Editing Michael Redgrave

{{Short description|English actor (1908–1985)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = [[Sir]]
| name         = Michael Redgrave
| honorific_suffix = [[CBE]]
| image        = Sir Michael Redgrave portrait.jpg
| caption      = Portrait taken by [[Allan Warren]] in 1978
| birth_name   = Michael Scudamore Redgrave
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1908|03|20|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Bristol]], England
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1985|03|21|1908|03|20|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Denham, Buckinghamshire|Denham]], [[Buckinghamshire]], England
| resting_place = [[St Paul's, Covent Garden]], [[London]], England
| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|filmmaker|manager|author}}
| nationality  = British
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Rachel Kempson]]|1935}}
| children     = {{hlist|[[Vanessa Redgrave|Vanessa]]|[[Corin Redgrave|Corin]]|[[Lynn Redgrave|Lynn]]}}
| parents      = {{hlist|[[Roy Redgrave]]|[[Margaret Scudamore]]}}
| family        = [[Redgrave family|Redgrave]]
| years_active = 1933–1982
| television   =
| education    = [[Clifton College]], [[Bristol]]<br />(independent boarding school)
| alma mater   = [[Magdalene College, Cambridge]]
}}
'''Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave''' (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English actor and filmmaker. Beginning his career in theatre, he first appeared in the [[West End theatre|West End]] in 1937. He made his film debut in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[The Lady Vanishes]]'' in 1938.

Redgrave received a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for his performance in ''[[Mourning Becomes Electra (film)|Mourning Becomes Electra]]'' (1947), as well as two [[BAFTA]] nominations for [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best British Actor]] for his performances in ''[[The Night My Number Came Up]]'' (1955) and ''[[Time Without Pity]]'' (1957).

At the [[4th Cannes Film Festival]], he won [[Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] for his performance in ''[[The Browning Version (1951 film)|The Browning Version]]'' (1951).

==Youth and education==
Redgrave was born in [[Bristol]], England, the son of actress [[Margaret Scudamore]] and the [[silent film]] actor [[Roy Redgrave]]. Roy left when Redgrave was six months old to pursue a career in Australia. He died when Redgrave was 14. His mother subsequently married Captain James Anderson, a tea planter. Redgrave greatly disliked his stepfather.<ref>''Michael Redgrave: My Father'', 1996 BBC documentary film narrated by his son [[Corin Redgrave]], based on his book of the same name; produced and directed by Roger Michell</ref>

Redgrave attended [[Clifton College]] in Bristol.<ref>"Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p395: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April 1948</ref> Clifton College Theatre was opened in 1966 by Redgrave as the first purpose-built school theatre in the country. After his death, the building was renamed The Redgrave Theatre in his honour.

Upon leaving Clifton, Redgrave went on to study the modern languages and English [[tripos]]es at [[Magdalene College, Cambridge]]. Under the direction of [[Dadie Rylands]], he garnered great acclaim for his starring roles on the Cambridge stage as Edgar, Prince Hal and [[Captain Brassbound's Conversion|Captain Brassbound]]. Alongside the art historian [[Anthony Blunt]] and schoolfriend [[Robin Fedden]], Redgrave also edited an ''avant-garde'' literary magazine called ''The Venture'', which published work by [[Louis MacNeice]], [[Julian Bell]] and [[John Lehmann]].<ref>T. E. B. Howarth, ''Cambridge Between Two Wars'' (London: Collins, 1978), p. 71. {{ISBN|0002111810}}</ref> He graduated with a [[third-class degree]] in 1931.<ref>"University News", ''The Times'', 18 June 1931, p. 16.</ref>

Redgrave taught modern languages at [[Cranleigh School]] in Surrey for three years before becoming an actor in 1934. He directed the boys in ''[[Hamlet]]'', ''[[King Lear]]'' and ''[[The Tempest]]'', but played all the leading roles himself.<ref name="ReferenceA">''The Great Stage Stars'', Sheridan Morley</ref>

==Theatre career==
Redgrave made his first professional appearance at the [[Liverpool Playhouse|Playhouse]] in [[Liverpool]] on 30 August 1934 as Roy Darwin in ''Counsellor-at-Law'' (by [[Elmer Rice]]), then spent two years with its Liverpool Repertory Company where he met his future wife [[Rachel Kempson]]. They married on 18 July 1935.

===1930s===
Offered a job by [[Tyrone Guthrie]], Redgrave made his professional debut in London at the [[Old Vic]] on 14 September 1936, playing Ferdinand in ''[[Love's Labours Lost]]''. During 1936–37 he also played Mr Horner in ''[[The Country Wife]]'', Orlando in ''[[As You Like It]]'', Warbeck in ''[[The Witch of Edmonton]]'' and Laertes to [[Laurence Olivier]]'s Hamlet. His hit of the season was Orlando. [[Edith Evans]] was his Rosalind and the two fell very much in love. As he later explained: "Edith always had a habit of falling in love with her leading men; with us it just went rather further."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> ''As You Like It'' transferred to the [[West End theatre|West End]]'s [[Noël Coward Theatre|New Theatre]] in February 1937 and Redgrave again played Orlando.

