Michael Gough

Michael Gough
File:Gough as Alfred.jpg Gough as Alfred Pennyworth in Batman Returns (1992)
Personal details
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
Nationality	British
Spouse	Diana Graves (m. 1940–48) Anne Leon (m. 1950–64) Anneke Wills (m. 1962–79) Henrietta Lawrence (m. 1980)
Children	3
Occupation	Actor
Education	Durham School
Alma mater	Wye College Old Vic

Francis Michael Gough (/ˈɡɒf/ GOF; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was an English character actor who made over 150 film and television appearances, known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958 and for his recurring role as Alfred Pennyworth in all four films of the Tim Burton / Joel Schumacher Batman tetralogy.

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 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 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! 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 also played the automation-obsessed, wheelchair-bound 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. 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

His later roles included Alfred Pennyworth for Tim Burton, including Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). He also reprised his role as Alfred in the 1994 BBC radio adaptation of Batman: Knightfall and 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 actor was Pat Hingle (as Commissioner Gordon). Gough worked for Burton again in 1999's Sleepy Hollow and Corpse Bride. He also briefly reprised his Alfred role in six 2001 television commercials for the OnStar automobile tracking system, informing Batman of the system's installation in the Batmobile. Other commercial appearances famously included Gough as Alfred in a 1989 advertisement for Diet Coke.

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—one of his ex-wives is Anne Elizabeth Leon (born 1925). They married in 1950, their daughter Emma Frances was born in 1953 and they divorced in 1964. Another ex-wife is 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' daughter Polly and in 1965, their son Jasper was born.^{[citation needed]}

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.

Death

Gough died from pneumonia aged 94 on 17 March 2011 at his home in Salisbury, Wiltshire, having also been ill with prostate cancer for the previous year. 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 sons Simon (who is married to actress Sharon Gurney, the daughter of the Upstairs, Downstairs actress Rachel Gurney) and Jasper. Michael Keaton, his co-star in the first two theatrical Batman films, said that Gough was 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 in In Memoriam at the 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1948	Anna Karenina	Nicholai
1948	Blanche Fury	Laurence Fury
1948	Saraband for Dead Lovers	Prince Charles
1949	Small Back Room, TheThe Small Back Room	Capt. Dick Stuart
1950	Ha'penny Breeze		Uncredited
1951	Blackmailed	Maurice Edwards
1951	No Resting Place	Alec Kyle
1951	Man in the White Suit, TheThe Man in the White Suit	Michael Corland
1951	Night Was Our Friend	Martin Raynor
1953	Twice Upon a Time	Mr. Lloyd
1953	Sword and the Rose, TheThe Sword and the Rose	Duke of Buckingham
1953	Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue	Duke of Montrose
1955	Richard III	Dighton, the first murderer
1956	Reach for the Sky	Flying Instructor Pearson
1957	Ill Met by Moonlight	Andoni Zoidakis
1957	The House in the Woods	Geoffrey Carter
1958	Dracula	Arthur Holmwood
1958	Horse's Mouth, TheThe Horse's Mouth	Abel
1959	Model for Murder	Kingsley Beauchamp
1959	Horrors of the Black Museum	Edmond Bancroft
1961	Konga	Dr. Charles Decker
1961	Mr. Topaze	Tamise
1961	What a Carve Up!	Fisk, the butler
1962	Candidate for Murder	Donald Edwards
1962	Phantom of the Opera, TheThe Phantom of the Opera	Ambrose D'Arcy
1963	Black Zoo	Michael Conrad
1963	Tamahine	Cartwright
1965	Game for Three Losers	Robert Hilary
1965	Dr. Terror's House of Horrors	Eric Landor	(segment "Disembodied Hand")
1965	Skull, TheThe Skull	Auctioneer
1966	Alice in Wonderland	March Hare
1966	Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker	Celestial Toymaker	4 episodes
1967	They Came from Beyond Space	Master of the Moon
1967	Berserk!	Albert Dorando
1968	One Night... A Train	Jeremiah
1968	Curse of the Crimson Altar	Elder	Also known as The Crimson Cult
1969	Walk with Love and Death, AA Walk with Love and Death	Mad Monk
1969	Women in Love	Tom Brangwen
1970	Julius Caesar	Metellus Cimber
1970	Trog	Sam Murdock
1971	Go-Between, TheThe Go-Between	Mr. Maudsley
1971	The Corpse	Walter Eastwood	Also known as Crucible of Horror
1972	Savage Messiah	M. Gaudier
1972	Henry VIII and His Six Wives	Norfolk
1973	Horror Hospital	Dr. Christian Storm
1973	Legend of Hell House, TheThe Legend of Hell House	Emeric Belasco	Uncredited
1974	QB VII	Dr. Fletcher
1975	Galileo	Sagredo
1975	The Man from Nowhere	Man	Voice, Uncredited
1976	Satan's Slave	Uncle Alexander Yorke
1978	Boys from Brazil, TheThe Boys from Brazil	Mr. Harrington
1978	L'Amour en question	Sir Baldwin
1979	Suez 1956	Anthony Eden
1981	Venom	David Ball
1982	Smiley's People	Mikhel
1982	Inside the Third Reich	Dr. Rust
1983	Doctor Who: Arc of Infinity	Councillor Hedin	3 episodes
1983	To the Lighthouse	Mr Ramsay
1983	Dresser, TheThe Dresser	Frank Carrington
1984	Memed My Hawk	Kerimoglu
1984	Top Secret!	Dr. Paul Flammond
1984	Oxford Blues	Doctor Ambrose
1984	Christmas Carol, AA Christmas Carol	Mr. Poole
1985	Arthur the King	Archbishop
1985	Out of Africa	Baron Delamere
1986	Caravaggio	Cardinal Del Monte
1986	Little Vampire, TheThe Little Vampire	Uncle Ludwig
1987	Maschenka	Vater
1987	Inspector Morse: The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn	Philip Ogleby
1987	Fourth Protocol, TheThe Fourth Protocol	Sir Bernard Hemmings
1988	Serpent and the Rainbow, TheThe Serpent and the Rainbow	Schoonbacher
1989	Strapless	Douglas Brodie
1989	Batman	Alfred Pennyworth
1989	Batman: The Lazarus Syndrome		Voice
1990	The Garden
1991	Let Him Have It	Lord Goddard
1992	Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Russia 1910, TheThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Russia 1910	Leo Tolstoy
1992	Batman Returns	Alfred Pennyworth
1993	Wittgenstein	Bertrand Russell
1993	Age of Innocence, TheThe Age of Innocence	Henry van der Luyden
1993	Hour of the Pig, TheThe Hour of the Pig	Magistrate Boniface
1994	Uncovered	Don Manuel
1994	Nostradamus	Jean de Remy
1995	Batman Forever	Alfred Pennyworth
1997	Batman & Robin
1998	What Rats Won't Do	Justice Tomlin
1998	St. Ives	Comte de Saint-Yves
1999	Cherry Orchard, TheThe Cherry Orchard	Feers
1999	Sleepy Hollow	Notary Hardenbrook
1999	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

External links

• Michael Gough at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Gough at the Internet Broadway Database
• Michael Gough at the TCM Movie Database
• Michael Gough at AllMovie
• Michael Gough at Find a Grave
• Gough's obituary in The Telegraph newspaper