Keith Michell

Keith Joseph Michell (1 December 1926 – 20 November 2015) was an Australian actor who worked primarily in the United Kingdom, and was best known for his television and film portrayals of King Henry VIII.

He was an artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre in the 1970s and later had a recurring role on Murder, She Wrote as the charming thief Dennis Stanton.

He was also known for illustrating a collection of Jeremy Lloyd's poems Captain Beaky, and singing the title song from the associated album.

Michell was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Film for his performance as Harry Bell in True as a Turtle (1957).

Then, at Stratford-upon-Avon, he appeared in a series of Shakespeare plays: The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Troilus and Cressida, and Romeo and Juliet.

In 1956, on television, he played Henry Higgins in Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw and, the same year, at the Royal Court Theatre, he starred in the title role in Ronald Duncan's Don Juan and in several Old Vic Company productions as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, Proteus in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Antony in Antony and Cleopatra and Aaron in Titus Andronicus.

[3] In 1958, he played Nestor-Le-Fripe in the musical Irma La Douce, also starring in the role with the National Theatre in Washington, DC, and on Broadway in 1960–1961.

[9] On American television from 1988 to 1993, Michell made appearances on the mystery series Murder, She Wrote, playing Dennis Stanton, a former jewel thief turned insurance claims investigator.

They had a son, Paul who was the lead singer of 80s band the Roaring Boys, and a daughter, Helena, who appeared in the films Prick Up Your Ears and Maurice.