At the [[Embassy Theatre (London)|Embassy Theatre]] in March 1937, he played Anderson in a mystery play, ''The Bat'', before returning to the Old Vic in April, succeeding [[Marius Goring]] as Chorus in ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]''. Other roles that year included Christopher Drew in [[Daisy Fisher]]'s comedy ''A Ship Comes Home'' at the [[St Martin's Theatre]] in May and Larry Starr in Philip Leaver's comedy ''Three Set Out'' at the Embassy in June, before joining [[John Gielgud]]'s Company at the [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]], September 1937 to April 1938, where he played Bolingbroke in ''[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]'', Charles Surface in ''[[The School for Scandal]]'' and Baron Tusenbach in ''[[Three Sisters (play)|Three Sisters]]''.

Other roles included:
* Alexei Turbin in ''The White Guard'' (''The Days of the Turbins'' by [[Mikhail Bulgakov]]), [[Phoenix Theatre (London)|Phoenix Theatre]] October 1938
* Sir Andrew Aguecheek in ''[[Twelfth Night]]'', Phoenix December 1938
* Harry, Lord Monchesney in ''[[The Family Reunion]]'' (T.S. Eliot), [[Westminster Theatre]] March 1939
* Henry in ''Springtime for Henry'', touring 1939

===World War II===
Once the London theatres were re-opened, after the outbreak of war, he played:
* Captain Macheath in ''[[The Beggar's Opera]]'', [[Theatre Royal, Haymarket]], March 1940
* Charleston in ''[[Thunder Rock (play)|Thunder Rock]]'', by [[Robert Ardrey]], Neighbourhood Theatre June 1940; [[Gielgud Theatre|Globe Theatre]] July 1940. (He would reprise this role in the 1942 [[Boulting Brothers]] [[Thunder Rock (film)|film version]].)

Redgrave joined the [[Royal Navy]] as an [[ordinary seaman]] in July 1941, ({{HMS|Illustrious|87|6}}) but was discharged on medical grounds in November 1942.<ref>Redgrave provided his friend the actor and writer [[Godfrey Winn]] (also in the Navy at the time), with a memorable signal his ship made. The aircraft carrier HMS ''Illustrious'' was in collision with another carrier, HMS ''Formidable'' in poor weather visibility in the Atlantic, after the collision ''Illustrious'' signalled: "If you touch me in that place again, I shall scream". {{cite book |title=Home from Sea |first=Godfrey |last=Winn |publisher=Hutchinson & Co |location=London |year=1944 |page=115}}</ref> Having spent most of 1942 in the Reserve he managed to direct ''Lifeline'' (Norman Armstrong) starring [[Frank Pettingell]] at the [[Duchess Theatre]] in July; and ''[[The Duke in Darkness]]'' ([[Patrick Hamilton (writer)|Patrick Hamilton]]) starring [[Leslie Banks]] at the [[St James's Theatre]] in October, also taking the role of Gribaud.<ref>''The Great Stage Stars'', Sheridan Morley, and ''Who's Who in the Theatre'' 1981</ref>

Resuming his stage career he played/directed:
* Rakitin in ''[[A Month in the Country (play)|A Month in the Country]]'' ([[Turgenev]]), St James's Theatre March 1943
* Lafont in six matinees of ''Parisienne'', a comedy by Henry Becque, translated by [[Ashley Dukes]], (Redgrave also directed and managed) co-starring [[Sonia Dresdel]], St James's Theatre June 1943
* ''Blow Your Own Trumpet'', a comedy by [[Peter Ustinov]], (directed), [[Playhouse Theatre]] August 1943
* ''The Wingless Victory'', a period romance by [[Maxwell Anderson]], (directed) starring [[Rachel Kempson]] as Faith Ingalls, [[Phoenix Theatre (London)|Phoenix Theatre]] September 1943
* Harry Quincey in ''Uncle Harry'', a thriller by Thomas Job, (also co-directed with William Armstrong) with [[Beatrix Lehmann]] as Leslie Quincey and Rachel Kempson as Lucy Forrest, [[Garrick Theatre]] March 1944
* Colonel Stjerbinsky in ''Jacobowsky and the Colonel'', a comedy by [[Franz Werfel]], adapted by [[S.N. Behrman]], (Redgrave also directed) with Rachel Kempson as Marianne, [[Piccadilly Theatre]], June 1945

===Post-war years===
* Title role in ''Macbeth'', [[Aldwych Theatre]] December 1947; [[Nederlander Theatre|National Theatre]], New York City (NYC debut, with [[Flora Robson]] as Lady Macbeth) 31 March 1948
* Captain in ''The Father'' ([[August Strindberg]]) directed by Dennis Arundell with [[Freda Jackson]] as Laura, Embassy Theatre November 1948; and Duchess Theatre January 1949
* Etienne in ''A Woman in Love'' (also co-adapted with Diana Gould and directed) with [[Margaret Rawlings]] as Germaine, Embassy April 1949

Joining the [[Old Vic]] Company at the [[Noël Coward Theatre|New Theatre]] for its 1949–50 season, he played:
* Berowne in ''[[Love's Labours Lost]]''
* Marlow in ''[[She Stoops to Conquer]]''
* Rakitin in ''[[A Month in the Country (play)|A Month in the Country]]''
* His first Hamlet, which he also played at the [[Zürich]] Festival, the [[Holland Festival]] and at [[Kronborg Castle]] in [[Elsinore]], June 1950

===1950s===
Redgrave joined the [[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre]] company at [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] and for the 1951 season appeared as Prospero in ''The Tempest'' as well as playing Richard II, Hotspur and Chorus in the Cycle of ''Histories'', for which he also directed ''Henry IV Part Two''. After appearing as Frank Elgin in ''Winter Journey'' at the St James's April 1952, he rejoined the Stratford company in 1953 (together with his actress wife Rachel Kempson) appearing as Shylock, King Lear and Antony in ''Antony and Cleopatra'', also playing Antony when the company transferred to the [[Prince's Theatre]] in November 1953 before touring in the [[Netherlands]], [[Belgium]] and [[Paris]],<ref name=spoto />{{rp|p.&nbsp;163}} in 1958 he played Hamlet with Googie Withers appearing as his mother at Stratford on Avon.

