Australian actor, baritone, and playwright, who worked in London during and after World War II.
Born in Cairns, Gates was well-known in Cairns musical circles as a baritone, winning at least one significant Eisteddfod.
In the mid-1930s, he was involved with the Independent Theatre in Sydney. He appears to have first left Australia c.1937, when he first went to Hollywood and was, seemingly, 'really responsible for Sumner Locke-Elliott's comedy. "The Cow Jumped Over the Moon" being put on in a Hollywood theatre' ('They Like Comedies). Moving on to England, he signed on with a repertory company, and then, subsequently, with Sir John Gielgud's company in London.
During World War II, he served in the RAAF, rising to at least the rank of LAC (Leading Aircraftman). He was in London for part of this period, where he compered the BBC's Workers Playtime series (alongside pianists George Myddleton and Bruce Merryl); he was back in Australia at least briefly in 1944 (where he narrowly lost the baritone section of the Queensland Eisteddfod), but seems to have otherwise remained in London for the war's duration.
Between 1947 and 1948, he studied at the Conservatorium of Music in Sydney on the Martin Harrison scholarship; at this time, he was also mentioned in connection with ABC radio plays.
In 1949, Doris Fitton produced his play The Earth Remains for the Q Theatre, Richmond. In 1951, when he adapted the same play as a BBC radio play.
While in London, Gates compered the It is also likely that he worked as an actor during this period: the name recurs in BBC radio plays from c.1947, and he was known to have acted in his own play. However, it has not been confirmed that this is the same Bill Gates.
In the early to mid 1950s, Gates was working for 2UW, apparently as a script-writer, but little is known of his career after this point.
Sources:
'Adjudicator Praises Eisteddford Playing', Telegraph, 8 April 1944, p.2.
'Cairns Singer's Success', Cairns Post, 5 January 1948, p.3.
'Maccabi Monash', Hebrew Standard of Australasia, 1 June 1951, p.4.
'News from London', Australian Women's Weekly, 22 May 1937, p/21/
'Northern Singer's Success', Cairns Post, 23 December 1947, p.6.
'They Like Comedies', Telegraph, 15 July 1939, p.20.
'Week-end Plays', South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus, 31 July 1950, p.3.
