Michael Francis Gregson (born 27 January 1929),Craig's autobiography, ''The Smallest Giant: An Actor's Life'' known professionally as Michael Craig, is a retired British actor and screenwriter, known for his work in theatre, film and television both in the United Kingdom and in Australia.

Biography

Craig was born in

Poona Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, the son of Donald Gregson, who served in the 3rd Indian Cavalry as a captain. He was the elder brother of film producer and screenwriter Richard Gregson.

Acting career

Stage

Craig began his entertainment career in the theatre. His first job was as an assistant stage manager at the Castle Theatre,

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

, England in 1950.''" The Timeless Land" from the ABC television series'',

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is a ...

, Sydney, 1980. His stage credits include '' A Whistle in the Dark'' ( Apollo Theatre, 1961), ''

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

'' ( RSC at Stratford 1963–64), '' Funny Girl'' (with

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

1966),

Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanned ...

's '' The Homecoming'' (

Music Box Theatre The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1921, the Music Box ...

, Broadway 1966–67) and the lead role in ''Trying'' in Australia in 2007 and at the

Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...

, London, in 2009.

Screen

Craig made his film debut in a non-speaking part, as an uncredited extra in 1949. He was then talent-spotted at the

Oxford Playhouse The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road (Oxford), W ...

and gained his first speaking part in an uncredited role in '' Malta Story'' (1953). He gained his first credited role the following year in 1954, in '' The Embezzler''. Groomed as a star by the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation (founded as the J. Arthur Rank Organisation) is a British entertainment conglomerate founded in 1937 by industrialist J. Arthur Rank. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the Uni ...

, he appeared in a number of films, including '' Campbell's Kingdom'' (1957), '' Sea of Sand'' (1958), '' The Silent Enemy'' (1958), ''

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

'' (1959), '' Doctor in Love'' (1960), '' Cone of Silence'' (1960), '' Mysterious Island'' (1961), ''

The Iron Maiden ''The Iron Maiden'' is a 1963 British comedy film. The film was directed by Gerald Thomas, and stars Michael Craig (actor), Michael Craig, Anne Helm, Jeff Donnell and Alan Hale Jr. There are minor roles for ''Carry On (series), Carry On'' stal ...

'' (1962), '' A Choice of Kings'', ''

Modesty Blaise ''Modesty Blaise'' is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talen ...

'' (1966), '' Turkey Shoot'' (1982), '' Ride a Wild Pony'' (1975) and '' Appointment with Death'' (1988). He received a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Best actor nomination for his performance in '' Sea of Sand'' (1958). In October 1956, John Davis, managing director of Rank, announced him as one of the actors under contract that Davis thought would become an international star. Craig's television credits include '' Arthur of the Britons'' (1973), '' The Emigrants'' (1976), '' Rush'' (1976), '' The Danedyke Mystery'' (1979), '' The Professionals'' (1980), '' Shoestring'' (1980), '' The Timeless Land'' (1980), ''

Triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...

'' (1981–83), '' Tales of the Unexpected'' (1982), '' Robin of Sherwood'' (1986), ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' (in the serial '' Terror of the Vervoids'' 1986), the Australian series '' G.P.'' (1989–95), '' Brides of Christ'' (1991), ''

Grass Roots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

'' (2000) and '' Always Greener'' (2003). He was the subject of an hour-long interview on his life and career recorded for and broadcast on Talking Pictures TV in 2018.

Scriptwriting credits

Craig's scriptwriting credits include the ABC-TV trilogy ''The Fourth Wish'' (1974), which starred

John Meillon John Meillon ( ; 1 May 1934 – 11 August 1989) was an Australian character actor known for dramatic as well as comedy roles. He portrayed Walter Reilly in the films '' Crocodile Dundee'' and '' Crocodile Dundee II''. He also voiced advertiseme ...

in an award-winning performance as the father of a dying boy. Craig also wrote the screenplay for the feature film '' The Fourth Wish'' (1976), which was produced following the success of the television series. Alongside his co-writers, Richard Gregson (his brother) and

Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes Order of the British Empire, CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2 ...

, Craig was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for the screenplay of '' The Angry Silence'' (1960).

Personal life

Craig's first wife was Babette Collier. His second is the Australian actress Susan Walker. He is the father of Jessica Gregson; his brother was the film producer Richard Gregson and, because of Richard's marriage to

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...

, Craig is an uncle of the actress

Natasha Gregson Wagner Natasha Gregson Wagner ( Gregson; born September 29, 1970) is an American actress. She is the daughter of film producer Richard Gregson and actress Natalie Wood. She has appeared in films including '' Lost Highway'', '' Two Girls and a Guy,'' ' ...

. His autobiography, ''The Smallest Giant: An Actor's Life'', was published in 2005.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

References

External links

* *
Michael Craig
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Review for Trying in Australia 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Michael 1929 births Living people Australian male film actors Australian male television actors British expatriate male actors in Australia British male film actors British male television actors British male stage actors British people in colonial India Logie Award winners Male actors from British India Male actors from Pune