At the Apollo in June 1955 he played Hector in ''[[Tiger at the Gates]]'', appearing in the same role at the [[Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre|Plymouth Theatre]], New York City in October 1955 for which he received the New York Critics' Award. While in New York he directed ''A Month in the Country'' at the Phoenix Theatre in April 1956, and directed and played the Prince Regent in ''[[The Sleeping Prince (play)|The Sleeping Prince]]'' with [[Barbara Bel Geddes]] at the [[Coronet Theatre (Los Angeles)|Coronet Theatre]] in November 1956.

Returning to London in January 1958, Redgrave appeared as Philip Lester in ''[[A Touch of the Sun (play)|A Touch of the Sun]]'' (N. C. Hunter) at the [[Saville Theatre]]. He won Best Actor in the [[Evening Standard Theatre Awards|''Evening Standard'' Awards]] 1958 for this role. He rejoined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company in June 1958, to play Hamlet and Benedick, also playing Hamlet with the company in [[Leningrad]] and [[Moscow]] in December 1958. (His wife Rachel Kempson played Ursula in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' and Lady Capulet in ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'').

At the [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]], in London in August 1959, he played H.J. in his own adaptation of the Henry James novella ''The Aspern Papers''. His play was later successfully revived on Broadway in 1962, with [[Dame Wendy Hiller]] and [[Maurice Evans (actor)|Maurice Evans]]. The 1984 London revival featured his daughter, [[Vanessa Redgrave]], along with [[Christopher Reeve]] and Hiller, this time in the role of Miss Bordereau.

===1960s===
Roles included:
* Jack Dean in ''[[The Tiger and the Horse]]'' by [[Robert Bolt]] (which Redgrave also co-presented, directed by [[Frith Banbury]]), [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]], August 1960
* Victor Rhodes in ''[[The Complaisant Lover]]'' by [[Graham Greene]], [[Ethel Barrymore Theatre]], New York, November 1961 – 101 performances

[[File:Michael Redgrave.jpg|thumb|Michael Redgrave in costume for the lead role in ''Uncle Vanya'', backstage at the Chichester Festival Theatre, 1962. ''Photo: Tony French.'']]Returning to the [[UK]], in July 1962 he took part in the [[Chichester Festival Theatre]]'s opening season, playing the title role in [[Anton Chekhov|Chekhov's]] ''[[Uncle Vanya]]'' to the Astrov of [[Laurence Olivier]] who also directed.

Alongside [[John Dexter]]'s Chichester staging of ''Saint Joan'', Olivier's ''Uncle Vanya'' was first revived in Chichester in 1963 before transferring to the Old Vic as part of the nascent [[Royal National Theatre]]'s inaugural season, winning rave reviews and Redgrave's second win as Best Actor in the 1963 [[Evening Standard Awards]]. Critic [[Michael Billington (critic)|Michael Billington]] recalled: "In Redgrave's Vanya you saw both a tremulous victim of a lifetime's emotional repression and the wasted potential of a Chekhovian might-have-been: as Redgrave and Olivier took their joint curtain call, linked hands held triumphantly aloft, we were not to know that this was to symbolise the end of their artistic amity."<ref>Michael Billington ''State of the Nation: British Theatre Since 1945'', London: Faber, 2007, p.142 {{ISBN|978-0-571-21034-3}}</ref>

Redgrave played (and co-presented) Lancelot Dodd MA in [[Arthur Watkyn]]'s ''[[Out of Bounds (play)|Out of Bounds]]'' at [[Wyndham's Theatre]] in November 1962, following it at the Old Vic with his portrayal of Claudius opposite the Hamlet of [[Peter O'Toole]] on 22 October 1963. This ''Hamlet'' was in fact the National Theatre's official opening production, directed by Olivier, but [[Simon Callow]] has dubbed it "slow, solemn, long", while [[Ken Campbell]] vividly described it as "brochure theatre."<ref>''The National: 1963–1997'' by Simon Callow, Nick Hern Books (1997) {{ISBN|1-85459-323-4}}</ref>

In January 1964 at the National he played the title role in ''[[Hobson's Choice (play)|Hobson's Choice]]'', which he admitted was well outside his range: "I couldn't do the [[Lancashire]] accent and that shook my nerve terribly – all the other performances suffered." While still at the National in June 1964 he also played Halvard Solness in ''The Master Builder'', which he said 'went wrong'. At this time he had incipient [[Parkinson's disease]], although he did not know it.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

