Farewell to Alfred and the Celestial Toymaker...

Star of stage and screen and cult legend Michael Gough passed away today, March 17, 2011. He was 94 years old.

Gough was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya (now Malaysia), the son of British parents Frances Atkins (née Bailie) and Francis Berkeley Gough on November 23, 1916. Although he objected to World War II, he felt obligated to serve his country in the Non-Combatant Corps, and was a member of the No. 6 NCC in Liverpool. From 1947 until his retirement in 2000, he acted in film, television, and toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He made his film debut in 1948 in Blanche Fury, the plot of which was based on an actual Victorian England homicide case. Over the years, he appeared with such notable actors as Vivien Leigh, Ralph Richardson and Sir Laurence Olivier.

Gough appeared in two separate Doctor Who serials, the first as the villain in the William Hartnell serial “The Celestial Toymaker”. He then appeared as Councilor Hedin in the Peter Davison story “Arc of Infinity”. He also has quite a cult following due to his involvement in many horror films, some of them by Hammer Studios, where he starred with another Doctor Who actor, Peter Cushing (albeit, not a canon doctor), as well as having worked with horror legend Christopher Lee.

In the 80s, he appeared in the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol, the spy movie spoof Top Secret!, and the Wes Craven horror outing The Serpent and the Rainbow. Also, along with Pat Hingle, he is the only other actor to have appeared in all four of the Burton/Schumacher Batman films, starring as Bruce Wayne’s faithful butler and confidant Alfred Pennyworth. He also appeared in six commercials for OnStar as Alfred. Tim Burton would also use him in 1999’s Sleepy Hollow, 2005’s Corpse Bride, and even convinced him to come out of retirement for his recent re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland, the second time he would be in a version of the story.

Gough won a Tony Award in 1979 for Best Actor in Bedroom Farce, and was nominated in 1988 for Breaking the Code, and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for both performances. He also won a BAFTA TV award in 1957, and was nominated in 1988. Gough was married four times, one of his wives being Doctor Who actor Anneke Wills, who played the Doctor's companion Polly. He is survived by his fourth wife, Henrietta, daughter Emma and sons Simon and Jasper.

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