# Reginald Tate
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{{Short description|English actor (1896–1955)}}
{{for|the American politician|Reginald Tate (politician)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Reginald Tate
| image = Quatexp02.JPG
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Reginald Tate in the television series ''[The Quatermass Experiment](/source/The_Quatermass_Experiment)'' (1953)
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 13 December 1896
| birth_place = [Garforth](/source/Garforth), [West Riding of Yorkshire](/source/West_Riding_of_Yorkshire), England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1955|8|23|1896|12|13}}
| death_place = [Putney](/source/Putney), [London](/source/London), England
| other_names =
| years_active = 1922–1955
| spouse =
| website =
}}
'''Reginald Tate''' (13 December 1896 – 23 August 1955)[{{cite news|title=Mr. Reginald Tate – Versatile Actor|work=[The Times](/source/The_Times)|date=25 August 1955|page=13}}] was an English actor and a veteran of many roles on [stage](/source/Theatre), in [film](/source/film)s and on [television](/source/television). He is remembered best as the first actor to play the [television science-fiction](/source/science_fiction_on_television) character [Professor Bernard Quatermass](/source/Bernard_Quatermass), in the 1953 [BBC Television](/source/BBC_Television) serial ''[The Quatermass Experiment](/source/The_Quatermass_Experiment)''.
==Early life==
Reginald Tate was born in [Garforth](/source/Garforth), near [Leeds](/source/Leeds) in the [West Riding of Yorkshire](/source/West_Riding_of_Yorkshire), and went to school in [York](/source/York).[Pixley, p. 6.] He left the armed forces after the end of the war and studied acting at [Leeds College of Music](/source/Leeds_College_of_Music) and Drama.[Vahimagi, pg. 8.] His performance was praised by the television critic of ''[The Times](/source/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."[{{cite news|title=Televised Drama – Journey's End|work=[The Times](/source/The_Times)|date=12 November 1937|page=14}}]
At the beginning of the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War) Tate joined the [Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve](/source/Royal_Air_Force_Volunteer_Reserve).[{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/438362/credits.html|title=Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The (1943) – Cast|publisher=[Screenonline](/source/Screenonline)|access-date=1 May 2007}}] and ''[The Way Ahead](/source/The_Way_Ahead)'' (1944).[{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/460745/credits.html|title=Way Ahead, The (1944) – Cast|publisher=[Screenonline](/source/Screenonline)|access-date=1 May 2007}}] He also had a top supporting role as the intelligence officer, Major Richards, in another classic British war movie, ''[The Next of Kin](/source/The_Next_of_Kin)'' (1942).
After the end of the war Tate continued to perform for theatre and increasingly for television. He met the [Austria](/source/Austria)n [television director](/source/television_director) [Rudolph Cartier](/source/Rudolph_Cartier) when Cartier cast him in his BBC production of ''It Is Midnight, Dr Schweitzer'' in February 1953.[Murray, pg. 28.] Morell would later play Quatermass for the third instalment of the series, ''[Quatermass and the Pit](/source/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.[{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/8504/kneal.htm|title=Nigel Kneale – Behind the Dark Door|publisher=The Quatermass Home Page|first1=Andrew|last1=Pixley|author2-link=Nigel Kneale|first2=Nigel |last2=Kneale|year=1986|access-date=1 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050817034159/http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/8504/kneal.htm|archive-date=17 August 2005}}] The serial itself was also a success, with the [British Film Institute](/source/British_Film_Institute) later describing it as "one of the most influential series of the 1950s."[{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/471469/index.html|title=Quatermass Experiment, The (1953)|first=Gavin|last=Collinson|publisher=[Screenonline](/source/Screenonline)|access-date=1 May 2007}}] Tate took an increased interest in television, and later in 1953 enrolled on the BBC's staff training course to become a [television producer](/source/television_producer).[Pixley, p. 15.] He also began to spend much of his spare time teaching acting classes at the [Royal Academy of Dramatic Art](/source/Royal_Academy_of_Dramatic_Art) (RADA), feeling that he had experience which might be useful to younger actors.[{{cite news|title=Mr. Reginald Tate|first=Sir Kenneth|last=Barnes|authorlink=Kenneth Barnes (director)|work=[The Times](/source/The_Times)|date=27 August 1955|page=9}}]
==Death==
When the BBC commissioned a [second ''Quatermass'' serial](/source/Quatermass_II) in 1955, Tate was eager to participate and play the Professor again.[Murray, p. 50.] Production was due to begin in September, and on 7 August 1955 he produced his first television play, ''Night Was Our Friend''.[Pixley, p. 17.] Only sixteen days after this, late at night on 23 August, he collapsed outside his home in London.