In May and June 1965 Redgrave directed the opening festival of the [[Yvonne Arnaud Theatre]] in [[Guildford]], including directing and playing Rakitin in ''A Month in the Country'' (co-starring with [[Ingrid Bergman]] as Natalya Petrovna), and Samson in ''Samson Agonistes'' (co-starring with Rachel Kempson as Chorus). He again played Rakitin in September 1965, when his production transferred to the [[Cambridge Theatre]] in London. For the [[Glyndebourne Festival Opera]] he directed ''[[Werther]]'' in 1966 and ''[[La bohème]]'' in 1967.<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael Redgrave|url=http://glyndebourne.com/archive/individual/michael-redgrave|work=Performances|publisher=Glyndebourne|access-date=6 November 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131106025912/http://glyndebourne.com/archive/individual/michael-redgrave|archive-date=6 November 2013}}</ref>

===1970s===
At the [[Mermaid Theatre]] in July 1971 he played Mr Jaraby in ''The Old Boys'' (William Trevor) and had an unfortunate experience: "My memory went, and on the first night they made me wear a deaf aid to hear some lines from the prompter and it literally fell to pieces – there were little bits of machinery all over the floor, so I then knew I really couldn't go on, at least not learning new plays."<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Nevertheless, he successfully took over the part of Father in [[John Mortimer]]'s ''[[A Voyage Round My Father]]'' at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, also touring Canada and Australia in the role in 1972–73.

In 1973, he played a supporting role in [[David Winters (choreographer)|David Winters]]' musical television film adaptation of ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', starring [[Kirk Douglas]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=3 April 1973|title=Musical Version of 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' Stars Kirk Douglas|work=The Mexia Daily New|volume=74}}</ref>

He returned to the international touring of ''A Voyage Round My Father'' in 1974–75 with a Royal Shakespeare Company production of ''The Hollow Crown'', visiting major venues in the US, New Zealand and Australia, while in 1976–77 he toured South America, Canada, the UK and the United States in the anthology, ''Shakespeare's People''.

Redgrave's final theatre appearance came in May 1979 when he portrayed Jasper in [[Simon Gray]]'s ''Close of Play'', directed on the Lyttelton stage at the National Theatre by [[Harold Pinter]]. It was a silent, seated role, based on Gray's own father, who had died a year before he wrote the play. As Gray has said: "Jasper is in fact dead but is forced to endure, as if alive, a traditional English Sunday, helpless in his favourite armchair as his three sons and their wives fall to pieces in the usual English middle class style, sometimes blaming him, sometimes appealing to him for help and sobbing at his feet for forgiveness, but basically ignoring him. In other words I had stuck him in Hell, which turns out to be 'life, old life itself'."<ref>''An Unnatural Pursuit and Other Pieces'' by Simon Gray, Faber (1985)</ref>

His final work, in 1975, a narrative of the epic poem, ''[[The Rime of the Ancient Mariner]]'', by [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]], a poem that Redgrave taught as a young schoolmaster and visualised by producer-director Raul da Silva, received six international film festival prizes of which five were first place in category. This work was to be his last before the onslaught of [[Parkinson's disease]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Bowker's Complete Video Directory, Volume 4|year=1998|publisher=R.R. Bowker|location=New York|isbn=978-0835240147|page=1972}}</ref>

==Film and television work==
[[File:The-Lady-Vanishes-1938.jpg|thumb|Redgrave (right) with [[Catherine Lacey]] and [[Margaret Lockwood]] in a publicity shot for Hitchcock's ''[[The Lady Vanishes]]'' (1938)]]
Redgrave first appeared on BBC television at the [[Alexandra Palace]] in 1937, in scenes from ''Romeo and Juliet''. His first major film role was in [[Alfred Hitchcock's]] ''[[The Lady Vanishes]]'' (1938), which included a scene where he hummed the "[[Colonel Bogey March]]" in what was the first appearance of the tune in film.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holston |first1=Kim R.|title=The English-speaking Cinema An Illustrated History, 1927-1993 |date=1994 |publisher=McFarland |page=33}}</ref> Ted Black put him under contract at Gainsborough.<ref name="edward">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-moguls-ted-black/|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|date=1 December 2024|access-date=1 December 2024|title=Forgotten British Film Moguls: Ted Black}}</ref>

Redgrave also starred in ''[[The Stars Look Down (film)|The Stars Look Down]]'' (1940), with [[James Mason]] in the film of [[Robert Ardrey]]'s play ''[[Thunder Rock (film)|Thunder Rock]]'' (1942), and in the ventriloquist's dummy episode of the [[Ealing Studios|Ealing]] compendium film ''[[Dead of Night]]'' (1945).

His first American film role was opposite [[Rosalind Russell]] in ''[[Mourning Becomes Electra (film)|Mourning Becomes Electra]]'' (1947), for which he was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Actor]]. In 1951 he starred in ''[[The Browning Version (1951 film)|The Browning Version]]'', from [[Terence Rattigan|Sir Terrence Rattigan's]] play of the same name. The ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' described Redgrave's performance as Crocker-Harris as "one of the greatest performances ever seen in films".<ref>Geoffrey Wansell, ''Terence Rattigan'', p. 213</ref> The 1950s also saw Redgrave in ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)|The Importance of Being Earnest]]'' (1952), ''[[The Dam Busters (film)|The Dambusters]]'' (1954) with his portrayal of the inventor [[Barnes Wallis]], ''[[1984 (1956 film)|1984]]'' (1956), ''[[Time Without Pity]]'' (1957), for which he was nominated for a [[BAFTA Award]], and ''[[The Quiet American (1958 film)|The Quiet American]]'' (1958).

