Keith Michell

Actor

December 1, 1926 (88 years)

† November 20, 2015

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Biography

Keith Michell (born 1 December 1928, died 20 November 2015) was an Australian actor most famous for playing Henry VIII on several occasions; in the epic 1970 BBC drama The Six Wives of Henry VIII, the 1972 movie Henry VIII and his Six Wives and the 1996 BBC drama The Prince and the Pauper. In 1980 he scored a number 5 UK chart hit with Captain Beaky, a recital of a Jeremy Lloyd poem.

Filmography

7.5

Murder, She Wrote

Dennis Stanton

An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.

5.3

BBC Play of the Month

Caliban

A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.

7.2

Theatre 625

Kain Sutherland

Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.

4.2

Thirty-Minute Theatre

Geoffrey

An anthology of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short length, and which therefore attracted many writers who later became well known.

3.5

Sunday Night Theatre

Crown Prince Rudolf

Sunday Night Theatre was a long-running series of televised live television plays screened by BBC Television from early 1950 until 1959. The productions for the first five years or so of the run were re-staged live the following Thursday, partly because of technical limitations in this era, and the theatrical basis of early television drama. Some of the earliest collaborations between Rudolph Cartier and Nigel Neale were produced for this series, including Arrow to the Heart and Nineteen Eighty-Four. The Sunday night drama slot was subsequently renamed The Sunday-Night Play which ran for four seasons between 1960 and 1963. ITV transmitted its own unrelated run of Sunday Night Theatre between 1971 and 1974.

6.0

The BBC Television Shakespeare

Marc Antony

The BBC Television Shakespeare is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and produced by BBC Television. It was transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985 and spanned seven series. Development of the series began in 1975 when Messina saw that Glamis Castle would make a perfect location for an adaptation of Shakespeare's play As You Like It. On returning to London, he envisioned an entire series devoted exclusively to the dramatic works of Shakespeare. After encountering numerous problems trying to produce the series, Messina eventually pitched the idea to the BBC’s departmental heads and the series was greenlighted. The series as a whole received generally negative reviews from critics.

8.0

The Julie Andrews Hour

Self

The Julie Andrews Hour is a television variety series starring Julie Andrews that was produced by ATV and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It aired on the ABC network in the United States. In order to secure Andrews for the series, Sir Lew Grade and ABC offered her an extremely lucrative contract. In 1963, when another major star, Judy Garland was signed to a weekly television variety series, it failed to catch on with the public. One of the main reasons for its demise was its constant change of format and the fact that critics and audiences felt that Garland was not shown off to her best advantage. In order to avoid that error, Andrews asked producer Nick Vanoff what the premise of the show would be about. Vanoff immediately answered her by saying "Julie Andrews...without Julie Andrews there is no 'Julie Andrews Hour'". The show premiered on ABC Wednesday, September 13, 1972 at 10:00 P.M. ET to rave reviews. Unfortunately, its time slot proved to be daunting because it was up against the popular CBS detective series, Cannon. Another reason for the low ratings was that the lateness of the hour was not conducive to family viewing since children were in bed by that time. On Thanksgiving Eve, November 22, 1972, "The Julie Andrews Hour" devoted an entire episode saluting Walt Disney. To make it more of a "family special", ABC switched the time slot of "The Julie Andrews Hour" that night to 8:30 P.M. and The ABC Wednesday Movie Of The Week to 9:30 P.M. The ratings improved a little so ABC then made a decision to alternate Andrews' time period each week This continued until January, 1973 when the series was moved to Saturday nights at 9:00 P.M. The ratings went from bad to worse as Andrews' chief competition was The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show on CBS. "The Julie Andrews Hour" was finally canceled by ABC after its 24th episode in April, 1973.

8.8

Hallmark Hall of Fame

John

Long-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.

8.1

The Six Wives of Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

A six-episode dramatisation of Henry VIII's relationships with each of his six wives. Each episode, with a different writer, is devoted to one wife, and is a complete play in itself.

7.0

The Story of Jacob and Joseph

Jacob

This film recounts the tales of the Biblical figures, Jacob and Joseph. The first part tells the story of Jacob fleeing his tribe when he cheats his brother out of his birthright, gets cheated himself in his exile years while learning of the need to make amends. The second part is of the story of Jacob's favorite son, Joseph. Betrayed and sold into slavery by his brothers, he meets and overcomes all adversity to become the Prime Minister of Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh.

5.8

Henry VIII and His Six Wives

Henry VIII

Adapted from the BBC2 serial The Six Wives of Henry VIII. 1547, King Henry VIII's life has taken a turn for the worse and he is forced to look back over his life and the many loves which had brought him his three children, only one of which was the desired male heir to secure the Tudor dynasty.

8.7

Captain James Cook

James Cook

Based on Captain James Cook's three voyages. It was on his first voyage, in 1770 (while in the South Pacific region to observe the transit of Venus), that Captain Cook discovered the east coast of Australia. He later recommended Australia as a future British colony. The series was financed by $5 million from Revcom France, $2.25 million from the ABC and the rest from 10BA tax money.

6.0

Armchair Theatre

Paul de Lussac

Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.

9.0

The Prince and the Pauper

King Henry VIII

A poor boy named Tom Canty and Edward, the Prince of Wales exchange identities but events force the pair to experience each other's lives as well. The Prince and the Pauper, Mark Twain's novel about adventure and intrigue in the court of Henry VIII.

N/A

The Spread of the Eagle

Mark Antony

A nine-part serial adaptation featuring dramatisations of three of William Shakespeare's iconic plays: Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and Antony & Cleopatra.

4.9

House of Cards

Morillon

In 1960s Paris, an American boxer stumbles upon an international fascist conspiracy that aims to create a new world order.

N/A

Love/Loss

Joe

A chance meeting reunites Mary and Joe, childhood sweethearts from the 1940s. But after 60 years apart, is there still love between them? How have their separate experiences shaped their lives over this long period apart, and is there still time for them to share the happiness that has so long been denied? As Mary and Joe confront the mistakes of their past and share memories of a previously unspoken love, their reunion appears to take them on a path to happiness. But the gentle narrative hides a twist that will challenge any preconceptions of love and loss.

N/A

The Story of David

Older David

The “David and Goliath” legend is presented as credibly as possible, while David’s later disastrous romance with Bathsheba is handled with taste and decorum.

5.2

The Deceivers

Colonel Wilson

India, 1825: the country lives in mortal fear of cult members known as the “Deceivers." They commit robbery and ritualistic murder. Appalled by their activities, an English military man, Captain William Savage, conceives a hazardous plot to stop them. In disguise, he plans to himself become a “Deceiver” and infiltrate their numbers. Ever present in Savage’s adventures is a sense of dread; he is in constant fear of betrayal and vengeance and also undergoes a disturbing psychological transformation as he experiences the cult’s blood lust firsthand.

5.9

The Executioner

Adam Booth

A British intelligence agent must track down a fellow spy suspected of being a double agent.