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Michael Thomas (actor)

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Michael Thomas
Born(1952-04-11)11 April 1952
Died4 March 2019(2019-03-04) (aged 66)
London, England
Spouse
(m. 1985)
ChildrenEdwin Thomas
Letty Thomas

Michael Thomas (11 April 1952 – 4 March 2019)[1] was a British theatre actor, who worked on the English stage and screen for the past forty years. His career saw him work for the Old Vic, the National Theatre, and the RSC on numerous occasions.[2]

He also appeared on television, e.g. in Inspector Morse, episode "Ghost in the Machine", as John McKendrick and also in the Endeavour episode "Sway" as Rufus Haldane.[3][4]

Thomas toured in Sam Mendes' production of As You Like It and The Tempest, playing to theatres in New York, China, Singapore, Germany, Holland, Paris, Madrid, London and Greece (Epidaurus).[5][6] Most recently, Thomas has appeared in All's Well That Ends Well, St. Joan and Pillars of the Community at the National, Waste and Festen at the Almeida Theatre, King Lear and In Praise of Love at The Chichester Festival Theatre and Women Beware Women, Edward II, The Roman Actor, Henry V, The Comedy of Errors, and Henry V at the RSC.[7][8][9]

He was married until his death to the actress Selina Cadell, and has two children, Edwin and Letty.[8] He was born and raised in Southend-on-Sea and was a keen sailor.[8] In 2010, Michael was diagnosed with an aggressive form of myeloma, and received a life-saving bone marrow donation from Jeremy Brice, who was registered as a donor with Anthony Nolan.[10]

On 9 March 2019 his son Edwin posted on Twitter, "I'm sad to announce my wonderful Dad, the actor Michael Thomas, left us all for his journey North in the early hours of Mon. morning. He was at home, surrounded by love, & after such a fight is surely now sailing the North Sea he loved so much. Am so proud to be his son. Edwin x". Thomas died on Monday 4 March.[1] His funeral was in Stoke Newington on 10 March.[11]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1980 Twelfth Night Sebastian BBC Television Shakespeare
1990 Paper Mask Teaching Doctor
2009 The Boat That Rocked Sandford
2009 National Theatre Live: All's Well That Ends Well Lafew
2014 The Crucible Reverend Parris
2019 The Crown Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester Posthumous release

References

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  1. ^ a b Smurthwaite, Nick (19 March 2019). "Obituary: Michael Thomas – 'widely admired stage and TV actor'". Thestage.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Playbill". Archived from the original on 5 June 2011.
  3. ^ "Michael Thomas". IMDb.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Michael Thomas". BFI. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020.
  5. ^ Vincentelli, Elisabeth (26 February 2010). "Shakespeare's shipwreck tale as we like it".
  6. ^ "As You Like It / The Tempest | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com.
  7. ^ "The Bridge Project". Archived from the original on 19 April 2010.
  8. ^ a b c MacGibbon, Hamish (18 April 2019). "Michael Thomas obituary". the Guardian.
  9. ^ "Michael Thomas | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  10. ^ "PHD student saves actor Michael Thomas's life". Anthonynolan.org. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Michael Thomas' funeral - Poetic Endings - Award-Winning Modern Funeral Directors in Forest Hill, London". Poetic Endings.
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