Theatre Register

Keith Michell

Shows · Keith Michell

Actor 1926–2015 On stage 19601983

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 King Henry VIII. He appeared extensively in Shakespeare and other classics and musicals in Britain, and was also in several Broadway productions. He was an artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre in the 1970s and later had a recurring role on Murder, She Wrote as the charming thief Dennis Stanton. He was also known for illustrating a collection of Jeremy Lloyd's poems Captain Beaky, and singing the title song from the associated album. Michell was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Most Promising…

On stage 5 productions, 23 years

1960 Irma La Douce Plymouth Theatre · Original · directed by Peter Brook 524 perf.
1963 The Rehearsal Royale Theatre · Revival · directed by Peter Coe 110 perf.
1965 Man of La Mancha ANTA Washington Square Theatre · Original · directed by Albert Marre 2,328 perf.
1971 Abelard and Heloise Brooks Atkinson Theatre · Original · directed by Robin Phillips 53 perf.
1983 La Cage aux Folles Palace Theatre · Original · directed by Arthur Laurents 1,761 perf.

Each row is a staging this name appears in the cast list of, read from the production record rather than from the person record. The person record names works instead, and a work cannot say which run somebody was in — that is how Elaine Stritch ends up filed under Show Boat 1927 when she was in the 1994 revival. No row here says what part was played, because no cast list records it.

Worked with more than once1 names

Rudy Tronto 2 productions

Both names in the same cast list, more than once. It is not evidence of a partnership — a long-running company puts the same forty people together every night — but it is where one would start looking.

In the literature6 passages

  • In the past, Canadian and Australian actors worked freely in Britain in the days when a Commonwealth passport meant open borders. Cyril Ritchard , Keith Michell , Michael Blakemore and Sir Robert Helpmann were among a large Australian Diaspora in London, just as Christopher Plummer , Cec Linder and Bernard Braden were from Canada.ebooks/Atkey, Mel/Million Miles from Broadway_ Musical Theatre Beyond New York and London, A - Mel Atkey.txt
  • Cast: Elizabeth Seal, Keith Michell, Clive Revill, George S. Irving, Stuart Damon, Fred Gwynne, Elliott Gouldebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Irma la Douce . The main perfomers in the scene are Keith Michell, Elizabeth Seal, and Clive Revill. (Friedman-Abeles)ebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Irma cost $175,994. It had a cast of unknowns-the English Elizabeth Seal, Keith Michell and Clive Revill and such young American performers as George S. Irving, Fred Gwynne and Elliot Gould. None of these names was likely to draw a large advance, but well before it opened, it had begun to move toward a profit. The film rights were sold to…ebooks/Kissel, Howard/David Merrick - The Abominable Showman_ The Unauthorized Biography (Applause Books) - Howard Kissel.txt
  • With: Elizabeth Seal, Clive Revill, Elliott Gould, Robert S. Irving, Fred Gwynne, Keith Michellebooks/Kissel, Howard/David Merrick - The Abominable Showman_ The Unauthorized Biography (Applause Books) - Howard Kissel.txt
  • PC: Don Quixote/Cervantes : Keith Michell; Aldonza : Joan Diener; Sancho : Bernard Spear; The Housekeeper : Olive Gilbert; The Padre : Alan Crofoot; Pedro : Shev Rodgers; Antonia : Patricia Bredin; Dr Carrasco : Peter Arne; The Innkeeper : David Kingebooks/Wright, Adrian/West End Broadway_ The Golden Age of the American Musical in London - Adrian Wright.txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

  • What this person played. No cast list we hold records a character against a performer.
  • Which of the credits above the roles on this record — actor — apply to. The roles sit on the person and never on a credit, so a director who also acted looks the same here as one who did not.

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