- Edmund Purdom, The Egyptian, 1953. The Australian’s test was the nearest that Pate ever came to a top Hollywood role. Once Brando split for his New York shrink’s couch, head Fox Darryl Zanuck scurried around searching for a new Sinuhe, the court physician – Dirk Bogarde, John Cassevetes, Montgomery Clift, Richard Conte, John Derek, Rock Hudson, John Lund, Guy Madison, Hugh O’Brian. Fox borrowed MGM’s wooden Purdom and sued Brando for $2m, settled when he agreed to make (the much worse) Désirée. Or Daisy-Rae as he called the one that got away from Napoleon.
- John Derek, The Ten Commandments, 1954.
- Richard Denning, The Magnificent Matador (UK: The Brave and the Beautiful), 1954. In September, the Hollywood Reporter had the Australian as the second male lead. But the movie had Denning. After hundred of screen roles, Pate returned down-under, acting on stage, screen and TV. He also directed Tim in 1978, introducing a new young actor called… Mel Gibson.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 3