Keith Michell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids 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) Hampstead, London, England, UK
Years active	1951–2010
Spouse(s)	Jeanette Sterke (1957–2015; his death); 2 children
Children	Paul and Helena
Awards	Best Television Actor 1970 The Six Wives of Henry VIII

Keith Joseph Michell (born December 1, 1926 – died November 20, 2015) was an Australian actor. He was famous for playing King Henry VIII on TV and in movies.

Keith Michell mostly worked in the United Kingdom. He acted in many plays by William Shakespeare and in musicals. He also appeared in shows on Broadway in New York City. In the 1970s, he was in charge of the Chichester Festival Theatre. Later, he played a charming detective named Dennis Stanton in the TV show Murder, She Wrote. He was also known for drawing pictures for a book of poems called Captain Beaky and singing the main song from its album.

Early Life and First Steps in Acting

Keith Michell was born in Adelaide, Australia. He grew up in a town called Warnertown. His father, Joseph, was a cabinet-maker.

Keith went to high school in Port Pirie. He also studied at a college and university in Adelaide. He started his career as an art teacher. His first acting job was in 1947 in a play called Lover's Leap. After that, he worked in radio for ABC in Adelaide. In 1949, he moved to Britain to study acting at the Old Vic Theatre School.

Acting Career Highlights

Keith Michell joined the Young Vic theatre company. He first acted in London in 1951. One of his early roles was Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice. He also played King Charles II in a musical called And So to Bed.

In 1952 and 1953, he toured Australia with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company. He performed in many Shakespeare plays at Stratford-upon-Avon. These included The Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet.

Michell at Chichester Festival Theatre in 1962

In 1956, he played Henry Higgins in the TV show Pygmalion. He also starred in plays like Don Juan and Much Ado About Nothing.

In 1958, he acted in the musical Irma La Douce. He also performed this role on Broadway from 1960 to 1961. In 1962, he acted at the new Chichester Festival Theatre. He also played Heathcliff in a TV version of Wuthering Heights.

Keith Michell was famous for playing King Henry VIII multiple times. He played the king in the TV series The Six Wives of Henry VIII in 1970. He also played him in the movie Henry VIII and his Six Wives in 1972. He won an Emmy Award for his role as Henry VIII. He played the king again in a 1996 TV series called The Prince and the Pauper.

Other movies he was in include Dangerous Exile (1957) and The Hellfire Club (1961). From 1988 to 1993, he was a regular on the American TV show Murder, She Wrote. He played Dennis Stanton, a former jewel thief who became an insurance investigator.

From 1974 to 1977, Keith Michell was the artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre. He acted in many plays there, like Oedipus Tyrannus.

Other Talents and Interests

Besides acting, Keith Michell also wrote a musical called Pete McGynty and the Dreamtime. This musical was an Australian version of the play Peer Gynt. He used his own paintings as backgrounds for the show.

He also had a singing career. One of his songs, "I'll Give You the Earth," reached number 30 on the UK music charts in 1971. He also drew pictures for a special edition of William Shakespeare's sonnets. He wrote and drew pictures for several cookbooks about the macrobiotic diet. This was a special way of eating that he believed in.

Keith Michell drew the pictures for Captain Beaky, a book of poems. The character Captain Beaky became very popular in the UK in the early 1980s. The song "Captain Beaky," sung by Michell, was a hit in 1980.

Personal Life and Passing

Keith Michell married actress Jeanette Sterke in 1956. They had two children: a son named Paul and a daughter named Helena. Helena also became an actress.

Keith Michell passed away in Hampstead, London, on November 20, 2015. He was 88 years old.

Film and TV Roles

See also

In Spanish: Keith Michell para niños