Michael Gwynn

Michael Gwynn

Born: November 30, 1916
Died: January 29, 1976
in Bath, Somerset, England, U.K.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Gwynn (30 November 1916 in Bath – 29 January 1976 in London) was an English actor. He attended Mayfield College near Mayfield, East Sussex. During the Second World War he served in East Africa as a Major and was Adjutant to the 2nd. Nyasaland Battalion, Kings African Rifles.

He is perhaps best remembered in contemporary culture as the shyster Lord Melbury who attempts to con £200 and a set of British Empire coins from the unsuspecting Basil Fawlty in the BBC comedy Fawlty Towers. Gwynn appears as Lord Melbury in the first ever episode of the series, "A Touch of Class".

Gwynn also appeared on several adaptations of plays on the Caedmon Records label. Among them were Cyrano de Bergerac, in which he played Le Bret, and Julius Caesar, in which he played Casca. Both productions starred Ralph Richardson in the title role.

He died on 29 January 1976 in London from a heart attack.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Michael Gwynn, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movies for Michael Gwynn...

British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves
Title: British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves
Character: Lord Melbury (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: September 12, 2016
Type: Movie
Documentary celebrating the British sitcom and taking a look at the social and political context from which our favourite sitcoms grew. We enjoy a trip through the comedy archive in the company of the people who made some of the very best British sitcoms. From The Likely Lads to I'm Alan Partridge, we find out the inspiration behind some of the most-loved characters and how they reflect the times they were living in.
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Spy Story
Title: Spy Story
Character: Dawlish
Released: January 1, 1976
Type: Movie
A nuclear war specialist returns from a mission gathering data on Soviet communications and electronic warfare techniques in the Arctic Ocean to find that his flat has been broken into and mysteriously re-decorated.
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Title: State of Emergency
Character: Professor Donati
Released: December 4, 1975
Type: TV
Thriller series set in a parallel Great Britain run by a fascist dictatorship
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Title: Poldark
Character: Justice Lister
Released: October 5, 1975
Type: TV
Period drama series about the brooding rivalry between former soldier Ross Poldark and local industrialist George Warleggan, and the two women in their lives. Based on the books by Winston Graham.
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Title: Fawlty Towers
Character: Lord Melbury
Released: September 19, 1975
Type: TV
Owner Basil Fawlty, his wife Sybil, a chambermaid Polly, and Spanish waiter Manuel attempt to run their hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding guests.
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A Coffin for the Bride
Title: A Coffin for the Bride
Character: Oliver Mason
Released: May 31, 1974
Type: Movie
Mark Walker is in the lucrative business of marrying wealthy older women and murdering them after the honeymoon. That all changes when he falls for cool blonde Stella McKenzie. He considers giving up his life of crime and finally marrying for love. The only obstacles in his way are a lawyer who suspects the truth, and temptation in the form of the perfect target for one more kill...
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Title: Thriller
Character: Oliver Mason
Released: April 14, 1973
Type: TV
Thriller is a British television series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast. As the title suggests, each story is a thriller of some variety, from tales of the supernatural to down-to-earth whodunits.
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Title: Colditz
Character: Standardtenführer Hessler
Released: October 19, 1972
Type: TV
Colditz is a British television series co-produced by the BBC and Universal Studios and screened between 1972 and 1974. The series deals with Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at the supposedly escape-proof Colditz Castle when designated Oflag IV-C during World War II, and their many attempts to escape captivity, as well as the relationships formed between the various nationalities and their German captors.
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Title: The Adventurer
Character: Sir Richard
Released: September 29, 1972
Type: TV
The Adventurer is an ITC Entertainment TV adventure series created by Dennis Spooner that ran for one season from 1972 to 1973. It premiered in the UK on 29 September 1972. The show starred Gene Barry as Gene Bradley, a government agent of independent means who poses as a glamorous American movie star.
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Title: Spy Trap
Released: March 13, 1972
Type: TV
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Title: Justice
Character: Brigadier Craig-Astley
Released: October 8, 1971
Type: TV
Justice is a British drama television series which originally aired on ITV in 39 hour-long episodes between 8 August 1971 and 16 October 1974. Margaret Lockwood stars as Harriet Peterson a female barrister in the North of England. It was made by Yorkshire Television and was based loosely on Justice Is a Woman, an episode of ITV Playhouse broadcast in 1969 in which Lockwood had previously also played a barrister. The theme music was Crown Imperial by William Walton.
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Title: Jason King
Released: September 15, 1971
Type: TV
Jason King - a suavely sophisticated former secret agent turned novelist - travels the world searching for material to fill his books, encountering an endless parade of glamorous women, exotic locales, menacing villains and daring intrigue! Before Austin Powers swung into action, Jason King set the standard for the hip crime-fighting international playboy!
