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Michael Pate, circa 1938

Michael Pate (born February 26, 1920) is an Australian actor and writer.

Pate was born in Drummoyne, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. In 1938, he became a writer and broadcaster for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, collaborating with George Ivan Smith on Youth Speaks. For the remainder of the 1930s he worked primarily in radio drama. He also published theatrical and literary criticism. He enjoyed brief success as an author of short stories, publishing works in Australia and the United States.

During World War II, Pate served in the Australian Army in the South West Pacific Area. He was transferred to the 1st Australian Army Amenities Entertainment Unit, known as "The Islanders", entertaining Australian troops in various combat areas.

After the war, Pate returned to radio, appearing in many plays and serials. Between 1946 and 1950 he began breaking into films. In 1949 he appeared in his first leading role in Sons of Matthew in his first leading role. In 1950 he appeared in Bitter Springs with Tommy Trinder and Chips Rafferty.

Also in 1950, Pate adapted, produced, and directed two plays — Dark of the Moon and Bonaventure. Later that year he traveled to the United States to appear in a film adaptation of Bonaventure for Universal Pictures. This was released in 1951 as Thunder on the Hill, starring Claudette Colbert and Ann Blyth.

Pate spent most of the 1950s in the United States, appearing in over three hundred TV shows. Most notable among these was a 1953 Climax! live production of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale, in which Pate played the role of "Clarence Leiter", opposite Barry Nelson's "Jimmy Bond".

During his time in the United States, Pate became an acting instructor and lecturer, and wrote many screenplays and teleplays for the major American networks. In 1959, he returned briefly to Australia, where he starred in the TV program The Shell Hour. He returned to the U.S. for another eight years, during which he enjoyed a successful career as a television character actor, appearing repeatedly on such programs as Gunsmoke, Branded, The Virginian, Batman, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart, and Wagon Train.

In 1968, Pate returned to Australia and became a television producer, winning two Gold Logies while working at the Seven Network. In 1970, he published a textbook on acting, The Film Actor. From 1971 to 1975 he starred as Det. Sgt. Vic Maddern in Matlock Police. In 1977 he wrote and produced The Mango Tree, starring his son Christopher.

Pate continued working in theatre in both Melbourne and Sydney. In 1979, he adapted the screenplay for Tim from the novel by Colleen McCullough. The film would star Mel Gibson and Piper Laurie. For his adaptation, Pate won the Best Screenplay Award from the Australian Writers Guild.

During the early 1980s Pate and his son Christopher collaborated in a stage production of Mass Appeal. This was a success, and closed with a season at the Sydney Opera House.

Pate retired in 2001. He is married to Felippa Rock, daughter of American film producer Joe Rock.

• Michael Pate at the Internet Movie Database