Michael Allinson was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 stage and film actor.

Biography

Allinson was born on 30 December 1920, in London. He was the son of British painter and sculptor Adrian Allinson, founding member of the avant garde London Group of painters. He was the grandson of doctor and nutritionist Thomas Allinson

Thomas Allinson

Thomas Richard Allinson was a British doctor, dietetic reformer, business man and journalist. He was a proponent of whole grain bread consumption. His name is still used today for a bread popular in Europe, Allinson bread....

, the founder of the Allinson Bread Company.

Allinson attended Ryeford Hall, Wycliffe College in Gloucestershire

Wycliffe College (Gloucestershire)

Wycliffe College is a co-educational independent school located in the town of Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, in the West of England. The school was founded in 1882 by GW Sibly, and comprises a Nursery School for ages 2 – 4, a Preparatory School for ages 4 – 13, and a Senior School catering for...

, and the University of Lausanne

University of Lausanne

The University of Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of theology, before being made a university in 1890. Today about 12,000 students and 2200 researchers study and work at the university...

. Allinson was trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...

. Allinson served as a Captain

Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)

Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Allinson emigrated to the United States in the summer of 1958.

Acting career

Allinson performed extensively on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

, where he took over the role of Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...

during the 1960 season opposite Pamela Charles as Eliza Dolittle, having toured as standby for Rex Harrison

Rex Harrison

Sir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...

. On Broadway he also created the role of "Warnie" in the original production of Shadowlands

Shadowlands

Shadowlands is a 1985 television film, written by William Nicholson, directed by Norman Stone and produced by David M. Thompson for BBC Wales. Its subject is the relationship between Oxford don and author, C. S. Lewis and Joy Gresham....

, starring Nigel Hawthorne

Nigel Hawthorne

Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the...

 and Jane Alexander

Jane Alexander

Jane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed...

.

He appeared in Broadway productions of An Ideal Husband

An Ideal Husband

An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour...

, Oliver!

Oliver!

Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....

, Angel Street (opposite Dina Merrill

Dina Merrill

-Early life:Merrill was born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton in New York City, New York, the only child of Post Cereals heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and her second husband, Wall Street stockbroker Edward Francis Hutton...

), Coco

Coco (musical)

Coco is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by André Previn. It starred Katharine Hepburn in her only stage musical.-Background:...

(with Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...

), Sleuth

Sleuth

-Theatre and film:*Sleuth , a 1970 play by Anthony Shaffer*Sleuth , a film adaptation of the Anthony Shaffer play, directed by Joseph L...

, Come Live with Me

Come Live with Me

Come Live with Me is a 1941 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer romantic comedy film starring James Stewart and Hedy Lamarr, directed by Clarence Brown.-Plot:...

, and Hostile Witness

Hostile Witness

For the legal term, please see Hostile witnessHostile Witness is a 1968 British courtroom-based drama film based on a play by Jack Roffey, directed by Ray Milland and starring Milland, Sylvia Sims, Raymond Huntley and Julian Holloway.-Cast:* Ray Milland as Simon Crawford - Q.C.* Sylvia Syms as...

(with Ray Milland

Ray Milland

Ray Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...

). He was President Emeritus of The Players, installed after the exit of Lynn Redgrave

Lynn Redgrave

Lynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE was an English actress.A member of the well-known British family of actors, Redgrave trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962...

.

He also appeared in many films; his last role being "Sir David" in Syriana

Syriana

Syriana is a 2005 geopolitical thriller film written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, and executive produced by George Clooney, who also stars in the film with an ensemble cast. Gaghan's screenplay is loosely adapted from Robert Baer's memoir See No Evil...

.

Family

His wife, the late Judi Schiver, was a dancer in the original Broadway production of Camelot

Camelot (musical)

Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King....

; they had two sons.

External links