The Australian actor, director and musical theatre star has passed away just short of his 89th birthday.

The Australian actor, singer and director who shot to fame after playing the king  in the BBC’s iconic 1970’s production The Six Wives of Henry VIII has passed away at the age of 88. A statement from his family said he died peacefully at his home in Hampstead, north London. “We will miss him hugely,” they said, “He has been a great influence in all our lives, creatively, artistically, musically.”

Michell was born in Adelaide, the son of a cabinet maker, and brought up in Warnertown, near Port Pirie. He studied at Adelaide Teachers’ College and Adelaide University and made his first stage appearance while still a teacher in Bill Daily’s comedy Lover’s Leap at Adelaide’s Playbox theatre in 1947.

In 1949, Michell left for England to study at the Old Vic Theatre School and launched his British career in 1951. His matinee idol looks and strong baritone voice saw him find fame and fortune in a string of West End musicals beginning with Peter Brook’s 1958 production of Marguerite Monnot’s musical tale of a Parisian prostitute, Irma La Douce. In 1964 he starred as Robert Browning in Ron Grainer’s musical Robert And Elizabeth, opposite fellow Australian June Bronhill and he played the lead in the London production of Man of La Mancha in 1968.

His acting career also blossomed as part of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company and he appeared extensively in film and television, notably as Heathcliff in BBC Television’s 1962 adaptation of Wuthering Heights. His best known role came in 1970 when he was cast as King Henry VIII in The Six Wives of Henry VIII – a six part prime-time series that saw him portray the infamous monarch from youth to old age. His career as a theatre administer saw him become artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre in 1974, a role he fulfilled until 1977.

Michell was also a writer and artist and penned the musical Pete McGynty and the Dreamtime, an Australian retelling of Peer Gynt, the performance of which used Michell’s paintings as backdrops. He also illustrated Shakespeare’s sonnets and wrote and illustrated a series of macrobiotic cookbooks. His illustrations for Jeremy Lloyd’s Captain Beaky poems saw Michell unexpectedly reach No 5 in the UK singles chart in 1980 with the catchy title song.

Keith Michell was married to the actress Jeanette Sterke with whom he had a son, Paul, and a daughter, Helena.

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