Michael Standing (actor)

For other uses, see Michael Standing (disambiguation).

Michael Lionel Standing (born London, 19 June 1939; died 1 December 1984) was a British actor, appearing mostly in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Between an appearance in a 1964 episode of the TV series of The Saint and his final appearance in the 1973 opening season of The Tomorrow People in which he played Ginge, the biker heavy who became the Tomorrow People's ally, Standing appeared in a considerable number of dramas such as Z-Cars and the soap opera The Newcomers, and episodes of fantasy television series such as Adam Adamant Lives!, The Champions, and Ace of Wands.

Standing is probably best remembered for his role as Arthur in the 1969 film, The Italian Job, who was, as Michael Caine's character Croker famously observed "only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" after he had totally destroyed a van with gelignite.

The audio commentary to the DVD of the first Tomorrow People story, The Slaves of Jedikiah, comments that Standing has died, but gives no details. IMDb has entries up to 1990. According to digiguide.tv, Michael died on Saturday, December 1, 1984 at the age of 45. (http://digiguide.tv/celebrity/Michael+Standing/40349/)

Selected filmography

• Stranger in the House (1967)
• Up the Junction (1968)
• The Italian Job (1969)
• Made (1972)
• Aftershock (1990)

External links

• Michael Standing at IMDb