Notable television performances include narration for ''[[The Great War (TV series)|The Great War]]'' (1964), a history of [[World War I]] using stills and 'stretched' archive film, and the less successful ''Lost Peace'' series (BBC Television, 1964 and 1966). Of the latter, [[Philip Purser]] wrote: "The commentary, spoken by Sir Michael Redgrave, took on an unremittingly pessimistic tone from the outset."<ref>''Halliwell's Television Companion'' Third Edition, Grafton Books (1986)</ref>

==Personal life==

===Family===
{{main|Redgrave family}}
Redgrave was married to the actress [[Rachel Kempson]] for 50 years from 1935 until his death. Their children [[Vanessa Redgrave|Vanessa]] (b. 1937), [[Corin Redgrave|Corin]] (1939–2010) and [[Lynn Redgrave]] (1943–2010), and their grandchildren: [[Natasha Richardson]] (1963–2009), [[Joely Richardson]] (b. 1965) and [[Jemma Redgrave]] (b. 1965) are also involved in theatre or film as actors. Their grandson [[Carlo Gabriel Nero]] is a screenwriter and film director; only Luke Redgrave has taken a path outside the theatre.

His daughter Lynn wrote a one-woman play for herself called ''[[Shakespeare for My Father]]''. She was nominated for Broadway's [[Tony Award]] for this role. She traced her love for Shakespeare as a way of following and finding her often absent father.<ref>{{cite news|last=Vellela|first=Tony|title=From our files: An interview with Lynn Redgrave|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2010/0503/From-our-files-An-interview-with-Lynn-Redgrave|access-date=6 November 2013|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|date=28 May 1993}}</ref>

Redgrave owned [[White Roding Windmill]] from 1937 to 1946.<ref name=Book4>{{cite book | first = Kenneth| last = Farries|year = 1985| title = Essex Windmills, Millers and Millwrights – Volume Four – A Review by Parishes, F-R| pages= 121–123|location = Edinburgh| isbn = 978-0-284-98647-4 |publisher = Charles Skilton}}</ref> He and his family lived in Bedford House on [[Chiswick Mall]] from 1945 to 1954.<ref>Roe, William P., ''Glimpses of Chiswick's Development'', 1999, {{ISBN|0-9516512-2-6}}, page 94</ref> His entry for ''[[Who's Who in the Theatre]]'' (1981) gives his address as Wilks Water, [[Odiham]], Hampshire.

===Bisexuality===
Corin helped his father in the writing of his last autobiography. During one of Corin's visits to his father, the latter said, "There is something I ought to tell you". Then, after a long pause, "I am, to say the least of it, bisexual". Corin encouraged him to acknowledge his bisexuality in the book. Redgrave agreed to do so, but in the end he chose to remain silent about it.<ref name=spoto />{{rp|p.274}} Alan Strachan's 2004 biography of Redgrave discusses his affairs with both men and women.<ref>http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/20937/part_2/one-rung-below-greatness.thtml {{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Although Redgrave had some long-term relationships with men, he also was prone to cruising [[Victoria, London|Victoria]] or [[Knightsbridge]] for what he called "a necessary degradation", a habit of quick pick-ups that left him with a lasting sense of self-disgust.<ref>{{cite news|last=Barber|first=Lynn|title=His necessary degradations|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3616047/His-necessary-degradations.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3616047/His-necessary-degradations.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=6 November 2013|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=28 April 2004}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The 1996 BBC documentary film ''Michael Redgrave: My Father'', narrated by Corin Redgrave, and based on his book of the same name, discusses his father's [[bisexuality]] in some depth.<ref name="The New York Times">{{cite news|access-date=3 January 2013|title=Corin Redgrave, Actor and Activist, Dies at 70 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/theater/07redgrave.html|date=6 April 2010}}</ref> Rachel Kempson recounted that when she proposed to him, Redgrave said that there were "difficulties to do with his nature, and that he felt he ought not to marry". She said that she understood, it did not matter and that she loved him.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/vanessa-redgrave-greiving-glorying-sisters-death/story?id=10639716&page=2|title= Vanessa Redgrave 'Grieving and Glorying' After Sister Lynn Redgrave's Death
|publisher=ABC News|year=2010}}</ref> To this, Redgrave replied, "Very well. If you're sure, we will".<ref>{{cite news|access-date=3 January 2013|title=Rachel Kempson, 92, Matriarch of Acting Family|work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/26/theater/rachel-kempson-92-matriarch-of-acting-family.html|date=26 May 2003}}</ref>

During the filming of [[Fritz Lang]]'s ''[[Secret Beyond the Door]]'' (1947), Redgrave met Bob Mitchell, and they soon became lovers. Mitchell set up house close to the Redgraves, and he became a surrogate "uncle" to Redgrave's children (then aged 11, 9 and 5), who adored him. Mitchell later had children of his own, including a son he named Michael.<ref name=spoto>{{cite book|last=Spoto|first=Donald|title=The Redgraves: A Family Epic|year=2012|publisher=Random House|location=New York|isbn=978-0307720146|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dUWFhrgu-HgC}}</ref>{{rp|p.193}} [[Fred Sadoff]] was an actor/director who became Redgrave's assistant and lover; they shared lodgings in New York and London.<ref name=spoto />{{rp|p.178–183}}

