Keith Michell

Keith Joseph Michell (1 December 1926 – 20 November 2015) was an Australian actor, best known for his television and film portrayals of King Henry VIII of England.

Michell was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and brought up in Warnertown, near Port Pirie. He was the son of Joseph, a cabinet-maker, and Alice (née Aslat), and studied at Port Pirie high school, Adelaide Teachers’ College and Adelaide University. While teaching art, he made his first stage appearance, in Bill Daily’s comedy Lover’s Leap at the Playbox theatre in Adelaide in 1947.

After working for the ABC radio network in the city, in 1949 Michell left for Britain and the Old Vic Theatre School.

Career

Michell first appeared in London in 1951. He has starred in several musicals, including the first London production of Man of La Mancha, in which he played the dual role of Miguel de Cervantes and his fictional creation, Don Quixote. (An album set was also made of this performance.) In 1964 he starred as Robert Browning in the musical Robert And Elizabeth, opposite Australian soprano June Bronhill.

Michell acted with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company, as well as appearing extensively in film and television, notably as King Henry VIII in The Six Wives of Henry VIII in 1970, and as Heathcliff in BBC Television's 1962 adaptation of Wuthering Heights. He was the artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre from 1974 to 1977.

On American television, Michell made appearances on the mystery series Murder, She Wrote, playing Dennis Stanton, a former jewel thief turned insurance claims investigator who always solved his cases with unusual methods and sent a copy of the story to his friend Jessica Fletcher afterwards.

As well as acting, Michell pursued other interests: he wrote the musical Pete McGynty and the Dreamtime, an Australian rendering of Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt, the performance of which used Michell's own paintings as backdrops. He also illustrated a limited edition run of William Shakespeare's sonnets, for which he did the calligraphy; and wrote and illustrated a number of macrobiotic cookbooks. Michell himself was a proponent of the macrobiotic diet and philosophy.

Michell illustrated Captain Beaky, a collection of Jeremy Lloyd's poems. 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 in the UK Singles Chart in 1980.

Personal life and death

He was married to the actress Jeanette Sterke and they had a son, Paul, and a daughter, Helena, who appeared in the films Prick Up Your Ears and Maurice.

Keith Michell died on 20 November 2015 in Chichester, West Sussex, aged 88.

Filmography

• The Prince and the Pauper (1996) (TV) – King Henry VIII
• Murder, She Wrote (1988–93, TV series) – Dennis Stanton (recurring role)
• The Deceivers (1988) – Colonel Wilson
• Captain James Cook (1986, TV series) – Captain James Cook
• My Brother Tom (1986, TV series) – Edward Quayle
• The Miracle (1985) (TV) –
• Memorial Day (1983) (TV) – Marsh
• Ruddigore (1982) (TV) – Robin Oakapple/Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd
• The Gondoliers (1982) (TV) – Don Alhambra del Bolero
• The Pirates of Penzance (1982) (TV) – Major General Stanley
• Grendel Grendel Grendel (1981) (voice) – The Shaper
• The Day Christ Died (1980) (TV) – Pontius Pilate
• The Tenth Month (1979) (TV) – Matthew Poole
• Julius Caesar (1979) (TV) – Marcus Antonius
• The Story of David (1976) (TV) – Older David
• The Story of Jacob and Joseph (1974) (TV) – Jacob
• Moments (1974) – Peter Samuelson
• Keith Michell at Her Majesty's Show of the Week (1972) (TV) – Himself
• Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972) – King Henry VIII
• The Morecambe and Wise Show (1971) (TV) – Himself/Captain Tony Snug-Fitting
• 'Wiltons' – The Handsomest Hall in Town (1970) (TV) – Music Hall Performer
• The Executioner (1970) – Adam Booth
• The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970, TV series) – King Henry VIII
• Play of the Month (1968–69, TV series) – Caliban
• House of Cards (1968) – Morillon
• Prudence and the Pill (1968) – Dr. Alan Hewitt
• Thirty-Minute Theatre (1968, TV series) – Martin
• Hallmark Hall of Fame (1967, TV series) – John Churchill
• Soldier in Love (1967) (TV) – John Churchill
• The Bergonzi Hand (1963) (TV) – Gabriel Cordier
• The Spread of the Eagle (1963, TV series) – Marc Antony
• Dominatore dei sette mari, Il (1962) – Malcolm Marsh
• Wuthering Heights (1962) (TV) – Heathcliff
• All Night Long (1962) – Cass
• The Hellfire Club (1961) – Jason
• Dow Hour of Great Mysteries (1960, TV series) – Baron Von Ragastein
• The Gypsy and the Gentleman (1958) – Sir Paul Deverill
• True as a Turtle (1957) – Harry Bell
• Dangerous Exile (1957) – Colonel St. Gerard