Michael John Gambon was born in theCabra suburb ofDublin[2] on 19 October 1940.[3] His mother, Mary (née Hoare), was a seamstress, while his father, Edward Gambon, was an engineering operative duringWorld War II.[4] His father decided to seek work in the rebuilding of London, and moved the family toMornington Crescent in London'sCamden borough when Gambon was six. His father arranged for him to be registered as aBritish subject, a decision that would later allow him to receive a substantive (rather than honorary)knighthood.[5][a] Brought up as a strictRoman Catholic, Gambon attended St Aloysius Boys' School inSomers Town and served at the altar.[6] He went on from there toSt Aloysius' College inHighgate, whose former pupils include the actorPeter Sellers.[6][7] The family later moved toNorth End, Kent, where he attended Crayford Secondary School but left with no qualifications at the age of 15.[8]
After leaving school, at the age of 16 Gambon then gained an apprenticeship as a toolmaker withVickers-Armstrongs.[9] By the time he was 21, he was a qualified engineering technician and kept the job for a further year. He acquired a lifelong passion for collecting antique guns, clocks, watches andclassic cars.[10]
In 1974,Eric Thompson cast him as the melancholy vet inAlan Ayckbourn'sThe Norman Conquests atGreenwich.[15] A speedy transfer to theWest End established him as a comic actor, squatting at a crowded dining table on a tiny chair and agonising over a choice between black or white coffee. Back at the National, now on theSouth Bank, his next turning point wasPeter Hall's premiere staging ofHarold Pinter'sBetrayal,[15] a performance marked by subtlety – a production photograph shows him embracingPenelope Wilton with sensitive hands and long slim fingers (the touch of a master clock-maker). He is also one of the few actors to have mastered the demands of the vastOlivier Theatre. AsSimon Callow once said: "Gambon's iron lungs and overwhelming charisma are able to command a sort of operatic full-throatedness which triumphs over hard walls and long distances". After his film debut, Gambon was asked byJames Bond producerCubby Broccoli to audition for the role in 1970, to replaceGeorge Lazenby.[16] He acted in the British horror filmsNothing But the Night (1973) andThe Beast Must Die (1974).
In 1976 he took the part of Lieutenant Commander Rogers in a filmed version of the playFrench Without Tears by Terence Rattigan, for a TV episode of the series 'BBC Play of the Month', directed by John Gorrie, with Nicola Pagett, Anthony Andrews, Barbara Kellerman, Tim Woodward and Nigel Havers. Set in a French Villa, the action takes place in a cram school for adults needing to acquire French for business reasons. Scattered throughout are Franglais phrases and schoolboy misunderstandings of the French language.
Gambon's powerful voice and presence were to serve him in good stead inJohn Dexter's masterly staging ofThe Life of Galileo byBertolt Brecht at the National Theatre in 1980, the first Brecht play to become a popular success. Hall called him "unsentimental, dangerous and immensely powerful," andThe Sunday Times called his performance "a decisive step in the direction of great tragedy... great acting," while fellow actors paid him the rare compliment of applauding him in the dressing room on the first night.[17] In 1985, he appeared in the British drama filmTurtle Diary directed byJohn Irvin with a screenplay adapted byHarold Pinter. The film starredGlenda Jackson andBen Kingsley.[18]
In 1990, he played Jerry inHarold Pinter'sBetrayal forBBC Radio 3. In 1991, he starred as Tommy Hanbury in an episode of theITV seriesMinder called "Look Who's Coming To Pinner".Ralph Richardson dubbed himThe Great Gambon, an accolade which stuck, although Gambon dismissed it as a circus slogan.[23][24] But asSheridan Morley perceptively remarked in 2000, when reviewingNicholas Wright'sCressida: "Gambon's eccentricity on stage now begins to rival that of his great mentor Richardson". Also like Richardson, interviews were rarely given and raised more questions than they answered. Gambon was a very private person, a "non-starry star" as Ayckbourn called him. Off-stage he preferred to stay out of the limelight.[25] He won screen acclaim, while his ravagedKing Lear atStratford, while he was still in his early forties, formed a double act with a red-nosedAntony Sher as the Fool sitting on his master's knee like a ventriloquist's doll.
There were also appearances inHarold Pinter'sOld Times at theHaymarket Theatre andBen Jonson'sVolpone and the brutal sergeant in Pinter'sMountain Language. In 1995, Gambon starred inDavid Hare'sSkylight, withLia Williams, which opened to rave reviews at the National Theatre. The play transferred first toWyndham's Theatre and then on toBroadway at theBernard B. Jacobs Theatre for a four-month run which left him in a state of advanced exhaustion.[26] "Skylight was ten times as hard to play as anything I've ever done" he told Michael Owen in theEvening Standard. "I had a great time in New York, but wanted to return."Variety wrote of his performance, "Gambon, an Irishman revered on the London stage, gives his rough-hewn character a grace that goes beyond the physical".[27] For this performance Gambon received his onlyTony Award nomination forBest Actor in a Play.[28]
During the 2000s, Gambon appeared in several films includingRobert Altman's murder mystery ensembleGosford Park (2001) where he acted alongsideMaggie Smith,Helen Mirren,Kristin Scott Thomas,Kelly Macdonald,Emily Watson andStephen Fry. Gambon portrays Sir William McCordle, the imperious master of Gosford Park who has invited distinguished company for a weekend shooting party before a murder throws everything into chaos.Empire declared the film, "Altman's best movie in years - an astute exploration of British culture that can stand proudly with his satires of American life. Atmospheric, absorbing, amusing and really fun."[32] The film earned theBAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film as well as nominations for sixAcademy Award includingBest Picture. In 2003, he appeared withRobert Duvall andKevin Costner, playing the principal villain in the Western filmOpen Range.[33] Gambon was not among the actors to graceYasmina Reza's'Art' at Wyndham's. But together withSimon Russell Beale andAlan Bates, he gave a droll radio account of the role of Marc. And for the RSC he shared Reza's two-handerThe Unexpected Man withEileen Atkins, first at The Pit in the Barbican and then at theDuchess Theatre, a production also intended for New York, but finally delayed by other commitments.
