Michael Wilding (actor)

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Michael Wilding (born July 23, 1912 in Westcliff-on-Sea , Essex , England , † July 8, 1979 in London , England) was a British actor .

Life

In the 1930s, Michael Wilding gained his first stage and film experience. For example, he toured Australia and New Zealand with Fay Compton's theater company in 1937 and 1938. Wilding became a star in British cinema in the early 1940s, with his appearance in the comedy Dear Octopus (1943) alongside Margaret Lockwood made him known. He also appeared on the side of Anna Neagle in a number of films . Wilding developed with his "good looks and dashing personality" to one of the leading actors of romantic lovers in Great Britain, from 1947 he was chosen six times in a row among the ten most popular British film stars. He took on important roles in the Alfred Hitchcock films Slave of the Heart (1949) and The Red Lola (1950).

In 1952 he signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and moved to Hollywood, where he played the pharaoh in the monumental film Sinuhe the Egyptians (1954) and appeared as a lover of Leslie Caron in The Glass Slipper (1955). Overall, however, his success in Hollywood soon waned; he played more supporting roles and appeared as a guest actor on television. From the 1960s, Wilding's film appearances became less frequent, not least due to health problems associated with his epilepsy . His last appearance was in 1973 in the television film Frankenstein: The True Story , since the 1930s Wilding has appeared in more than 60 productions.

His first marriage was from 1937 to 1951 with the actress Kay Young. In 1952 he married Elizabeth Taylor, who was 20 years his junior . From this marriage two sons were born: Michael junior (* 1953) and Christopher (* 1955). In 1957 the marriage ended in divorce. From 1958 to 1963 he was married to Susan Neill and from 1964 to her death in 1976 with the actress Margaret Leighton . After Leighton's death, he largely withdrew from the public eye. He died in July 1979 at the age of 66 after falling down a flight of stairs during an epileptic seizure and sustaining a head injury.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Wilding, Sr. | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie. Retrieved November 14, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Wilding, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor
DATE OF BIRTH July 23, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Essex , UK
DATE OF DEATH July 8, 1979
Place of death London , UK