Michael Redgrave
English actor and filmmaker, dominant figure of mid-20th-century British stage.
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English actor and filmmaker. He began on the stage, making his West End debut in 1937, and first appeared on screen the following year in Alfred Hitchcock’s *The Lady Vanishes*. Alongside John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, and Ralph Richardson, he formed a celebrated quartet of male actors who defined mid-20th-century British theatre.
Redgrave earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for *Mourning Becomes Electra* (1947) and two BAFTA nominations for Best British Actor for *The Night My Number Came Up* (1955) and *Time Without Pity* (1957). He won the Best Actor prize at the 4th Cannes Film Festival for *The Browning Version* (1951).
Born in Bristol to actress Margaret Scudamore and silent film actor Roy Redgrave, he was six months old when his father left for Australia. Roy died when Redgrave was 14. His mother then married tea planter Captain James Anderson, a stepfather Redgrave strongly disliked. He attended Clifton College in Bristol; the school’s theatre, opened by Redgrave in 1966 as the first purpose-built school theatre in the country, was later renamed The Redgrave Theatre in his honour. At Magdalene College, Cambridge, he studied modern languages and English, earning acclaim on stage under Dadie Rylands for roles including Edgar, Prince Hal, and Captain Brassbound. With Anthony Blunt and Robin Fedden, he edited the avant-garde literary magazine *The Venture*, which published work by Louis MacNeice, Julian Bell, and John Lehmann. He graduated with a third-class degree in 1931. For three years he taught modern languages at Cranleigh School in Surrey, directing the boys in *Hamlet*, *King Lear*, and *The Tempest* while playing all the leads himself.
His first professional appearance was at Liverpool’s Playhouse on 30 August 1934 as Roy Darwin in *Counsellor-at-Law*. He spent two years with the Liverpool Repertory Company, where he met his future wife, Rachel Kempson. Hired by Tyrone Guthrie, he made his London professional debut at the Old Vic on 14 September 1936 as Ferdinand in *Love’s Labours Lost*. In the 1936–37 season 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 standout role was Orlando; Edith Evans played his Rosalind, and the two fell deeply in love. R
- born
- 20 March 1908
- died
- 21 March 1985
- field
- Actor and filmmaker
- nationality
- English
- known_for
- Member of the quartet of male actors dominating the British stage; Academy Award nomination for Mourning Becomes Electra; Best Actor at Cannes for The Browning Version
Lore & Background
Redgrave was born in Bristol, England, to actress Margaret Scudamore and silent film actor Roy Redgrave. His father left when Redgrave was six months old to pursue a career in Australia and died when Redgrave was 14. His mother married Captain James Anderson, a tea planter, whom Redgrave greatly disliked. He attended Clifton College in Bristol, then studied modern languages and English triposes at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he edited the avant-garde literary magazine The Venture. He graduated with a third-class degree in 1931 and taught modern languages at Cranleigh School for three years before becoming an actor in 1934.
Redgrave made his professional stage debut in Liverpool in 1934 and his London debut at the Old Vic in 1936. During World War II, he joined the Royal Navy as an ordinary seaman in July 1941 but was discharged on medical grounds in November 1942. He continued acting and directing throughout the 1950s and 1960s, joining the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre company and performing at the National Theatre. He won Best Actor at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards twice, for A Touch of the Sun in 1958 and for Uncle Vanya in 1963. He also directed operas at Glyndebourne and adapted Henry James's The Aspern Papers for the stage.
Reader's Guide
Michael Redgrave's significance lies in his place among the four actors—alongside Gielgud, Olivier, and Richardson—who defined British theatre in the mid-20th century. His film work earned him an Academy Award nomination for Mourning Becomes Electra and a Best Actor award at the 4th Cannes Film Festival for The Browning Version. On stage, his performances in Shakespeare and modern plays were critically acclaimed, and his direction of both plays and operas demonstrated his versatility. His legacy includes the Redgrave Theatre at Clifton College, named after him, and his influence on subsequent generations of actors, including his daughter Vanessa Redgrave. His career was marked by a struggle with Parkinson's disease, which affected his later performances.
Did You Know?
- Redgrave made his film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes in 1938.
- He won Best Actor at the 4th Cannes Film Festival for The Browning Version (1951).
- He taught modern languages at Cranleigh School for three years before becoming an actor.
- The Redgrave Theatre at Clifton College was originally opened as the first purpose-built school theatre in the country in 1966.
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