Michael Gough

For other people named Michael Gough, see Michael Gough (disambiguation).

Michael Gough
Gough as Arthur Holmwood in Dracula
Born	Francis Michael Gough (1916-11-23)23 November 1916 Kuala Lumpur, Federated Malay States
Died	17 March 2011(2011-03-17) (aged 94) Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
Resting place	Cremated; ashes scattered in the English Channel
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Education	Wye Agricultural College Old Vic
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1946–1999, 2005, 2010
Spouses	Diana Graves (1915-1975) ​ ​ (m. 1937; div. 1948)​ Anne Leon (1925-1990) ​ ​ (m. 1950; div. 1962)​ Anneke Wills ​ ​ (m. 1965; div. 1979)​ Henrietta Lawrence ​ (m. 1981)​
Children	4

Francis Michael Gough (/ɡɒf/ GOF; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer horror films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthur Holmwood in Dracula, and for his recurring role as Alfred Pennyworth from 1989 to 1997 in the four Batman films directed by Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher. He appeared in three more Burton films: Sleepy Hollow, voicing Elder Gutknecht in Corpse Bride and the Dodo in Alice in Wonderland.

Gough also appeared in popular British television shows, including Doctor Who (as the villain in The Celestial Toymaker (1966) and as Councillor Hedin in Arc of Infinity (1983)), and in an episode of The Avengers as the automation-obsessed wheelchair user Dr. Armstrong in "The Cybernauts" (1965). In 1956 he received a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor.

At the National Theatre in London Gough excelled as a comedian, playing a resigned and rueful parent in Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce (1977). When the comedy transferred to Broadway in 1978 he won a Tony Award. One of Gough's most well-received West End roles was as Baron von Epp in the 1983 revival of John Osborne's A Patriot for Me.

Early life

Gough was born in Kuala Lumpur, Federated Malay States (now Malaysia) on 23 November 1916, the son of English parents Francis Berkeley Gough, a rubber planter, and Frances Atkins (née Bailie). Gough was educated at Rose Hill School, Tunbridge Wells, and at Durham School. He moved on to Wye Agricultural College, which he left to go to the Old Vic. During World War II Gough was a conscientious objector, like his friend Frith Banbury, although he was obliged to serve in the Non-Combatant Corps, a member of 6 Northern Company, in Liverpool.

Career

In 1948, Gough made his film debut in Blanche Fury and thereafter appeared extensively on British television. In 1955, he portrayed one of the two murderers (the other was Michael Ripper) who kill the Duke of Clarence (John Gielgud), as well as the Princes in the Tower in Laurence Olivier's Richard III.

He became known for his appearances in horror films; following his performance as Arthur Holmwood in Hammer's original Dracula (1958), his horror roles mainly saw him feature as slimy villains, notably in Horrors of the Black Museum (1959), Konga (1961), The Phantom of the Opera (1962), Black Zoo (1963), Trog (1970), The Corpse (1971), Horror Hospital (1973) and Norman J. Warren's cheaply made Satanism shocker Satan's Slave (1976). He also spoofed his horror persona in What a Carve Up! (1961) as a sinister butler. He also appeared in the comedy film Top Secret! (1984), alongside Val Kilmer (the latter's first feature film), with whom he would also work later in the film Batman Forever.

Gough guest-starred in Doctor Who, as the titular villain in The Celestial Toymaker (1966) and also as Councillor Hedin in Arc of Infinity (1983). He was set to reprise his role as the Toymaker in the proposed 23rd-season story The Nightmare Fair, but the season and the serial were cancelled and never produced. He also played the automation-obsessed wheelchair user Dr. Armstrong in "The Cybernauts", one of the best-remembered episodes of The Avengers (1965), returning the following season as the Russian spymaster Nutski in "The Correct Way to Kill". He was introduced in the first-season episode "Maximum Security" of Colditz as Major "Willi" Schaeffer, the alcoholic second-in-command of the Kommandant (Bernard Hepton). In the Ian Curteis television play Suez 1956 (1979), he portrayed Prime Minister Anthony Eden. In 1981, he was reunited with Laurence Olivier in Granada Television's Brideshead Revisited, portraying the doctor to Olivier's dying Lord Marchmain. He played Mikhel, a slippery assistant to a slain British spy opposite Alec Guinness in the television adaptation of John le Carré's Smiley's People the following year. Gough also appeared in The Citadel (1983) as Sir Jenner Halliday, in 1985's Out of Africa as Lord Delamere and as the fictional deposed KGB spymaster Andrei Zorin in Sleepers.