In 2001, he played what he described as "'a physically repulsive" Davies inPatrick Marber's revival of Pinter'sThe Caretaker,[15] but he found the rehearsal period an unhappy experience, and felt that he had let down the author.[citation needed] A year later, playing oppositeDaniel Craig, he portrayed the father of a series of cloned sons inCaryl Churchill'sA Number at theRoyal Court, remembered for a recumbent moment when he smoked a cigarette, the brightly lit spiral of smoke rising against a black backdrop, an effect which he dreamt up during rehearsals. Gambon starred in a made-for-TV adaptation ofSamuel Beckett'sEndgame (2001) andPerfect Strangers (2001) which together revealed his talent for comedy. Gambon played PresidentLyndon B. Johnson in the television filmPath to War. About his performanceThe Washington Post said: "Gambon is entirely up to the task of making a larger-than-life icon seem painfully – and in the end, helplessly – human. It is a performance of fire and brimstone".[34] He was nominated for anEmmy Award for Best Actor in a Mini-series or Movie and aGolden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television.
In 2012, he starred withEileen Atkins in an adaptation of Beckett's radio play,All That Fall. The director,Trevor Nunn, staged the performance as a studio recording of a radio play so that the cast performed with script in hand.[53] Its premiere was at theJermyn Street Theatre and it later transferred to theArts Theatre. In November 2013 the production transferred to59E59 Theaters in New York.[54] Also 2012, Gambon reunited withDustin Hoffman in theHBO horse-racing dramaLuck, which was cancelled in March 2012 after three horses died on set.[55] Gambon participated in the live event,National Theatre Live: 50 Years On Stage (2013), a production that was a part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the National Theatre.[56][57] The presentation included live performances, interspersed with documentary footage, and archival footage of live performances of original productions from the National Theatre. Gambon joinedDerek Jacobi in a live performance fromNo Man's Land byHarold Pinter. In 2012, he played a role inDustin Hoffman's directorial debut withQuartet, based on thesame-titled play byRonald Harwood and starringMaggie Smith,Tom Courtenay,Billy Connolly andPauline Collins. The film premiered at the2012 Toronto International Film Festival to favourable reviews. The review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reported an 80% approval rating with the consensus reading, "It's sweet, gentle, and predictable to a fault, but Dustin Hoffman's affectionate direction and the talented cast's amiable charm make Quartet too difficult to resist."[58] The following year, he was cast in the role of Howard Mollison in theadaptation of the best-selling bookThe Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.[59] The BBC One miniseries, produced in association with HBO, consists of three one-hour parts. Production began 7 July 2014 in South West England.[59]
Gambon married mathematician Anne Miller in 1962.[63] Known for being protective of his privacy, he once responded to an interviewer's question about his wife by asking, "What wife?". The couple had homes inGravesend, Kent, andAldeburgh, Suffolk.[68][69] They had one son, Fergus (born around 1964),[70] who later became a ceramics expert on the BBC seriesAntiques Roadshow.[71]
Gambon brought Philippa Hart, a woman 25 years his junior, to the set while filming the 2001 filmGosford Park and introduced her to his co-stars as his girlfriend. When their affair was publicly revealed in 2002, he moved out of the home he shared with his wife, though they later reconciled.[69][72] He was with Hart, a set designer, from 2000, when they worked together onChannel 4 seriesLongitude.[72][69] In February 2007, it was revealed that Hart was pregnant with Gambon's child and gave birth to a son.[69] The couple had a second son in 2009.[69][73] They owned a home inWest London.[69]
Gambon was a qualified private pilot. His love of cars led to his appearance on the BBC seriesTop Gear. He raced theSuzuki Liana so aggressively that it went around the last corner of his lap on two wheels. The final corner of theTop Gear test track was named "Gambon Corner" or simply "Gambon" in his honour.[76][77] He appeared on the programme again in 2006 and set a time in theChevrolet Lacetti of 1:50.3, a significant improvement on his previous time of 1:55. He clipped his namesake corner the second time, and when asked why byJeremy Clarkson, replied, "I don't know, I just don't like it."[78]
Gambon died inWitham on 27 September 2023, aged 82, following a bout ofpneumonia.[72][68][79] Gambon made headlines in March 2024, when it was revealed that Philippa Hart, his long-term girlfriend and mother of two of his sons, had been left nothing in the actor's will. Almost all of Gambon's fortune was passed to Lady Gambon, his wife of 61 years.[80]
^Michael Gambon (Reader),Words and Music: Harold Pinter. Transmitted onBBC Radio 3, 22 February 2009. 22 February 2009. (Accessible for 7 days afterward on "Listen again" on BBCiPlayer.)
^Kellaway, Kate (25 September 2010)."Krapp's Last Tape". Duchess Theatre. Retrieved7 February 2015.
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