Michael Williams
Encyclopedia
Michael Leonard Williams (9 July 1935 – 11 January 2001) was an English
actor
who played both classical and comedic roles, and was the husband of Dame Judi Dench
.
, he attended St. Edward's College
and worked as an insurance assessor before going into the theatre.
His first film appearance was in 1962, and he subsequently appeared frequently on television (notably in Elizabeth R
), and in British films such as Educating Rita
(1983) and (along with Dench) Henry V (1989). In the latter, in perhaps an irresistible casting decision, he played his namesake, the Shakespearean character named Michael Williams
. In 1967, he played in Peter Whitehead
's documentary Benefit of the Doubt
on Peter Brook
's anti-Vietnam play "US", along with Peter Brook and The Royal Shakespeare Company.
His many radio roles included crime reporter George Cragge in In the Red and its sequels, and Dr Watson in the BBC's complete run of Sherlock Holmes
adaptations.
Williams provided voices for the Woodland Animations BBC Television series Charlie Chalk
, created by Ivor Wood
.
's The Duchess of Malfi
. They had one daughter, Tara Cressida Williams (b. 24 September 1972), known as "Finty Williams
", who is also an actress. Williams chaired the British Catholic Stage Guild
for a number of years before he was incapacitated by illness. Finty has a son, Sam.
Although Williams was a devout Catholic and Dench is a Quaker, theirs was one of the most successful showbiz marriages, and they worked together on several series of the situation comedy
, A Fine Romance
, from 1981 onwards. He was the President of the Roman Catholic Actors' Guild
.
Williams served as an enthusiastic supporter of the project to build the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia
in the USA. A plaque commemorating Williams' contributions hangs in the completed playhouse.
Shortly before his death from lung cancer
at the age of 65, Williams was appointed a Knight of St Gregory (KSG) by Pope John Paul II
for his contribution to Catholic life in Britain.
:
Also appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company's Theatre-Go-Round Festival, Round House Theatre, London, 1970.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who played both classical and comedic roles, and was the husband of Dame Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
.
Early life and career
Born in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, he attended St. Edward's College
St. Edward's College
St. Edward's College is a voluntary aided, Catholic school in the UK located in the West Derby suburb of Liverpool. The institution was formerly a boys grammar school run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, known widely as The Irish Christian Brothers...
and worked as an insurance assessor before going into the theatre.
His first film appearance was in 1962, and he subsequently appeared frequently on television (notably in Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R is a BBC television drama serial of six 85-minute plays starring Glenda Jackson in the title role. It was first broadcast on BBC2 from February to March 1971, through the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia and broadcast in America on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre.- Episodes...
), and in British films such as Educating Rita
Educating Rita (film)
Educating Rita is a 1983 film of Willy Russell's play of the same title directed by Lewis Gilbert and stars Julie Walters, Michael Caine, and Maureen Lipman with a screenplay by Russell.-Premise:...
(1983) and (along with Dench) Henry V (1989). In the latter, in perhaps an irresistible casting decision, he played his namesake, the Shakespearean character named Michael Williams
Michael Williams (character)
Michael Williams is a character in William Shakespeare's Henry V. He is one of three soldiers visited by King Henry before the Battle of Agincourt....
. In 1967, he played in Peter Whitehead
Peter Lorrimer Whitehead
Peter Lorrimer Whitehead is an English filmmaker who documented the counterculture in London and New York in the late 1960s...
's documentary Benefit of the Doubt
Benefit of the Doubt
Benefit of the Doubt is a 1967 documentary on Peter Brook's anti-Vietnam protest play, with the Royal Shakespeare Company, known under the title US. It was filmed at London's Aldwych Theatre and features Peter Brook, Michael Kustow, Michael Williams and Glenda Jackson. It was directed by Peter...
on Peter Brook
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
's anti-Vietnam play "US", along with Peter Brook and The Royal Shakespeare Company.
His many radio roles included crime reporter George Cragge in In the Red and its sequels, and Dr Watson in the BBC's complete run of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
adaptations.
Williams provided voices for the Woodland Animations BBC Television series Charlie Chalk
Charlie Chalk
Charlie Chalk was a short-lived stop motion animation series produced in 1987 in the UK by Woodland Animations, from the creators of Postman Pat and the two other children's television programmes that are Gran and Bertha.-Synopsis:...
, created by Ivor Wood
Ivor Wood
Ivor Wood was a prolific Anglo-French stop motion director, producer, animator and writer known for his work on children's television series....
.
Private life
He married Judi Dench in 1971, the same season that they co-starred in John WebsterJohn Webster
John Webster was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, which are often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.- Biography :Webster's life is obscure, and the dates...
's The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi is a macabre, tragic play written by the English dramatist John Webster in 1612–13. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, then before a more general audience at The Globe, in 1613-14...
. They had one daughter, Tara Cressida Williams (b. 24 September 1972), known as "Finty Williams
Finty Williams
Tara Cressida Frances Williams is an English actress who performs under the name Finty Williams....
", who is also an actress. Williams chaired the British Catholic Stage Guild
British Catholic Stage Guild
The British Catholic Stage Guild, the main organisation for Roman Catholics in British entertainment, was founded in 1911. The aim of the Guild, as laid out in the 1931 Year Book, was "to establish and encourage spiritual, artistic and social intercourse among [Roman] Catholics connected with the...
for a number of years before he was incapacitated by illness. Finty has a son, Sam.
