Redgrave, Michael

Michael Redgrave was born on 20 March 1908, the child of actors Margaret (Daisy) Scudamore and Roy Redgrave. He studied at Cambridge University before becoming a teacher of modern languages at Cranleigh School, Surrey, where he spent much of his time directing and acting in amateur dramatic productions. His professional acting career began at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1934, where he met and married actress Rachel Kempson. They had three children, Vanessa, Corin, and Lynn, who later went on to have distinguished acting careers of their own. In 1936 Michael Redgrave joined the Old Vic where he played several prominent roles, including Orlando to Dame Edith Evans' Rosalind in As You Like It .

Redgrave moved into films in 1938, starring in Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes . He went on to have a long film career, with films including The Dam Busters, The Browning Version, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Mourning Becomes Electra, for which he received an Oscar nomination. He continued to have equal success on the stage, taking leading Shakespearean roles with The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company (later the Royal Shakespeare Company) at Stratford-upon-Avon, as well as principal parts in plays in London and on Broadway . His prolific stage career continued well into his sixties, and he continued to work despite the onset of Parkinson's disease, touring throughout the United States, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

The author of several books and plays, Michael Redgrave was involved in virtually all aspects of the Theatre, directing the opening festival of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford and becoming president of Questors Theatre, London. He was appointed Commander of the British Empire in 1952 and Knighted in 1959. He died in 1985 after a long battle against Parkinson's disease.

From the guide to the Sir, Michael Redgrave, Archive, 1890-1996, (V&A Museum: Department of Theatre and Performance)