Keith Michell | |
|---|---|
 Michell in 1973 | |
| Born | Keith Joseph Michell (1926-12-01)1 December 1926 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Died | 20 November 2015(2015-11-20) (aged 88) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1947–2010 |
| Spouse | Jeanette Sterke (m. 1957–2015) |
| Children | Paul andHelena |
| Awards | Best Television Actor 1970The Six Wives of Henry VIII |
Keith Joseph Michell (1 December 1926 – 20 November 2015) was an Australian actor who worked primarily in the United Kingdom, and was best known for his television and film portrayals of KingHenry VIII. He appeared extensively inShakespeare and other classics and musicals in Britain, and was also in several Broadway productions. He was anartistic director of theChichester Festival Theatre in the 1970s and later had a recurring role onMurder, She Wrote as the charming thiefDennis Stanton. He was also known for illustrating a collection ofJeremy Lloyd's poemsCaptain Beaky, and singing the title song from the associated album.
Michell was nominated for theBAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Film for his performance as Harry Bell inTrue as a Turtle (1957).[1] He later won theBAFTA Award for Best Actor for playingHenry VIII inThe Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970).[2]
Michell was born inAdelaide, and brought up inWarnertown, nearPort Pirie. His parents were Joseph, a cabinet-maker, and Alice (née Aslat). Educated at Port Pirie High School, Adelaide Teachers' College and Adelaide University, he began his career as an art teacher and made his professional acting debut in 1947 in the comedyLover's Leap, by Bill Daily, at Adelaide'sPlaybox Theatre. He then worked in radio for ABC in Adelaide. In 1949, he moved to Britain to study at theOld Vic Theatre School.[3]
Michell joined theYoung Vic theatre company and made his first appearance in London by 1951. An early role there was Bassanio inThe Merchant of Venice. His first London musical wasAnd So to Bed, playingKing Charles II. With the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company in 1952–1953, he toured in Australia. Then, atStratford-upon-Avon, he appeared in a series of Shakespeare plays:The Taming of the Shrew,A Midsummer Night's Dream,Troilus and Cressida, andRomeo and Juliet. In 1956, on television, he played Henry Higgins inPygmalion byBernard Shaw and, the same year, at theRoyal Court Theatre, he starred in the title role inRonald Duncan'sDon Juan and in several Old Vic Company productions as Benedick inMuch Ado About Nothing, Proteus inThe Two Gentlemen of Verona, Antony inAntony and Cleopatra and Aaron inTitus Andronicus.[3]
In 1958, he played Nestor-Le-Fripe in the musicalIrma La Douce, also starring in the role with the National Theatre in Washington, DC, and on Broadway in 1960–1961. At the newly openedChichester Festival Theatre, in 1962, he played Don John inThe Chances and then Ithocles inThe Broken Heart, and in British television adaptations, he starred as Heathcliff inWuthering Heights (1962)[4] and, in a series of Roman plays titledThe Spread of the Eagle, he playedMark Antony (1963). He later sang in a series of television specials written for him.[3]
Also on Broadway, he played the Count inThe Rehearsal byJean Anouilh (1963). In 1964 in London, he starred asRobert Browning in the musicalRobert and Elizabeth, opposite Australian sopranoJune Bronhill.[5] He played the dual role ofMiguel de Cervantes and his fictional creationDon Quixote in the musicalMan of La Mancha, first starring in the original London production of the musical[6] and then on Broadway. He also starred as Abelard in the Broadway playAbelard and Heloise withDiana Rigg byRonald Millar (1971) and as Georges inLa Cage aux Folles in the 1980s.[7]
On stage, in film and on television, he appeared several times as KingHenry VIII, perhaps most memorably in the BBC seriesThe Six Wives of Henry VIII in 1970 and the similar filmHenry VIII and His Six Wives (1972). For this he won an Emmy. The actual Emmy was given to Julie Andrews, who presented him with it when he appeared on her show, for the 2nd time.[8] He reprised the role in a 1996 television series adaptation ofThe Prince and the Pauper.
In the late 1950s Michell was under contract to the Rank Organisation who gave him roles in films such asTrue as a Turtle,The Gentleman and the Gypsy andDangerous Exile.[9]
Other films includedThe Hellfire Club (1961),Seven Seas to Calais (1962) andThe Executioner (1970).[3] He appeared in a series ofGilbert and Sullivan TV adaptations by Brent Walker.[10] On American television from 1988 to 1993, Michell made appearances on the mystery seriesMurder, She Wrote, playing Dennis Stanton, a former jewel thief turned insurance claims investigator.[11]
He was the artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre from 1974 to 1977, appearing in many of their productions, including as the Director inTonight We Improvise, as the title character inOedipus Tyrannus, and inA Month in the Country andThe Confederacy by Vanbrugh.[3]
As well as acting, Michell wrote the musicalPete McGynty and the Dreamtime, an Australian rendering ofHenrik Ibsen'sPeer Gynt, the performance of which used Michell's own paintings as backdrops.[12] He enjoyed a recording career as a soloist, with one of his singles,I'll Give You the Earth, which he co-wrote, reaching No. 30 in the UK charts in 1971, boosted by his high profile on television at the time. He also illustrated a limited edition run ofWilliam Shakespeare'ssonnets, for which he did the calligraphy; and wrote and illustrated a number of macrobiotic cookbooks. Michell himself was a proponent of themacrobiotic diet and philosophy. Michell illustratedCaptain Beaky, a collection ofJeremy Lloyd's poems.[6] The Captain Beaky character enjoyed success in the UK in the early 1980s, among both children and adults. The song "Captain Beaky", sung by Michell, peaked at No. 5 and No. 36 in the UK and Australia respectively in 1980.
He married the actressJeanette Sterke in 1957. They had a son, Paul who was the lead singer of 80s band the Roaring Boys, and a daughter,Helena, who appeared in the filmsPrick Up Your Ears andMaurice.[3]
Michell died inHampstead, London, eleven days before his 89th birthday.[3][11]