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Scars of Dracula
Title: Scars of Dracula
Character: The Priest
Released: November 8, 1970
Type: Movie
The Prince of Darkness casts his undead shadow once more over the cursed village of Kleinenberg when his ashes are splashed with bat's blood and Dracula is resurrected. And two innocent victims search for a missing loved one... loved to death by Dracula's mistress. But after they discover his blood-drained corpse in Dracula's castle necropolis, the Vampire Lord's lustful vengeance begins.
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The Virgin Soldiers
Title: The Virgin Soldiers
Character: Lt Col Bromley-Pickering
Released: October 14, 1969
Type: Movie
The core of the plot is the romantic triangle formed by the protagonist, a conscripted soldier named Private Brigg, a worldly professional soldier named Sergeant Driscoll, and Phillipa Raskin, the daughter of the Regimental Sergeant Major. The location is a British army base in Singapore during the Malayan Emergency.
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Title: Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Character: Hyde Watson
Released: September 21, 1969
Type: TV
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) is a British private detective television series. In the initial episode Hopkirk is murdered during an investigation, but returns as a ghost. Randall is the only main character able to see or hear him, although certain minor characters are also able to do so in various circumstances throughout the series.
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Title: Department S
Character: Franz Drieker
Released: September 9, 1969
Type: TV
Department S is a United Kingdom spy-fi adventure series produced by ITC Entertainment. The series consists of 28 episodes which originally aired in 1969–1970. It starred Peter Wyngarde as author Jason King, Joel Fabiani as Stewart Sullivan, and Rosemary Nicols as computer expert Annabelle Hurst. The trio were agents for a fictional special department of Interpol. The head of Department S was Sir Curtis Seretse.
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Title: The Main Chance
Character: Judge
Released: June 18, 1969
Type: TV
The Main Chance was a British television series which first aired on ITV between 1969,1970,1972 and 1975. A drama, it depicts the sudden transformation in the life of solicitor David Main who relocates from London to Leeds.
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Title: The Expert
Character: Stephen Trimmer
Released: July 5, 1968
Type: TV
The Expert is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1968 and 1976. The series starred Marius Goring as Dr. John Hardy, a pathologist working for the Home Office and was essentially a police procedural drama, with Hardy bringing his forensic knowledge to solve various cases. The Expert was created and produced by Gerard Glaister. The series was also one of the first BBC dramas to be made in colour, and throughout its four series had numerous high quality guest appearances by actors such as John Carson, Peter Copley, Rachel Kempson, Peter Vaughan, Clive Swift, Geoffrey Palmer, Peter Barkworth, Jean Marsh, Ray Brooks, George Sewell, Anthony Valentine, Bernard Lee, Lee Montague, Geoffrey Bayldon, Mike Pratt, Edward Fox, André Morell, Brian Blessed, Nigel Stock, Philip Madoc and Warren Clarke.
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The Deadly Bees
Title: The Deadly Bees
Character: Doctor Lang
Released: December 23, 1966
Type: Movie
Trouble strikes when an exhausted pop singer, sent on a vacation to a farm, realizes that the farm's owner grows deadly bees.
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Title: Mystery and Imagination
Released: January 29, 1966
Type: TV
Mystery and Imagination is a British television anthology series of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 by the ITV network and produced by ABC and Thames Television.
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Catch Us If You Can
Title: Catch Us If You Can
Character: Hardingford
Released: July 15, 1965
Type: Movie
Dinah is a famous model and actress who is getting tired of life in the limelight and wants to take a break. While shooting a commercial spot for meat, she meets Steve, a stuntman. Dinah and Steve hit it off and decide to head to an island to get away from it all, bringing along four of Steve's friends. Before long, Dinah is reported missing and everyone is looking for her, making their getaway anything but tranquil.
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The Fall of the Roman Empire
Title: The Fall of the Roman Empire
Character: Cornelius
Released: March 24, 1964
Type: Movie
In the year 180 A.D. Germanic tribes are about to invade the Roman empire from the north. In the midst of this crisis ailing emperor Marcus Aurelius has to make a decission about his successor between his son Commodus, who is obsessed by power, and the loyal general Gaius Livius.
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The Horse Without a Head
Title: The Horse Without a Head
Character: Gendarme
Released: March 9, 1964
Type: Movie
Five pampered French children with their wheeled, headless, toy horse accidentally become tangled up in a plot to rob the Dijon- Paris express of 100,000,000. They foil the robbery when a thief stashes the key to his hiding place inside 'The Horse Without A Head'.
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Jason and the Argonauts
Title: Jason and the Argonauts
Character: Hermes
Released: June 19, 1963
Type: Movie
Jason, a fearless sailor and explorer, returns to his home land of Thessaly after a long voyage to claim his rightful throne. He learns, however, that he must first find the magical Golden Fleece. To do so, he must embark on an epic quest fraught with fantastic monsters and terrible perils.
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Cleopatra
Title: Cleopatra
Character: Cimber
Released: June 12, 1963
Type: Movie