Later roles

Later in his career, he memorably played Alfred Pennyworth in Tim Burton's blockbuster films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). He returned to the role in Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997) for Joel Schumacher. Gough was one of two actors to have appeared in the four Batman films in the Burton/Schumacher series—the other being Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon. He also voiced the character in two BBC radio dramas—Batman: The Lazarus Syndrome (1989) and the 1994 adaptation of Batman: Knightfall. Gough reprised his role in a 1989 advertisement for Diet Coke and in 2000, in six television commercials for the OnStar automobile tracking system (informing Batman of the system's installation in the Batmobile).

Gough retired in 1999 after appearing in Burton's Sleepy Hollow. He would emerge from retirement twice more, both as a favour to Burton, to voice Elder Gutknecht in Corpse Bride and the Dodo in Alice in Wonderland.

Personal life

Gough was married four times. He married his first wife Diana Graves in 1937; their son Simon Peter was born in 1942 and they divorced in 1948. His second wife was Anne Elizabeth Leon (born 1925). They married in 1950, their daughter Emma Frances was born in 1953 and they divorced in 1962. His third wife was Doctor Who actress Anneke Wills, who portrayed the Doctor's companion Polly. Wills and Gough met at various times during her life, firstly during a theatre trip with her mother in 1952, but they first met formally on the set of Candidate for Murder and the attraction was instant. Gough adopted Wills's daughter Polly and in 1965 their son Jasper was born. Polly died in a motorcycle accident in 1982 at the age of 19, believing that Gough was her biological father. Gough married Henrietta Lawrence (his fourth wife) in 1981, and they remained together until his death.

Death

Gough died from cancer aged 94 on 17 March 2011 at his home in Salisbury, Wiltshire. A memorial service was held, he was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the English Channel.

He was survived by his fourth wife Henrietta, daughter Emma and son Simon (an actor who is married to actress Sharon Gurney, the daughter of the Upstairs, Downstairs actress Rachel Gurney) and Jasper, a photographer. Michael Keaton, who played the title character in the first two theatrical Batman films opposite Gough, paid tribute to him, describing him as sweet and charming, and wrote "To Mick – my butler, my confidant, my friend, my Alfred. I love you. God bless. Michael (Mr. Wayne) Keaton."

Gough was added to In Memoriam at the 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Awards and nominations

Gough won Broadway's 1979 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role – Play) for Bedroom Farce. He was also nominated in the same category in 1988 for Breaking the Code.

In 1957 he won a BAFTA TV Award and in 1971, was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for his work in The Go-Between.

