Michael Brandon (Actor)

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Michael Brandon (born April 20, 1945 in Brooklyn , New York ) is an American actor . He became known, among other things, through the role of the American Lt. James Dempsey in the British television series " Dempsey & Makepeace " .

Life

Brandon's family moved to Valley Stream , Long Island from New York City when he was nine years old. He dropped out of college early but took writing classes alongside work. In 1965 he applied to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and was accepted, although he did not even have experience from school theater. In 1967 he completed his acting training there and in the same year began his career with a theater production of: "The Rainmaker" . In 1969 he got a role in the musical "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?" And played with Al Pacino . He was also able to play a supporting role in an episode of the series "Medical Center" .

In 1970 he moved to Los Angeles and got one of the leading roles in the comedy film " Lovers and Other Strangers " with the role of Mike Vecchjio . After filming was over, he went to Venice , where he played the role of Marcus on "Jennifer on My Mind" in 1971 . He was filming Four Flies on Gray Velvet under Dario Argento . After spending almost a year in Italy, he returned to the United States via London . It was there that Brandon began his actual television career in 1971 with the role of Frank Pescadero in "The Impatient Heart," directed by John Badham . From 1972 he played in a variety of television productions in Los Angeles, including "Hitchhike" , the Civil War drama "The Red Badge of Courage" and the TV musical " Die Ballkönigin " .

In 1975 Michael Brandon met Lindsay Wagner , with whom he was married from 1976 to 1979. During these years he appeared in "James Dean" , "The Comedy Company" , "FM" and "A Vacation in Hell" . In 1980 he starred in the film " Seasons of a Marriage " directed by Richard Lang . A love scene in the television production "Rich and Famous" with Jacqueline Bisset was rated as one of the ten sexiest scenes in film history by Rolling Stone magazine .

In 1983 he moved to London and began directing the crime series " Dempsey & Makepeace " (1984-1987, three seasons), in which he not only played the male lead of James Dempsey , but also directed with William Brayne . The female lead Harriet "Harry" Makepeace is played by the British actress Glynis Barber from Durban ( South Africa ) - born Glynis van der Riet during the apartheid period , divorced from the actor Paul Anthony Barber after a short marriage.

He then shot " The Unbelievable Stories of Roald Dahl " for ITV in 1988 and went back to Los Angeles. Here he played the male lead Jeff Robins in the Disney family comedy " Rock 'n' Roll Mam " . Also in 1988 he was invited to Italy to film “Dennis Potters' Visitors” for the BBC .

Back in Los Angeles in 1989, he directed an episode of the horror series "Monsters" . In the pilot film "Divided We Stand" by Aaron Spelling , he played the role of Bryan Gibbs , after which he accepted an offer from a French producer and director for four TV films in France and rented a house in southern France on the Côte d'Azur . In France he then played the leading role of Tom Lepski in the TV productions "Trau kein Schurken" , "The Nice Coup" , "Murderous Vengeance" and "A Man Knows Too Much" . Also in 1990 he played the lead role of Robert Halliday in the British TV thriller “Time is running out” , but he returned to London.

He has been married to Glynis Barber since November 18, 1990 , whom he met while filming "Dempsey & Makepeace" . In 1991 they both moved to Los Angeles, and their son Alexander was born the following year. In 1991 he played the role of Arlen Marshall in the two-part graduation film of the series " Denver-Clan " "Dynasty: The Reunion" . There followed again appearances in television series and various television films. In 1996 he appeared in the comedy film "The Disappearance of Kevin Johnson" as Jeff Littman and then moved back to London with his family. In the television film: "The Apocalypse Watch" he appeared again together with his wife Glynis Barber as the American ambassador couple. In the 1997 film "Déjà vu" he played the role of husband Alex . He continued to appear as a guest star in individual episodes of television series. In the thriller "When Touched Death" from 2000 he played the role of Wyles .

In 2000 he started with Stefanie Powers in the play: "The Adjustment" to play. In 2003 he took on the role of Jerry Springer in the musical "Jerry Springer - The Opera" . In addition, he - like his wife - still appears in a wide variety of television roles.

Filmography (selection)

( Series Final Finale - The Denver Clan )

Awards

In 2004 he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in "Jerry Springer - The Opera" at the Royal National Theater .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Brandon, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American television actor and director
DATE OF BIRTH April 20, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn , New York