Michael Whitehall (born 12 April 1940) is an English author, producer, talent agent and television personality. He is a former theatrical agent who went on to form two production companies, Havahall Pictures (with Nigel Havers) in 1988, and Whitehall Films in 1998. He has represented Nigel Havers, Edward Fox,

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Colin Firth, several accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Aw ...

, Honor Blackman,

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

and

Daniel Day-Lewis Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English actor. Often described as one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Daniel Day-Lewis, numerous a ...

. He is the father of comedian and actor Jack Whitehall.

Early life and education

Whitehall was born on 12 April 1940 in

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. He was educated at Ampleforth College, a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

boarding school in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, run by Benedictine monks. After his education, Whitehall worked as a film reporter for ''The Universe'', a weekly Catholic newspaper. Both his father Jack and grandfather were commercial travellers. His education was paid for by his grandfather, who had inherited significant wealth from his cousin, a wool merchant.

Career

Whitehall has produced TV programmes such as '' Bertie and Elizabeth'', '' Noah's Ark'', '' Element of Doubt'', '' The Good Guys'' and '' A Perfect Hero''. He represented Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Richard E. Grant, and

Leslie Grantham Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor who played "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West Germany, West German ...

. He has made guest appearances on various television shows including '' Countdown'', '' John Bishop's Britain'', '' The Million Pound Drop Live'', '' Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask'' and '' Alan Carr: Chatty Man''. In 2013, it was announced that he would present a TV chat show for the BBC with his son Jack. The first series of '' Backchat'' began airing on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

, starting on 20 November 2013, but has since moved to

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

. In 2017, he co-presented '' Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father'', a travel documentary/ road trip through Southeast Asia with his son on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. In 2018, ''Travels'' had a second series where they visited several countries in Eastern Europe. In 2019, ''Travels'' had a third, two-episode series where they visited California, Arizona, and Nevada in the USA. In 2020, ''Travels'' had a fourth, two-episode series where they visited Australia. In 2021, ''Travels'' had a fifth, three-episode series, in which they traveled around the U.K. This series went on to be the final series of the show. In 2019, along with his son Jack, Michael appeared in the programme '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' to discover his heritage. Whitehall's first book was ''Shark Infested Waters: Tales of an Actors' Agent'', and his son Jack illustrated it. ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' (TLS) called the book "a most entertaining memoir" that was "wittily illustrated". In October 2013, he released his second book ''Him & Me'', which was co-written with his son. Written in two distinctive styles, it reflects the different personalities of its authors.

Personal life

Whitehall married Jane McIntosh in 1969. The couple had no children and they divorced in 1973, after which McIntosh married lyricist

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...

. Whitehall married television actress Hilary Amanda Jane Isbister (stage surname Gish) on 12 April 1986, Whitehall's 46th birthday. As of 2013, Whitehall and Isbister were living in

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

in the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South West (London sub region), South West London, England. It forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main communities are Battersea, Balham, P ...

. They have three children together, including Jack Whitehall.

Books

* ''Shark Infested Waters: Tales of an Actors' Agent'' (Timewell Press, 2007), * ''Him & Me'' by Michael and Jack Whitehall (Michael Joseph, 2013), * ''Backing into the Spotlight: A Memoir'' (Constable, 2017),

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehall, Michael 1940 births Living people English talent agents English television personalities English television producers Mass media people from Exeter People educated at Ampleforth College Place of birth missing (living people)