Michael Gwynn
Michael Gwynn | |
|---|---|
Gwynn in The Revenge of Frankenstein | |
| Born | 30 November 1916 Bath, England |
| Died | 29 January 1976 (aged 59) London, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1954–1976 |
Michael Gwynn (30 November 1916 – 29 January 1976) was an English actor whose career spanned 40 years, across a variety of stage, film, and television roles.
Life and career
Gwynn was born in Bath, Somerset.[1] He attended Mayfield College near Mayfield, Sussex. During the Second World War he served in East Africa as a major and was adjutant to the 2nd (Nyasaland) Battalion of the King's African Rifles.
Gwynn is perhaps best remembered for his role in the first episode of the BBC comedy Fawlty Towers "A Touch of Class" (1975) as the conman "Lord" Melbury who eventually humiliates Basil Fawlty.[2] For Hammer Films, he performed in several productions including the war film The Camp on Blood Island (1958), and Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960), a rare drama film for the studio; he also appeared in one of their horror movies, The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), in which he played a variation of Frankenstein's monster, and Scars of Dracula (1970) in the role of a priest determined to battle Count Dracula.[3][4][5] He had a lead role in 1960's Village of the Damned, produced and distributed by MGM-British Studios.[6]
Gwynn also appeared on several adaptations of plays on the Caedmon Records label. Among them were Cyrano de Bergerac, in which he played Le Bret, and Julius Caesar, in which he played Casca. Both productions starred Ralph Richardson in the title roles.[7][8] Gwynn also appeared in a BBC serialised adaptation of Great Expectations as Joe Gargery in 1959.[9]
Gwynn died on 29 January 1976 in London from a heart attack, aged 59. Earlier that day, he had finished filming on Spawn, a television play for London Weekend Television.[10]
Plays
- 1956 – A View from the Bridge (opening season) by Arthur Miller; director Peter Brook – Alfieri.[11]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | The Runaway Bus | 1st Transport Officer | |
| 1958 | The Secret Place | Steve Waring | |
| Dunkirk | Commander – Sheerness | ||
| The Camp on Blood Island | Tom Shields | ||
| The Revenge of Frankenstein | Karl | ||
| The Doctor's Dilemma | Dr. Blenkinsop | ||
| 1960 | Never Take Sweets from a Stranger | Prosecutor | |
| Village of the Damned | Alan Bernard | ||
| 1961 | Question 7 | Friedrich Gottfried – Pastor | |
| What a Carve Up! | Malcolm Broughton | ||
| Barabbas | Lazarus | ||
| 1962 | Some People | Vicar | |
| 1963 | Cleopatra | Climber | |
| Jason and the Argonauts | Hermes | ||
| 1964 | The Fall of the Roman Empire | Cornelius | |
| 1965 | Catch Us If You Can | Hardingford | |
| 1966 | The Deadly Bees | Dr. George Lang | |
| 1967 | The Crowning Gift | Jesus Christ | |
| 1969 | The Virgin Soldiers | Lt. Col. Bromley-Pickering | |
| 1970 | Scars of Dracula | Priest | |
| 1976 | Spy Story | Dawlish |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Espionage | George Case | Episode: "The Incurable One" |
| Ghost Squad | Professor Boone | Episode: "PG7" | |
| 1965 | Danger Man | Military Attache - Colonel | Episode: "A Room in the Basement" |
| The Saint | Martin Jeffroll | Episode: "The Frightened Inn-Keeper" | |
| 1966 | The Baron | Mark Seldon | Episode: "Something for a Rainy Day" |
| 1969 | The Avengers | Bill Bassett | Episode: "Take-Over" |
| Department S | Franz Drieker | Episode: "A Ticket to Nowhere" | |
| Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) | Hyde Watson | Episode: "The Man from Nowhere" | |
| 1971 | Jason King | Vaturin | 2 episodes |
| 1972 | Colditz | Standardtenführer Hessler | Episode: "Maximum Security" |
| 1973 | Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em | Wing Cdr Day | Episode: "RAF Reunion" |
| 1974 | Rooms | Mr. Cotgrove | Episode: "Mr Cotgrove & Miss Hicks" |
| 1975 | Fawlty Towers | Lord Melbury | Episode: "A Touch of Class" |
| Poldark | Justice Lister | 2 episodes |
References
- ^ "Michael Gwynn". Archived from the original on 30 September 2017.
- ^ "A Touch of Class, Series 1, Fawlty Towers – BBC Two". BBC.
- ^ "Michael Gwynn". www.aveleyman.com.
- ^ "The Revenge of Frankenstein". Variety. 1 January 1958.
- ^ "Scars Of Dracula – 1970". www.britishhorrorfilms.co.uk.
- ^ "'Village of the Damned' Deserves to Be Recognized as a True Classic (Review)". Addicted to Horror Movies. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ "Various – Cyrano De Bergerac". Discogs. 1965.
- ^ "Various – Julius Caesar". Discogs. 1964.
- ^ "Great Expectations Part 5 (1959)". Archived from the original on 31 July 2022.
- ^ "Mr Michael Gwynn". The Times. 31 January 1976. p. 14. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
- ^ Helfer, R.; Loney, G. (12 November 2012). Peter Brook: Oxford to Orghast. Routledge. ISBN 9781136650406 – via Google Books.
External links