He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play in 1979 for Bedroom Farce and again in 1988 for Breaking the Code.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1948	Anna Karenina	Nicholai
	Blanche Fury	Laurence Fury
	Saraband for Dead Lovers	Prince Charles
1949	The Small Back Room	Capt. Dick Stuart
1950	Ha'penny Breeze		Uncredited
1951	Blackmailed	Maurice Edwards
	No Resting Place	Alec Kyle
	The Man in the White Suit	Michael Corland
	Night Was Our Friend	Martin Raynor
1953	Twice Upon a Time	Mr. Lloyd
	The Sword and the Rose	Duke of Buckingham
	Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue	Duke of Montrose
1955	Richard III	Dighton, the first murderer
1956	Reach for the Sky	Flying Instructor Pearson
1957	Night Ambush	Andoni Zoidakis
	The House in the Woods	Geoffrey Carter
1958	Horror of Dracula	Arthur Holmwood
	The Horse's Mouth	Abel
1959	Model for Murder	Kingsley Beauchamp
	Horrors of the Black Museum	Edmond Bancroft
1961	Konga	Dr. Charles Decker
	Mr. Topaze	Tamise
	What a Carve Up!	Fisk, the butler
1962	Candidate for Murder	Donald Edwards	Edgar Wallace Mysteries
	The Phantom of the Opera	Ambrose D'Arcy
1963	Black Zoo	Michael Conrad
	Tamahine	Cartwright
1965	Game for Three Losers	Robert Hilary	Edgar Wallace Mysteries
	Dr. Terror's House of Horrors	Eric Landor	(segment "Disembodied Hand")
	The Skull	Auctioneer
1967	They Came from Beyond Space	Master of the Moon
	Berserk!	Albert Dorando
1968	One Night... A Train	Jeremiah
	Curse of the Crimson Altar	Elder	Also known as The Crimson Cult
1969	A Walk with Love and Death	Mad Monk
	Women in Love	Tom Brangwen
1970	Julius Caesar	Metellus Cimber
	Trog	Sam Murdock
1971	The Go-Between	Mr. Maudsley
	The Corpse	Walter Eastwood	Also known as Crucible of Horror
1972	Savage Messiah	M. Gaudier
	Henry VIII and His Six Wives	Norfolk
1973	Horror Hospital	Dr. Christian Storm
	The Legend of Hell House	Emeric Belasco	Uncredited
1975	Galileo	Sagredo
	The Man from Nowhere	Man	Voice, Uncredited
1976	Satan's Slave	Uncle Alexander Yorke
1978	The Boys from Brazil	Mr. Harrington
	L'Amour en question	Sir Baldwin	Credited as Michaël Gough
1981	Venom	David Ball
1983	The Dresser	Frank Carrington
1984	Memed My Hawk	Kerimoglu
	Top Secret!	Dr. Paul Flammond
	Oxford Blues	Doctor Ambrose
1985	Out of Africa	Baron Delamere
1986	Caravaggio	Cardinal Del Monte
1987	Maschenka	Vater
	The Fourth Protocol	Sir Bernard Hemmings
1988	The Serpent and the Rainbow	Dr. Earl "Schoonie" Schoonbacher
	Rarg	Professor	Short Film
1989	Strapless	Douglas Brodie
1989	Batman	Alfred Pennyworth
	Batman: The Lazarus Syndrome		Voice
1990	The Garden
1991	Let Him Have It	Lord Goddard
	The Wanderer	Veteran Wanderer	Short Film
1992	Batman Returns	Alfred Pennyworth
1993	Wittgenstein	Bertrand Russell
	The Age of Innocence	Henry van der Luyden
	The Advocate	Magistrate Boniface
1994	Uncovered	Don Manuel
	Nostradamus	Jean de Remy
1995	Batman Forever	Alfred Pennyworth
1997	Batman & Robin
1998	What Rats Won't Do	Justice Tomlin
	St. Ives	Comte de Saint-Yves
	The Whisper	Nikolay 1947	Short Film
1999	The Cherry Orchard	Feers
	Sleepy Hollow	Notary James Hardenbrook
	The Strange Case of Delphina Potocka or The Mystery of Chopin	The Doctor
2005	Corpse Bride	Elder Gutknecht	Voice
2010	Alice in Wonderland	Uilleam the Dodo Bird	Voice; final film role

