- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMichael William ffolliott Aldridge
- Height6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
- Excellent British character actor who played in the theater from 1939 to 1986 ("French Without Tears", "Othello" [as "the Moor", a role he had already played at the age of seventeen in a school production], "She Stoops to Conquer", "Jeeves"...) and also appeared in scores of movies, TV movies and TV series. Often cast as aristocratic types, he is best remembered for his role as "Pistol" in Orson Welles's Chimes at Midnight (1965). On TV, among many others, he starred as P.G. Wodehouse's famous valet "Jeeves" in Thank You, P.G. Wodehouse (1981), co-starred with Robin Bailey in the mini-series Charters & Caldicott (1985) and was a picturesque "Professor Digory Kirke" in the television version of The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1988).- IMDb Mini Biography By: Guy Bellinger
- The son of a doctor he was educated at Was educated at Watford Grammar School and Gresham School Holt where he made his first steps on the stage although not very auspicious but he was determined on that as his chosen career and got a part in every show that the school' dramatic society put on. As Ben Travers was one of the school governors Michael buttonholed him after one performance and asked him if he thought a stage career was a good choice and got a less than fulsome recommendation. Undeterred as soon as he left school Michael joined the local rep and made his debut at the Palace Theatre Watford in August 1939 in French Without Tears. Theatre ambitions were soon interrupted with war service in which he served as an RAF rear gunner, observer and navigator in South and East Africa, Demobbed in 1946 he went back into rep where he built the foundations of a solid career, In 1950 he joined the Old Vic playing in Shakespeare, Goldsmith and Moliere playing many classic roles underpinning with with a season at the Bristol Old Vic in 1951/52 in which he played any classic roles. At one time he was rarely out of the West End except by choice for seasons at Stratford and Chichester, He also appeared on television in particular as the wastrel Rollo Aspen in the H E Bates serial Love FRor Lydia in 1977 and as the retired headmaster Seynour Utterthwaite in Last of the Summer Wine.Away from work he enjoyed sailing his 25 ft sloop out of Chichester were he lived for some years before moving to Greenwich. He married Kirsten Rowntree with whom he had 3 daughters- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tonyman 5
- SpouseKristeen Rowntree(1947 - January 10, 1994) (his death, 3 children)
- Had a 25 foot Bermudan sloop in which he did regular trips to the Channel Islands.
- He was a skillful carpenter.
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