Henry VIII actor Keith Michell dies at 88
KEITH MICHELL, the actor famous for his many performances as King Henry VIII, has died at the age of 88.
The Australian-born star became a household name in Britain in 1970 due to his acclaimed performance as the Tudor king in the BBC series The Six Wives Of Henry VIII.
The six-part drama, which co-starred Annette Crosbie as Catherine of Aragon and Dorothy Tutin as Anne Boleyn, devoted an episode to each of the King’s marriages.
The series was a ratings smash and Michell won both Bafta and Emmy awards for his performance.
In 1972 the father-of-two played the king again in a big-screen spin off called Henry VIII And His Six Wives.
Michell, who left Australia for the Bristol Old Vic, in 1949 enjoyed success on both stage and screen before landing the role which defined his career.
He played Heathcliff in the BBC’s 1962 adaptation of Wuthering Heights and enjoyed success in Shakespeare and musicals. In 1974, he became artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre and ran the venue for three years.
He provided the illustrations for Captain Beaky, a series of poems by Jeremy Lloyd, and in 1980 appeared on Top Of The Pops to sing a top-five hit based on the stories.
Michell, who played King Henry again in 1996, died at his Hampstead home on Friday.