Michael York

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Michael York (1986)
Michael York (2008)

Michael York OBE (born March 27, 1942 in Fulmer , Buckinghamshire ; actually Michael Hugh Johnson ) is a British actor . In the 1970s, York became popular as a performer in teen hero roles. His best-known films include Cabaret , The Three Musketeers , Escape into the 23rd Century and Austin Powers .

life and work

Michael York was born the son of a businessman and a musician. As a youth he was a member of the National Youth Theater of England. In the early 1960s he studied at Oxford University , where he also took acting lessons. After graduating from Oxford, the actor first worked at the Scottish Theater in Dundee , before York then moved to Laurence Olivier's National Theater in London . There he worked with the Italian director Franco Zeffirelli , who then gave him his first film role in the Shakespeare film The Taming of the Shrew in 1967 . His second film with Zeffirelli was to be his international breakthrough: He played "Tybalt" in Romeo and Juliet 1968. He took his first major television role in 1967 in a film adaptation of John Galsworthy's Forsythe saga .

York reached the peak of his career in the 1970s. After quickly gaining popularity, he took on the male lead in Bob Fosse's musical film Cabaret in 1972, opposite Liza Minnelli . This film won eight Academy Awards. He played his most famous part in 1973 as D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers , a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Alexandre Dumas and directed by Richard Lester . The film proved so popular that it drew two sequels in 1974 and 1989, in which York again impersonated the role of D'Artagnan. Also in 1973 he made his Broadway debut in Out Cry . He played as Count Andrenyi in the star-studded Agatha Christie filming Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and took on the hero role of "Logan 5" in the science fiction film Escape into the 23rd Century (1976) directed by Michael Anderson . York was seen on television in a few selected, elaborate productions in the 1970s: in 1974 he played the lead role of Pip in the Charles Dickens adaptation Great Expectations , three years later he appeared in Zeffirelli's Bible adaptation Jesus of Nazareth as John the Baptist on.

In the 1980s, however, hardly any major film roles were found for York and he turned increasingly to television productions, such as the law of terror and Knots Landing . He also increasingly turned in European feature films. For example, in 1987 he took on a role in the German crime film Der Joker alongside Peter Maffay . He later shot again for German productions: in 1996 and again in 2008 he was seen in two films in the German Rosamunde Pilcher television series.

In the 1990s, York was able to record some theater successes with a few appearances on Broadway. From 1997 onwards York played in three comedies about the bizarre secret agent " Austin Powers " the role of the secret service chief Basil Exposition, the boss of Austin Powers. In 2003 and 2004, York played the role of Yale professor “Asher Fleming” in the successful US television series Gilmore Girls . In the 2000s, York also acted more and more often as a narrator of audio books and documentaries (including biographies about Alexander Hamilton , Orson Welles , William Powell ). He also lends his voice to guest roles in cartoon series such as The Simpsons , Family Guy and Star Wars . Since 2017 he has been speaking the recurring role of the veterinarian Dr. Lionel Budgie .

Private

Michael York still lives in England today and has been married to the photographer Patricia McCallum since 1968 . He is the stepfather of film producer Rick McCallum . In 1991 his autobiography was published under the title Accidentally on Purpose .

In 2013, York announced that he was diagnosed with the blood disease amyloidosis in 2009 . A successful stem cell transplant in 2012 enabled him to treat the disease, which in many cases was fatal within a few years. Nevertheless, his acting activity has been limited since then. With public appearances and his book The Readiness Is All published in 2018, he tries to draw public attention to the little-known disease.

Awards

Filmography (selection)

movie theater

watch TV

Michael York (1999)
  • 1967: Die Forsyte Saga ( The Forsyte Saga ; television miniseries, 2 episodes)
  • 1974: Great Expectations ( Great Expectations ; TV movie)
  • 1977: Jesus of Nazareth ( Gesù di Nazareth ; TV miniseries, 2 episodes)
  • 1979: The Fearless ( A Man Called Intrepid ; television miniseries, 3 episodes)
  • 1983: The Phantom of Budapest ( The Phantom of the Opera ; TV movie)
  • 1983: This is Life ( The Weather in the Streets ; TV movie)
  • 1985: Space - Man reaches for the stars ( Space ; TV miniseries, 5 episodes)
  • 1986: Gideon's Sword ( Sword of Gideon ; TV movie)
  • 1987: The Secret of the Sahara ( Il segreto del Sahara ; TV series, 4 episodes)
  • 1987–1988: Under the California Sun (TV series, 8 episodes)
  • 1991: Duel of Hearts (TV movie)
  • 1995–1996: seaQuest DSV (TV series, 3 episodes)
  • 1996: Babylon 5 (TV series, 1 episode)
  • 1996: Rosamunde Pilcher - September (TV movie)
  • 1997: Ripper - Der Schlitzer ( The Ripper ; TV movie)
  • 2002: Stop it, Larry! ( Curb Your Enthusiasm ; TV series, 4 episodes)
  • 2003–2004: Gilmore Girls (TV series, 4 episodes)
  • 2004: Lady Musketeer - All for One (TV miniseries; La Femme Musketeer , 2 episodes)
  • since 2006: The Simpsons (TV series, 5 episodes) (voice only)
  • 2006: Criminal Intent (TV series, episode "Blondes Preferred")
  • 2008: Rosamunde Pilcher: Four Seasons (four-part TV series)
  • 2009: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (TV series, 2 episodes) (voice only)
  • 2010: Family Guy (TV series, 1 episode) (voice only)
  • 2010: How I Met Your Mother (TV series, 1 episode)

Web links

Commons : Michael York  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael York at Allmovie
  2. ↑ Michael York at the Internet Broadway Database
  3. ↑ Michael York's website
  4. ↑ Article in the "Bunte"
  5. ^ Actor Michael York Sells Off his Art Collection. Retrieved April 26, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Michael York. Retrieved October 28, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME York, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Michael Hugh Johnson (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor
DATE OF BIRTH March 27, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Fulmer , Buckinghamshire