He was born in Garforth, Leeds. His father worked for the NE Railway Company and his grandfather had been manager of Garforth Colliery. His brother Robert's son was the actor David (Henderson) Tate. He went to private schools in York including St Martin's and followed his father into the Railway before joining the Army.
At the time of his death, he was preparing to reprise his role as Professor Bernard Quatermass in Quatermass II (1955), the first sequel to the groundbreaking BBC science fiction serial The Quatermass Experiment (1953). However, he died of a sudden heart attack on August 23, 1955, less than a month before the production of Quatermass II (1955) was scheduled to begin. After André Morell turned the role down, John Robinson was cast to replace Tate on short notice. Morell ultimately played Quatermass in the third and final BBC "Quatermass" serial, namely Quatermass and the Pit (1958).
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Hotel Incident
1962
Brown - the Commander
King's Rhapsody
1955
King Peter
BBC Sunday-Night Theatre
1952-1954
TV Series
King Charles II
King Philip II of Spain
Leblanc
...