A card was found among Redgrave's effects after his death. The card was signed "Tommy, Liverpool, January 1940", and on it were the words (quoted from [[W.H. Auden]]): "The word is love. Surely one fearless kiss would cure the million fevers".<ref>{{cite web|title=Sir Michael Redgrave (1908–1985)|url=http://outstoriesbristol.org.uk/people/biographies/redgrave-michael/|publisher=OutStories Bristol|access-date=6 November 2013|date=30 September 2011}}</ref>

===Illness and death===
In 1976, after suffering symptoms for many years, Redgrave was diagnosed with rapidly advancing [[Parkinson's disease]]. He began a regimen of therapies and medications that caused disorientation and other [[side effect]]s. Costs for his healthcare expenses and his diminished earning power caused the family to apply for public assistance from the King George's Pension Fund. In an interview on his 70th birthday, he said: "For a long time, nobody understood the Parkinson's condition, and directors thought I was just forgetful or drunk – and even now the work isn't easy. The difficulty is not just remembering lines but getting from place to place."<ref name=spoto />{{rp|p.258}}

Redgrave died in a nursing home in [[Denham, Buckinghamshire|Denham]], Buckinghamshire, on 21 March 1985, from Parkinson's disease, the day after his 77th birthday. He was cremated at [[Mortlake Crematorium]] and his ashes were scattered in the garden of [[St Paul's, Covent Garden]] (The Actors' Church), London.<ref>Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 38997). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.</ref>

==Awards==
In 1951 Redgrave received the [[Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)]] for ''[[The Browning Version (1951 film)|The Browning Version]]''. He won Best Actor trophies in 1958 and 1963 [[Evening Standard Awards]] and received the [[Variety Club of Great Britain]] 'Actor of the Year' award in the same years.

==Honours==
Redgrave was appointed Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) by the [[Elizabeth II|Queen]] in 1952 and [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in 1959. He was appointed Commander of the [[Order of the Dannebrog]] by Denmark in 1955.

==Appointments==
Redgrave became the First President of the English Speaking Board in 1953, and President of the [[Questors Theatre]], [[Ealing]] in 1958. In 1966, he received an honorary [[DLitt]] degree from the [[University of Bristol]].

In 1986, he was inducted posthumously into the [[American Theater Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/22/theater/9-stage-veterans-enter-theater-hall-of-fame.html|title=9 Stage Veterans Enter Theater Hall of Fame|newspaper=New York Times|date=22 April 1986}}</ref>

==Redgrave Theatre==
The [[Redgrave Theatre]] in [[Farnham]], Surrey, 1974–1998, was named in his honour.

==Box office ranking==
For a number of years, British film exhibitors voted him among the top ten British stars at the box office via an annual poll in the ''Motion Picture Herald''.
* 1946: 4th<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46266039 |title=FILM WORLD. |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=28 February 1947 |access-date=27 April 2012 |page=20 Edition: SECOND EDITION |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
* 1951: 9th<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63397098 |title=Vivien Leigh Actress of the Year. |newspaper=[[Townsville Daily Bulletin]] |location=Qld. |date=29 December 1951 |access-date=27 April 2012 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

==Filmography==
[[File:Sir Michael Redgrave Allan Warren.jpg|thumb|Sir Michael Redgrave by [[Allan Warren]], 1973]]

