(Feb. 07, 1934 - Dec. 27, 2003) Alan Bates was a British actor. Bates starred in such international hit films as Georgy Girl, Far From the Madding Crowd, Zorba the Greek, The Go-Between, An Unmarried Woman and Women in Love, but he consciously decided to concentrate on a few well-defined roles, rather than to take everything that came his way. On television, his parts ranged from classic roles such as The Mayor of Casterbridge (1978) to Guy Burgess in An Englishman Abroad (1983) to a Russian spy in Pack of Lies (1987) to the storyteller in the 2000 version of the Arabian Nights.