Years active 1933–1973 Name Michael Wilding | Role Television actor | |
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Full Name Michael Charles Gauntlet Wilding Born 23 July 1912 ( 1912-07-23 ) Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, United Kingdom Cause of death Head injury sustained in a fall Died July 8, 1979, Chichester, United Kingdom Children Christopher Edward Wilding, Michael Wilding Jr. Spouse Margaret Leighton (m. 1964–1976) Books The Wilding Way: The Story of My Life Movies Under Capricorn, Stage Fright, The Glass Slipper, The Egyptian, The World of Suzie Wong Similar People Elizabeth Taylor, Christopher Edward Wilding, Mike Todd, Conrad Hilton - Jr, Larry Fortensky | ||
Elizabeth taylor michael wilding by richard bassett
Michael Charles Gauntlet Wilding (23 July 1912 – 8 July 1979) was an English stage, television and film actor. He is best known for a series of films he made with Anna Neagle and for being Elizabeth Taylor's second husband.
Contents
- Elizabeth taylor michael wilding by richard bassett
- The glass slipper stereo take my love michael wilding gilbert russell
- Early life
- Acting Career
- Stardom
- Collaboration with Anna Neagle
- Hollywood
- Supporting Actor
- Final Films
- Box office ranking
- Personal life
- Death
- Filmography
- References
The glass slipper stereo take my love michael wilding gilbert russell
Early life
Born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, and educated at Christ's Hospital, Wilding left home at age 17 and trained as a commercial artist. He went to Europe when he was 20 supported himself in Europe by doing sketches. He wanted to get into designing sets for films and approached a London film studio in 1933 looking for work. They invited him to come to work as an extra.
Acting Career
Wilding appeared as an extra in British films such as Bitter Sweet (1933), Heads We Go (1933), and Channel Crossing (1933). He caught the acting bug and decided to make it a career. He reportedly appeared in an Austrian film called Pastrole.
He made his stage debut in The Ringer in 1934 for the Watford Repertory Company and made his London stage debut in Chase the Ace the following year. He could be spotted in the films Late Extra (1935), When Knights Were Bold (1936) and Wedding Group (1936). He was in two musicals on stage, Spread It Abroad and Home and Beauty.
In 1937-38 he toured Australia and New Zealand with Fay Compton's stage company. The plays included Personal Appearance, Victoria Regina, Tonight at Eight Thirty and George and Margaret. While in Australia he filmed a prologue for Personal Appearance.
Back in England he apopeared in the first Gate Revue, then followed this with another revue, Let's Face It and a pantomime, Who's Taking Liberty.
He had bigger film parts in There Ain't No Justice (1939), Convoy (1940), and Tilly of Bloomsbury (1940). He had a good role in Sailors Three (1940), and Sailors Don't Care (1940).
Wilding had a leading role in Spring Meeting (1941) but was back to support parts in The Farmer's Wife (1941). His films grew more prestigious: Kipps (1941), Cottage to Let (1941), Ships with Wings (1941), The Big Blockade (1941), In Which We Serve (1942), Secret Mission (1942) and Undercover (1943). He played in Quiet Weekend on stage for a year. In 1943 he performed for the troops in Gibraltar with John Gielgud.
Stardom
Wilding finally became a film name with Dear Octopus (1943). He followed it with English Without Tears (1944).
Collaboration with Anna Neagle
What really made him a star was appearing opposite Anna Neagle in Piccadilly Incident (1946). Director Herbert Wilcox had wanted Rex Harrison or John Mills and only taken Wilding reluctantly. However once he saw the rushes he signed Wilding to a long term contract. Piccadilly Incident was the second most popular film at the British box office in 1946.
After co-starring with Sally Gray in Carnival (1946), Wilding was reunited with Neagle and Wilcox in The Courtneys of Curzon Street (1947), the biggest hit at the 1947 British box office and one of the most seen British films of all time. Alexander Korda cast him opposite in Paulette Goddard in An Ideal Husband (1947), another hit, but it failed to recoup its enormous cost.
Wilding, Neagle and Wilcox reteamed for Spring in Park Lane (1948), another monster hit. It led to a sequel, Maytime in Mayfair (1949), which was also hugely popular.
Wilding was now one of the biggest stars in Britain- indeed he was voted as such by the readers of Kine Weekly. Alfred Hitchcock cast him in Under Capricorn (1949) opposite Ingrid Bergman, shot in Hollywood. It was one of Hitchcock's few flops.
Hitchcok used Wilding again in the more popular Stage Fright (1950), filmed in London with Marlene Dietrich and Jane Wyman.
Wilcox used him in a film without Neagle, Into the Blue (1950) and the public response was considerably less enthusiastic than for the films they made together. He put Anouk Aimee under personal contract and announced plans to make a movie together but none resulted.
Hollywood
MGM made an offer for Wilding to appear opposite Greer Garson in The Law and the Lady (1951); the film was not a success. He returned to Britain for The Lady with a Lamp (1951), a biopic of Florence Nightingale with Neagle and Wilcox. It was popular in Britain, though less so than their earlier collaborations.
So too was Derby Day (1952), the last Neagle-Wilding collaboration. Wilcox tried Wilding with a new star, Margaret Lockwood in Trent's Last Case (1952), a minor hit. In 1952 British exhibitors voted him the fourth most popular star at the local box office.
In May 1952 Wilding signed a long term contract with MGM. He turned down a role in MGM's Latin Lovers and the studio put him under suspension.
In Hollywood, Wilding supported Joan Crawford in MGM's Torch Song (1953). 20th Century Fox borrowed him to play a Pharaoh in their big budget spectacular, The Egyptian (1954), which was a box office disappointment.
At MGM he was Prince Charming to Leslie Caron's Cinderella in The Glass Slipper (1955), and Major John Andre in The Scarlet Coat (1956).
Supporting Actor
Wilding's marriage to Elizabeth Taylor ended and he returned to Britain to appear in Zarak (1956) for Warwick Films. He began appearing regularly on US television, including the title role in the 1957 episode "The Trial of Colonel Blood" of NBC's anthology series The Joseph Cotten Show.
He had some good roles in Danger Within (1959), a POW movie; The World of Suzie Wong (1960); The Naked Edge (1961); The Best of Enemies (1961); A Girl Named Tamiko (1962).
Final Films
His last roles included The Sweet Ride (1968) and Waterloo (1970).
His last appearance in a feature was in an uncredited, non-speaking cameo in Lady Caroline Lamb (1972), which co-starred his last wife, Margaret Leighton. His last role was in the TV movie Frankenstein: The True Story (1973).
Box-office ranking
At the peak of his career, British exhibitors voted him among the most popular stars in the country:
Personal life
Wilding was married four times: to Kay Young (married 1937, divorced 1951), actress Elizabeth Taylor (married 1952, divorced 1957), Susan Nell (married 1958, divorced 1962), and actress Margaret Leighton (married 1964 until her death in 1976).
He and Taylor, who was 20 years his junior, had two sons, Michael Howard Wilding (born 1953) and Christopher Edward Wilding (born 1955). In 1957, he had a short-lived romance with actress Marie McDonald, who was nicknamed "The Body".
In the 1960s he was forced to cut back on his film appearances because of illness related to his lifelong epilepsy.
Death
Wilding died in Chichester, West Sussex, as a result of head injuries suffered from a fall down a flight of stairs during an epileptic seizure. His body was cremated and the ashes were scattered.