===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1938
| ''[[The Lady Vanishes]]''
| Gilbert
| First major role
|-
| ''[[Climbing High]]''
| Nicky Brooke
|
|-
| 1939
| ''[[Stolen Life (1939 film)|Stolen Life]]''
| Alan MacKenzie
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1940
| ''[[The Stars Look Down (film)|The Stars Look Down]]''
| Davey Fenwick
|
|-
| ''[[A Window in London]]''
| Peter
| Released as ''Lady in Distress'' in USA
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1941
| ''[[Kipps (1941 film)|Kipps]]''
| Kipps
| Released as ''The Remarkable Mr. Kipps'' in USA
|-
| ''[[Atlantic Ferry]]''
| Charles MacIver
|
|-
| ''[[Jeannie (film)|Jeannie]]''
| Stanley Smith
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1942
| ''[[The Big Blockade]]''
| Russian
|
|-
| ''[[Thunder Rock (film)|Thunder Rock]]''
| David Charleston
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1945
| ''[[The Way to the Stars]]''
| David Archdale
| Released as ''Johnny in the Clouds'' in USA
|-
| ''[[Dead of Night]]''
| Maxwell Frere
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1946
| ''[[The Captive Heart]]''
| Captain Karel Hasek
|
|-
| ''[[The Years Between (film)|The Years Between]]''
| Michael Wentworth
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1947
| ''[[The Man Within (film)|The Man Within]]''
| Richard Carlyon
| Released as ''The Smugglers'' in the USA
|-
| ''[[Fame Is the Spur (film)|Fame Is the Spur]]''
| Hamer Radshaw
|
|-
| ''[[Mourning Becomes Electra (film)|Mourning Becomes Electra]]''
| Orin Mannon
|
|-
| ''[[Secret Beyond the Door...]]''
| Mark Lamphere
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1951
| ''[[The Browning Version (1951 film)|The Browning Version]]''
| Andrew Crocker-Harris
|
|-
| ''[[The Magic Box]]''
| Mr Lege
|
|-
| 1952
| ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)|The Importance of Being Earnest]]''
| Jack/Ernest Worthing
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1954
| ''[[The Green Scarf]]''
| Maitre Deliot
|
|-
| ''[[The Sea Shall Not Have Them]]''
| Air Commodore Waltby
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1955
| ''[[The Night My Number Came Up]]''
| Air Marshal Hardie
|
|-
| ''[[The Dam Busters (film)|The Dam Busters]]''
| [[Barnes Wallis]]
|
|-
| ''[[Mr. Arkadin]]''
| Burgomil Trebitsch
|
|-
| ''[[Oh... Rosalinda!!]]''
| Colonel Eisenstein
|
|-
| 1956
| ''[[1984 (1956 film)|1984]]''
| O'Connor (O'Brien)
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1957
| ''[[Time Without Pity]]''
| David Graham
|
|-
| ''[[The Happy Road]]''
| General Medworth
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1958
| ''[[The Quiet American (1958 film)|The Quiet American]]''
| Thomas Fowler
|
|-
| ''[[Law and Disorder (1958 film)|Law and Disorder]]''
| Percy Brand
|
|-
| ''[[Behind the Mask (1958 film)|Behind the Mask]]''
| Sir Arthur Benson Gray
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1959
| ''[[Shake Hands with the Devil (1959 film)|Shake Hands with the Devil]]''
| The General
|
|-
| ''[[The Wreck of the Mary Deare (film)|The Wreck of the Mary Deare]]''
| Mr Nyland
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1961
| ''[[No My Darling Daughter]]''
| Sir Matthew Carr
|
|-
| ''[[The Innocents (1961 film)|The Innocents]]''
| The Uncle
|
|-
| 1962
| ''[[The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film)|The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner]]''
| Ruxton Towers Reformatory Governor
|
|-
| 1963
| ''[[Uncle Vanya (1963 film)|Uncle Vanya]]''
| Uncle Vanya
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1965
|''[[Young Cassidy]]''
| [[W. B. Yeats]]
|
|-
| ''[[The Hill (1965 film)|The Hill]]''
| The Medical Officer
| (credited as Sir Michael Redgrave)
|-
| ''[[The Heroes of Telemark]]''
| Uncle
|
|-
| 1966
| ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1966 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]''
| Caterpillar
| (credited as Sir Michael Redgrave)
|-
| 1967
| ''[[The 25th Hour (film)|The 25th Hour]]''
| Defence lawyer
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1968
| ''[[Assignment K]]''
| Harris
|
|-
| ''[[Heidi (1968 film)|Heidi]]''
| Grandfather
| TV movie
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1969
| ''[[Oh! What a Lovely War]]''
| [[General Sir Henry Wilson]]
|
|-
| ''[[Battle of Britain (film)|Battle of Britain]]''
| Air Vice Marshal Evill
|
|-
| ''[[Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)|Goodbye, Mr. Chips]]''
| The Headmaster
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1970
| ''[[David Copperfield (1969 film)|David Copperfield]]''
| Dan Peggotty
| TV movie
|-
| ''[[Connecting Rooms]]''
| James Wallraven
|
|-
| ''[[Goodbye Gemini]]''
| James Harrington-Smith
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1971
| ''[[The Go-Between (1971 film)|The Go-Between]]''
| Leo Colston
|
|-
| ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV special)|A Christmas Carol]]''
| Narrator
| Voice
|-
| ''[[Nicholas and Alexandra]]''
| [[Sergey Sazonov|Sazonov]]
|
|-
| 1972
| ''[[The Last Target]]''
| Erik Fritsch
|
|-
| 1975
| ''[[Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1975 film)|Rime of the Ancient Mariner]]''
| The Ancient Mariner
| narration, (final film role)
|-
|}

==Radio appearances==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Programme !! Episode/source
|-
| 1948|| ''[[CBS's Studio One]]'' || ''[[The Return of the Native]]''<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-Studio-One.html | title=Z-markchampion.website }}</ref>
|-
| 1952/3|| ''[[Horatio Hornblower]]'' || ''48 Episodes in the title role on CBS''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oldradioworld.com/shows/Horatio_Hornblower.php|title=The Adventures of Horatio Hornblower - OTR}}</ref>
|-
| 1952|| ''[[Theatre Guild on the Air]]'' || ''[[The Unguarded Hour]]''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kirby|first1=Walter|title=Better Radio Programs for the Week|newspaper=The Decatur Daily Review |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2560026/the_decatur_daily_review/|agency=The Decatur Daily Review|date=28 December 1952|page=36|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = 5 June 2015}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|-
| 1953|| ''[[Theatre Guild on the Air]]'' || ''Jane''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kirby|first1=Walter|title=Better Radio Programs for the Week|newspaper=The Decatur Daily Review |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2648547/the_decatur_daily_review/|agency=The Decatur Daily Review|date=11 January 1953|page=42|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = 19 June 2015}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|}

