The Mating Game (film) The Mating Game (film) The Mating Game (1959) is an MGM Metrocolor film in CinemaScope directed by George Marshall, and starring Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall and Paul Douglas in his final film role. Reynolds sings the title song during the opening credits. The film was written by William Roberts very loosely based on a British novel, "The Darling Buds of May" by H. E. Bates, which was later adapted into a more faithful 1991–93 British miniseries, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones in the role that Debbie Reynolds plays in the film. The film has been featured on Turner Classic Movies, and was
William H. Bates 1969. Immediately upon his death, the U.S. Navy attack submarine , originally planned to be named USS "Redfish", was renamed in his honor before her construction began. The Bates Bridge, which crosses the Merrimack River between Groveland and Haverhill, Massachusetts, is named in his honor. His great-nephew is comedian John Mulaney, whose maternal grandmother is Bates' sister. William H. Bates William Henry Bates (26 April 1917 – 22 June 1969) was a member of the United States House of Representatives notable for his staunch support of the United States Navy. Bates was born in Salem, Massachusetts, the son of Nora