Keith Michell was a renowned Australian stage, television, and film actor, who was born on December 1, 1926, in Adelaide, South Australia. He was raised approximately 150 miles away from his birthplace, in Warnertown, on the Augusta Highway between Crystal Brook and Port Pirie. Prior to pursuing his acting career, Michell taught art. He made his debut on the Adelaide stage in 1947, followed by his first appearance in London in 1951.
Throughout his illustrious career, Michell was a member of the prestigious Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company. He served as the artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre from 1974 to 1977. Michell also starred in several notable musicals, including the first London production of Man of La Mancha in 1972.
In addition to his stage work, Michell appeared extensively in film and television productions in Australia and the UK. He gained international recognition for his portrayal of King Henry VIII in the six-part 1970 BBC series The Six Wives of Henry VIII, for which he received an Emmy Award. A movie adaptation of the series was released in 1972. Michell also made several appearances on US television, including various episodes of Murder, She Wrote in 1984.
Aside from his acting career, Michell was a talented writer and artist. He wrote a musical adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt, titled Pete McGynty and the Dreamtime. Michell was also an accomplished painter and illustrator, and he wrote and illustrated cookbooks.
Michell was married to the Anglo-Czech actress Jeanette Sterke in 1957, and they had two children together: actor Paul Michell and actress Helena Michell. Tragically, Michell passed away on November 20, 2015, at the age of 88, in Hampstead, London, England. In his honor, a theater in Port Pirie, the Keith Mitchell Theatre-Northern Festival Centre, was founded.