==Theatre==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Director
! Playwright(s)
! Theatre
|-
| 1936
| ''[[Love's Labours Lost]]''
| Ferdinand
|
| [[William Shakespeare]]
| [[Old Vic Theatre]], London
|-
| 1936-37
| ''[[The Witch of Edmonton]]''
| Warbeck
| Saint Denis
| Thomas Dekker
| [[Old Vic Theatre]], London
|-
| 1936-37
| ''[[As You Like It]]''
| [[Orlando (As You Like It)|Orlando]]
| Ejme Church
| William Shakespeare
| [[Old Vic Theatre]], London
|-
| 1936-37
| ''[[The Country Wife]]''
| Mr Horner
| Tyrone Gathrie
| [[William Wycherley]]
| [[Old Vic Theatre]], London
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1937
| ''[[The Bat (play)|The Bat]]''
| Anderson
|
| [[Mary Roberts Rinehart]] and [[Avery Hopwood]]
| [[Embassy Theatre (London)|Embassy Theatre]]
|-
| ''A Ship Comes Home''
| Christopher Drew
|
| [[Daisy Fisher]]
| [[St Martins Theatre]]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1938
| ''The White Guard''
| Alexi Turbin
|
| [[Mikhail Bulgakov]]
| [[Phoenix Theatre (London)|Phoenix Theatre]]
|-
| ''[[Twelfth Night]]''
| Sir Andrew Agnechek
|
| William Shakespeare
| Phoenix Theatre
|-
| 1939
| ''[[The Family Reunion]]''
| Harry, Lord Monchesney
|
| [[T. S. Eliot]]
| [[Westminster Theatre]]
|-
| 1940
| ''[[The Beggar's Opera]]''
| [[Captain Macheath]]
|
| [[John Gay]]
| [[Theatre Royal, Haymarket]]
|-
| 1943
| ''[[A Month in the Country (play)|A Month in the Country]]''
| Rakitin
|
| [[Ivan Turgenev]]
| [[St James' Theatre]]
|-
| 1947
| ''[[Macbeth]]''
| Macbeth
|
| William Shakespeare
| [[Aldwych Theatre]]
|-
| 1958
| ''[[A Touch of the Sun (play)|A Touch of the Sun]]''
| Philip Lester
|
| [[N. C. Hunter]]
| [[Saville Theatre]]
|-
| 1959
| ''[[The Aspern Papers]]''
| H.J
|
| [[Henry James]]
| [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]], London
|-
| 1960
| ''[[The Tiger and the Horse]]''
| Jack Dean
| [[Frith Banbury]]
| [[Robert Bolt]]
| [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]], London
|-
| 1961
| ''The Complaisant Lover''
| Victor Rhodes
|
| [[Graham Greene]]
| [[Ethel Barrymore Theatre]], New York
|-
| 1962
| ''[[Out of Bounds (play)|Out of Bounds]]''
| Launcelot Dodd MA
|
| [[Arthur Watkyn]]
| [[Wyndham's Theatre]]
|-
| 1962-63
| ''[[Uncle Vanya]]''
| Uncle Vanya
| [[Laurence Olivier]]
| [[Anton Chekhov]]
| [[Chichester Festival Theatre]]
|-
| 1963
| ''[[Hamlet]]''
| [[King Claudius]]
| Laurence Olivier
| William Shakespeare
| National Theatre
|-
| 1964
| ''[[Hobson's Choice (play)|Hobson's Choice]]''
| Henry Horatio Hobson
|
| [[Harold Brighouse]]
| National Theatre
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1971
| ''The Old Boys''
| Mr Jaraby
|
| [[William Trevor]]
| [[Mermaid Theatre]]
|-
| ''[[A Voyage Round My Father]]''
| Father
|
| [[John Mortimer]]
| Theatre Royal, Haymarket
|-
| 1979
| ''Close of Play''
| Jasper
|
| [[Simon Gray]]
| [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]]
|-
|}

==Writings==
Redgrave wrote five books:
* ''Water Music for a Botanist'' W. Heffer, Cambridge (1929) Poem
* ''The Actor's Ways and Means'' Heinemann (1953)
* ''Mask or Face: Reflections in an Actor's Mirror'' Heinemann (1958)
* ''The Mountebank's Tale'' Heinemann (1959)
* ''In My Mind's I: An Actor's Autobiography'' Viking (1983) {{ISBN|0-670-14233-6}}

His plays include ''The Seventh Man'' and ''Circus Boy'', both performed at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1935, and his adaptations of ''A Woman in Love'' (''Amourese'') at the Embassy Theatre in 1949 and the [[Henry James]] novella ''The Aspern Papers'' at the [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]], in 1959.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* Alan Strachan, ''Secret Dreams: A Biography of Michael Redgrave'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004) {{ISBN|978-0-29760-764-9}}
* ''Who's Who in the Theatre'' 17th edition, Gale (1981) {{ISBN|0-8103-0235-7}}
* ''[[Theatre Record]]'' and its annual Indexes
* ''The Great Stage Stars'' by Sheridan Morley, Angus & Robertson (1986) {{ISBN|0-207-14970-4}}

==External links==

* {{AFI person | 111831-Michael-Redgrave }}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* {{iobdb name}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{Screenonline name|id=460508}}
* The [http://archiveshub.ac.uk/data/gb71-thm/31 Sir Michael Redgrave Archive] is held by the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] Theatre and Performance Department.

{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Michael Redgrave
|list =
{{Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor}}
{{Prix d'interprétation masculine 1946–1959}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Actor}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Redgrave, Michael}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
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[[Category:Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor winners]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Deaths from Parkinson's disease in England]]
[[Category:English bisexual male actors]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
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[[Category:Redgrave family|Michael]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Royal Navy sailors]]