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1946	Androcles and the Lion	Spintho	Television film
1949	Crime Passionel	Hugo
	Whitehall Wonders	Stephen Blair
1950	Master of Arts	Ronald Knight, MA
1951	Androcles and the Lion	Captain
1951–1956	BBC Saturday-Night Theatre	Michael / Francis Hubbard / Lt. Geoffrey Ainsworth	3 episodes
1953	Wednesday Theatre	Brama-Glinsky	Episode: "Curtain Down"
1954	The Lover	The Lover	Television short
	Rheingold Theatre	Charlie	Episode: "The Man Who Heard Everything"
	Stage by Stage	Loveless	Episode: "The Relapse or, Virtue in Danger"
1955	Sherlock Holmes	Mr. Russel Partridge	Episode: "The Case of the Perfect Husband"
1955–1958	ITV Television Playhouse	Sir David Lavering / David Ryerson / Hugo / Dawson	5 episodes
1955–1961	ITV Play of the Week	Rev. Claude Bell / Georges Renaud / Gregers Werle / Rakitin	4 episodes
1956	Theatre Royal	The Stranger	Episode: "Just Off Piccadilly"
	Assignment Foreign Legion	Andre La Palme	Episode: "The Outcast"
	Fanny	The Admiral	Television film
1956–1959	Armchair Theatre	George in 'Double Exit' / The Doctor	2 episodes
1957	The Two Mrs. Carrolls	Geoffrey Carroll	Television film
	The Peaceful Inn	Hatlock
1959	World Theatre	Cassius	Episode: "Julius Caesar"
	Dancers in Mourning	Squire Mercer	6 episodes
1960	DuPont Show of the Month	Dr. Livesey	Episode: "Treasure Island"
	The Adventures of Robin Hood	Boland	Episode: "The Edge and the Point"
1961	Thirty-Minute Theatre	Currently Unknown	Episode: "A Matter of Principle"
	Rendezvous	Scionneau	Episode: "The Executioner"
1962	Drama 61-67	Charles	Episode: "Drama '62: The Lonesome Road"
1962–1965	The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre	Robert Hilary / Donald Edwards	2 episodes
1964	The Great War	Various	Episode: "So Sleep Easy in Your Beds"
	The Saint	Colin Phillips	Episode: "The Imprudent Politician"
	The Count of Monte Cristo	Gérard de Villefort	7 episodes
1964–1967	Theatre 625	Harry / Geoffrey Melville / Clodius Pulcher	3 episodes
1965	Undermind	Rev. Austen Anderson	Episode: "Flowers of Havoc"
	The Man in Room 17	Andrei Konev	Episode: "The Seat of Power"
	Sunday Night	Pausanias	Episode: "The Drinking Party"
1965–1967	The Avengers	Nutski / Dr. Armstrong	2 episodes
1966	BBC Play of the Month	Eliut	Episode: "Days to Come"
	Alice in Wonderland	March Hare	Television play
	Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker	Celestial Toymaker	4 episodes, episodes 1-3 animated/missing
1966–1967	Orlando	Harry Prentice	5 episodes
1967	Pride and Prejudice	Mr. Bennet	6 episodes
1968	Thirty-Minute Theatre	Ted Warner	Episode: "Standing by for Santa Claus"
	Detective	Holroyd	Episode: "Lesson in Anatomy"
	For Amusement Only	Henry	Episode: "Henry the Incredible Bore"
	Journey to the Unknown	Royal	Episode: "Eve"
	The Champions	Major Joss	Episode: "Happening"
	Treasure Island	Squire Trelawney	7 episodes
1969–1972	Omnibus	Vincent van Gogh / Astronaut	2 episodes
1971	Seeing and Believing	Job	Episode: "The Trial of Job"
	Kate	Alan Tatley	Episode: "Good and Proper"
	Search for the Nile	David Livingstone	3 episodes
1972	Spy Trap	Cooper	Episode: "Who Among Us?: Part 6"
	The Main Chance	Sir George Andrews	Episode: "One for the House"
	Colditz	Major Schaeffer	Episode: "Maximum Security"
	The Man Who Came to Dinner	Beverly Carlton	Television film
1973	The Protectors	Shkodër	Episode: "One and One Makes One"
	The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes	Governor	Episode: "Cell 13"
