He began teaching acting and lectured on acting for film. He continued writing and wrote numerous screenplays and teleplays for the major networks.
In the theatre, he played 2 seasons in "Medea" opposite 'Dame Judith Anderson'. In 1959, after 9 years in the US, he returned home to Australia to feature in an Australian TV series, "The Shell Hour". After that show ran its course he returned to the US, where he spent another nine years. In 1968 he returned home to Australia as associate producer for the Columbia Pictures film of Norman Lindsay's Age of Consent (1969) (his son Christopher Pate worked on the second unit of the film). Between 1958-69 he worked as producer on various shows for all 3 commercial networks. His "Maggie" show won two Gold Logies for the Seven Network. He produced shows in all areas--musicals, police series, pilots and variety shows--including the first of many UNICEF variety shows.
In 1970 his textbook "The Film Actor" was published and he began starring in the Australian police TV series Matlock Police (1971). He stayed with this aeries for four years, and was rewarded with a Penguin Award for Best Actor. In 1977 he wrote and produced The Mango Tree (1977), featuring his 25-year-old son Christopher.
The following year he was surprised to find himself the recipient of the Nine Networks "This Is Your Life". He continued to keep his hand in theatre with seasons of "The Human Voice" and "The Bear" in both Melbourne and Sydney. He began writing the script for Tim (1979), based on the novel of the same name by Colleen McCullough. It took another year for the film to finally begin production, but it would result in his garnering a "Best Screenplay Award" from the Australian Writers Guild.
Between 1982-84 Michael joined forces again with his son Christopher to co-star together on stage in "Mass Appeal". The play was very successful and resulted in a tour of Australia, culminating in a season at the Sydney Opera House.- IMDb Mini Biography By: A. Nonymous
- SpousesFelippa Rock(November 19, 1951 - September 1, 2008) (his death, 1 child)Margaret Pate (divorced)
- Parents
- RelativesJoe Rock(Aunt or Uncle)Louise Granville(Aunt or Uncle)
- Fought in the Australian army during World War II.
- Though he often played Indians in movie and TV westerns, he was in fact a Caucasian born and raised in Australia.
- He was awarded the O.A.M. (Order of Australia Medal) in the 1997 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to the performing arts as an actor, producer, and writer for the Australian Film, Radio, and Television Industries.
- Michael Pate was in real life an expert in Old West Military procedures.
- Was the first actor to play James Bond's CIA counterpart, Felix Leiter, in the television adaptation of Casino Royale. In this version, however, he is renamed Clarence Leither and, since Bond and Leiter's nationalities were reversed, he was an MI6 agent instead.
- [on his villain roles] I remember one critic, who used to write for a magazine in New York, who said I played the most likable villains that he'd ever seen in the movies. Well, what may have accounted for it was the fact that I always played my villains as if I was the hero and all the others were the villains!
- [on portraying villains] Everyone enjoys playing that kind of role; it's always fun to do a really good villain, a chance to show another side of your "actor's personality." And it's challenging to think up ways of being loved at the same time!
- [reflecting on his career in a 1992 magazine interview] I didn't set any specific goals when I first got into acting. I thought, how nice would it be if I could simply continue to act, whether in the theater, films or whatever. I had to make a career for myself, and I was very fortunate to have had enough talent to do so -- to become a professional actor. I wasn't dead set on being a "big star;" I saw too many unhappy people being "big stars." I just wanted to be well thought of in the same profession. I wanted to be successful in the sense that I was in demand. But otherwise I was very happy just being in the profession. Enjoy is the key word. If you don't, you shouldn't get into the business in the first place. So my advice to any aspiring actor is enjoy, and try to keep working!
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