Determined to hold on to the throne, Cleopatra seduces the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. When Caesar is murdered, she redirects her attentions to his general, Marc Antony, who vows to take power—but Caesar’s successor has other plans.
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Title: The Saint
Character: Martin Jeffroll
Released: October 4, 1962
Type: TV
Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who recovers ill-gotten wealth and redistributes it to those in need.
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Some People
Title: Some People
Character: Vicar
Released: May 31, 1962
Type: Movie
Four teen-aged Teds are persuaded to form a rock group and undertake the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme to keep them out of trouble.
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Barabbas
Title: Barabbas
Character: Lazarus
Released: December 23, 1961
Type: Movie
Epic account of the thief Barabbas, who was pardoned for his crimes and spared crucifixion when Pilate offered the Israelites a choice to pardon Barabbas or Jesus. Struggling with his spirituality, Barabbas goes through many ordeals leading him to the gladiatorial arena, where he tries to win his freedom and confront his inner demons, ultimately becoming a follower of the man who was crucified in his place.
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Question 7
Title: Question 7
Character: Friedrich Gottfried
Released: September 28, 1961
Type: Movie
Suspenseful story of a boy and his father, each forced to decide his future on his willingness to stand up for what he believes.
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What a Carve Up!
Title: What a Carve Up!
Character: Malcolm Broughton
Released: September 15, 1961
Type: Movie
Ernie's Uncle Gabriel has just died but to claim his inheritance he must spend the night in the ancestral family home with the rest of his rather eccentric relatives. Ernie's imagination has been affected by his constant immersion in cheap horror novels, but his wildest fears turn out to be justified when the guests begin to drop dead.
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Title: The Avengers
Character: Bill
Released: January 7, 1961
Type: TV
The Avengers is a British television series created in the 1960s. It initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed. Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women: Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King. Later episodes increasingly incorporated elements of science fiction and fantasy, parody and British eccentricity.
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Village of the Damned
Title: Village of the Damned
Character: Alan Bernard
Released: June 16, 1960
Type: Movie
In a small English village everyone suddenly falls unconscious. When they awake every woman of child bearing age is pregnant. The resulting children have the same strange blond hair, eyes and a strong connection to each other.
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Never Take Sweets from a Stranger
Title: Never Take Sweets from a Stranger
Character: Prosecutor
Released: March 4, 1960
Type: Movie
Peter Carter, his wife Sally and their young daughter Jean move to a sleepy Canadian village, where Peter has been hired as a school principal. Their idyll is shattered when Jean becomes the victim of an elderly, and extremely powerful, paedophile. The film was neither a box office nor a critical success, it garnered criticism for breaking a significant public taboo.
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The Doctor's Dilemma
Title: The Doctor's Dilemma
Character: Dr. Blenkinsop
Released: January 1, 1959
Type: Movie
Four doctors face a serious dilemma when the beautiful wife of a TB-stricken artist begs one of them to cure her brilliant, but amoral, husband.
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The Revenge of Frankenstein
Title: The Revenge of Frankenstein
Character: Karl
Released: June 13, 1958
Type: Movie
Rescued from the guillotine by his devoted dwarf Fritz, the Baron relocates to Carlsbruck, where he continues his gruesome experiments.
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The Camp on Blood Island
Title: The Camp on Blood Island
Character: Tom Shields
Released: April 15, 1958
Type: Movie
Set in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War II, the film focuses on the brutality and horror that the allied prisoners were exposed to as the Japanese metered out subjugation and punishment to a disgraced and defeated enemy. This harrowing drama concentrates on the deviations of legal and moral definitions when two opposing cultures clash. Although fictional, this was one of the earliest films to deal realistically with life and death in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp during the Second War.
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Dunkirk
Title: Dunkirk
Character: Commander (Sheerness)
Released: March 20, 1958
Type: Movie
A British Corporal in France finds himself responsible for the lives of his men when their officer is killed. He has to get them back to Britain somehow. Meanwhile, British civilians are being dragged into the war with Operation Dynamo, the scheme to get the French and British forces back from the Dunkirk beaches. Some come forward to help, others were less willing.
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The Secret Place
Title: The Secret Place
Character: Steve Waring
Released: February 6, 1957
Type: Movie
British Melodrama and crime thriller that follows a group of jewel robbers after a major heist. The film makes extensive use of bombed out areas of London.
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The Runaway Bus
Title: The Runaway Bus
Character: 1st Transport Officer
Released: September 28, 1953
Type: Movie
When heavy fog prevents any flights from leaving London Airport, a group of passengers are put on a bus driven by Percy Lamb to drive to another airport. The fog is that heavy Percy doesn't know where he is going or that he is carrying stolen gold bullion that the robbers and police are relentlessly pursuing.