	Moonbase 3	Sir Benjamin Dyce	Episode: "View of a Dead Planet"
1973–1983	Crown Court	Mr. Justice Galbraith / Justice Galbraith / Dr. De Quincey	3 Episodes
1974	QB VII	Dr. Fletcher	Episode: "Part Three"
	Shoulder to Shoulder	Dr. Richard Pankhurst	2 episodes
	Fall of Eagles	Helphand	Episode: "The Secret War"
	Late Night Drama	Potter	Episode: "A Brisk Dip Sagaciously Considered"
	ITV Playhouse	Bill Wakely	Episode: "The Gift of Friendship"
	Microbes and Men	Sir Almroth Wright	Episode: "The Search for the Magic Bullet"
	Notorious Woman	Henri de Latouche	Episode: "Success"
	Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill	Mr. Yule	Episode: "Lady Randolph"
1975	Sutherland's Law	James Shaw	Episode: "In at The Deep End"
	Ten from the Twenties	Peter	Episode: "The Fifty Pound Note"
1975–1976	Centre Play	Father / Matt	2 episodes
1976	Shades of Greene	Ransom	Episode: "The Case for the Defence"
	Life and Death of Penelope	Winthrop	Episode: "The Reaper"
1979	Suez 1956	Sir Anthony Eden	Television film
1980	Blake's 7	Hower	Episode: "Volcano"
1981	Brideshead Revisited	Doctor Grant	Episode: "Brideshead Revisited"
1982	Barriers	Old man	Episode: "#2.6"
	Inside the Third Reich	Dr. Rust	Television film
	Smiley's People	Mikhel	Television Miniseries
	The Agatha Christie Hour	Sir George Durand	Episode: "The Fourth Man"
	Strangers	Professor Whittingham	Episode: "The Lost Chord"
	Witness for the Prosecution	Judge	Television film
	Play for Today	Professor Burrows	Episode: "Another Flip for Dominick"
	Cymbeline	Belarius	Television Film
1983	Doctor Who: Arc of Infinity	Councillor Hedin	3 episodes
	To the Lighthouse	Mr. Ramsay	Television film
	The Citadel	Sir Jenner Halliday	Episode: "Part 10"
	Andy Robson	Arthur	2 episodes
	Heartattack Hotel	Mr. Todd	Television film
1984	Mistral's Daughter	Cardinal	3 episodes
	The Biko Inquest	Professor Loubser / State Pathologist	Television film
	A Christmas Carol	Mr. Poole
1985	Arthur the King	Archbishop
	Hilary	Hilary's Dad	Episode: "#1.4"
	Lace II	Unnamed Character	Television film
1986	Screen Two	Peter	Episode: "Hard Travelling"
	Ladies in Charge	Arthur James	Episode: "Dangerous Prelude"
1986–1987	The Little Vampire	Uncle Theodor / Uncle Ludwig	7 episodes
1987	Inspector Morse	Philip Ogleby	Episode: "The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn"
	A Killing on the Exchange	Charles Makepeace	2 episodes
	Screenplay	Albani	Episode: "Cariani and the Courtesans"
1988	Ten Great Writers of the Modern World	Reader	Episode: "T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land"
1989	Mystery!: Campion	Mr. Hayhoe	2 episodes
	After the War	Professor Charlie Rampling	Episode: "Rise and Fall"
	Screen One	Mr. Maggs	Episode: "The Mountain and the Molehill"
	The Shell Seekers	Roy Brookner	Television film
	Blackeyes	Maurice James Kingsley	4 episodes
1990	Boon	Donald Bannerman	Episode: "Best Left Buried"
1991	The Diamond Brothers	Mr. Waverly	6 episodes
	Sleepers	Andrei Zorin	4 episodes
	Children of the North	Arthur Apple
1992	The Good Guys	Hector	Episode: "The MacQuarrie Treasure"
1995	A Village Affair	Sir Ralph Unwin	Television film
	The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat	Voices	4 episodes
	The Haunting of Helen Walker	Barnaby	Television film
1996	Young Indiana Jones: Travels with Father	Leo Tolstoy

External links

• Michael Gough at IMDb
• Michael Gough at the Internet Broadway Database
• Michael Gough at the TCM Movie Database