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 Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

. He attended Mayfield College near Mayfield, Sussex. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional ...

'' " A Touch of Class" (1975) as the conman "Lord" Melbury who eventually humiliates Basil Fawlty. For

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

, he performed in several productions including the war film ''

The Camp on Blood Island ''The Camp on Blood Island'' is a 1958 British World War II film, directed by Val Guest for Hammer Film Productions and starring André Morell, Carl Möhner, Edward Underdown and Walter Fitzgerald. The film is set in a Japanese prisoner o ...

'' (1958), and '' Never Take Sweets from a Stranger'' (1960), a rare drama film for the studio; the actor also appeared in one of their very best horror movies, ''

The Revenge of Frankenstein ''The Revenge of Frankenstein'' is a 1958 Technicolor British horror film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews (actor), Francis Matthews, Michael Gwynn, Oscar Quitak, Eunice Gayson and Michael Ripper. Made by H ...

'' (1958), in which he played a tragic experimental subject who turns into a cannibalistic killer, and the less well-regarded ''

Scars of Dracula ''Scars of Dracula'' is a 1970 British horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker for Hammer Films. It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, along with Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Patrick Troughton, and Michael Gwynn. Although disparaged b ...

'' (1970) in the role of a priest determined to battle

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...

. He had a lead role in 1960's '' Village of the Damned'', produced and distributed by

MGM-British Studios MGM-British was a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer initially established (as MGM London Films Denham) at Denham Film Studios in 1936. It was in limbo during the Second World War; however, following the end of hostilities, a facility was acquired ...

. Gwynn also appeared on several adaptations of plays on the Caedmon Records label. Among them were ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th ce ...

'', in which he played Le Bret, and ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

'', in which he played Casca. Both productions starred

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...

in the title roles. Gwynn also appeared in a BBC serialised adaptation of ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...

'' as Joe Gargery in 1959. Gwynn died on 29 January 1976 in London , aged 59. Earlier that day, he had finished filming on ''Spawn'', a television play for

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...

Plays

*1956 – ''

A View from the Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with '' A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, ...

'' (opening season) by

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

; director

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...

– Alfieri.

Filmography

*1954: ''

The Runaway Bus ''The Runaway Bus'' (also known as ''Scream in the Night'') is a 1954 British comedy film produced, written and directed by Val Guest. It stars Frankie Howerd, Margaret Rutherford and Petula Clark and an ensemble cast of character actors in a s ...

'' - 1st Transport Officer *1957: '' The Secret Place'' - Steve Waring *1958: ''

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

'' - Commander – Sheerness *1958: ''

'' – Tom Shields *1958: ''

'' – Karl *1958: '' The Doctor's Dilemma'' – Dr. Blenkinsop *1959: ''Great Expectations'' - Joe Gargery *1960: '' Never Take Sweets from a Stranger'' – Prosecutor *1960: '' Village of the Damned'' – Alan Bernard *1961: '' Question 7'' – Friedrich Gottfried – Pastor *1961: '' What a Carve Up!'' – Malcolm Broughton *1961: ''

Barabbas According to the New Testament, Barabbas () was a Jewish bandit and rabble-rouser who was imprisoned by the Judaea (Roman province), Roman occupation in Jerusalem, only to be chosen over Jesus by a crowd to be pardoned by Roman governor Pontius ...

'' – Lazarus *1962: '' Some People'' – Vicar *1963: ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

'' – Cimber *1963: '' Jason and the Argonauts'' –

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

*1964: ''

The Fall of the Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...

'' – Cornelius *1965: ''The Saint'' – Martin Jeffroll *1965: '' Catch Us If You Can'' – Hardingford *1966: '' The Deadly Bees'' – Dr. George Lang *1967: ''The Crowning Gift'' – Jesus Christ *1969: ''

The Virgin Soldiers ''The Virgin Soldiers'' is a 1966 comic novel by Leslie Thomas, inspired by his own experiences of National Service in the British Army. It was Thomas' debut novel; he had previously published an autobiography. ''The Virgin Soldiers'' sold mill ...

'' – Lt. Col. Bromley-Pickering *1969: ''

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt (actor), Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Denn ...

'' – Episode 16 "The Man from Nowhere", as Hyde Watson *1970: ''

'' – Priest *1974: ''Rooms'' - 2-part TV episode "Mr Cotgrove & Miss Hicks" - Mr Cotgrove *1976: '' Spy Story'' – Dawlish (final film role)

References

External links

* 1916 births 1976 deaths 20th-century English male actors British Army personnel of World War II English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors King's African Rifles officers Male actors from Bath, Somerset {{UK-screen-actor-stub