Although Williams was a devout Catholic and Dench is a Quaker, theirs was one of the most successful showbiz marriages, and they worked together on several series of the situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, A Fine Romance
A Fine Romance (TV series)
A Fine Romance was a British situation comedy starring husband-and-wife team Judi Dench and Michael Williams. Dench's sister was played by Susan Penhaligon. It was produced by London Weekend Television and written by Bob Larbey. It was first broadcast on 8 November 1981. It lasted for 26 episodes...
, from 1981 onwards. He was the President of the Roman Catholic Actors' Guild
British Catholic Stage Guild
The British Catholic Stage Guild, the main organisation for Roman Catholics in British entertainment, was founded in 1911. The aim of the Guild, as laid out in the 1931 Year Book, was "to establish and encourage spiritual, artistic and social intercourse among [Roman] Catholics connected with the...
.
Williams served as an enthusiastic supporter of the project to build the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
in the USA. A plaque commemorating Williams' contributions hangs in the completed playhouse.
Shortly before his death from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at the age of 65, Williams was appointed a Knight of St Gregory (KSG) by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
for his contribution to Catholic life in Britain.
Selected television roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Z-Cars Z-Cars Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by... |
Norbert Nuttall (1 episode) |
| 1971 | Elizabeth R Elizabeth R Elizabeth R is a BBC television drama serial of six 85-minute plays starring Glenda Jackson in the title role. It was first broadcast on BBC2 from February to March 1971, through the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia and broadcast in America on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre.- Episodes... |
François, Duke of Anjou and Alençon |
| 1975 | The Hanged Man The Hanged Man (TV series) The Hanged Man is a British crime drama series that aired on ITV in 1975. It was created and written by Edmund Ward.-Cast:*Colin Blakely - Lew Burnett*Michael Williams - Alan Crowe*Gary Watson - John Quentin*John Rees - Brian Nelson... |
Alan Crowe (8 episodes) |
| 1981–84 | A Fine Romance A Fine Romance (TV series) A Fine Romance was a British situation comedy starring husband-and-wife team Judi Dench and Michael Williams. Dench's sister was played by Susan Penhaligon. It was produced by London Weekend Television and written by Bob Larbey. It was first broadcast on 8 November 1981. It lasted for 26 episodes... |
Mike Selway |
| 1988 | Double First | Norman 'N.V.' Standish |
| 1993–94 | Conjugal Rites Conjugal Rites - Performance history :Conjugal Rites was first performed in the United Kingdom at the Watford Palace Theatre on 24 January 1991. It starred Nicky Henson and Gwen Taylor.... |
Barry Masefield |
| 1997 | A Dance to the Music of Time A Dance to the Music of Time A Dance to the Music of Time is a twelve-volume cycle of novels by Anthony Powell, inspired by the painting of the same name by Nicolas Poussin. One of the longest works of fiction in literature, it was published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim... |
Ted Jeavons (2 episodes) |
| 1999 | The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns is a 1999 Hallmark Entertainment made-for-TV fantasy movie. It stars Randy Quaid, Colm Meaney, Kieran Culkin, Roger Daltrey, Caroline Carver and Whoopi Goldberg... |
Father Daley |
| 1999 | Kavanagh QC Kavanagh QC Kavanagh QC is a British television series made by Carlton Television for ITV between 1995 and 2001. It has been shown on ITV3 as recently as August 2011; series 1–6 are available on Region 2 DVDs.... |
DCI Knowland (1 episode) |
Selected radio roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1989-98 | Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve... |
Doctor Watson |
| 1995-96 | Change at Oglethorpe | Rocket |
| 1998-99 | Old Dog and Partridge | Jack |
Selected film roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Tell Me Lies | Guest |
| 1972 | Eagle in a Cage Eagle in a Cage Eagle in a Cage is a 1972 American and British historical drama film directed by Fielder Cook. Napoleon is played by Kenneth Haigh.An earlier version of the story had been made in 1965, when an episode of the television series Hallmark Hall of Fame depicted the events starring Trevor Howard as... |
Barry O'Meara |
| 1974 | Dead Cert | Sandy Mason |
| 1983 | Enigma Enigma (1983 film) Enigma is a 1983 motion picture directed by Jeannot Szwarc, and starring Martin Sheen, Sam Neill, Brigitte Fossey and Kevin McNally.-Plot:... |
Hirsch, Limmer's Assistant |
| 1983 | Educating Rita Educating Rita (film) Educating Rita is a 1983 film of Willy Russell's play of the same title directed by Lewis Gilbert and stars Julie Walters, Michael Caine, and Maureen Lipman with a screenplay by Russell.-Premise:... |
Brian |
| 1988 | Angel Voices | Tommy |
| 1989 | Henry V Henry V (1989 film) Henry V is a 1989 film directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on William Shakespeare's play The Life of Henry the Fifth about the famous English king. Branagh stars in the title role, and wrote the screenplay. The film was highly acclaimed on its release.... |
Williams |
| 1999 | Tea with Mussolini Tea with Mussolini Tea with Mussolini is a 1999 British-Italian semi-autobiographical film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, telling the story of young Italian boy Luca's upbringing by a circle of English and American women, before and during World War II.-Plot:... |
British Consul |
Stage appearances
Principal stage appearances; mostly with the Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
:
Also appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company's Theatre-Go-Round Festival, Round House Theatre, London, 1970.