Michael Culver

Michael Culver
Born	(1938-06-16) 16 June 1938 Hampstead, London, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1956–present
Spouse(s)	Lucinda Curtis (1962–1986) Amanda Ward (? – present)

Michael Culver (born 16 June 1938) is an English actor.^[1] He was born in Hampstead, London, the son of actor Roland Culver and casting director Daphne Rye.^[2] He was educated at Gresham's School.

Actor

Culver's aunt, father, mother and brother all had theatrical careers. Culver gained experience at the Old Vic, Dundee Rep (performing in 35 plays in 2 years) and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Culver has appeared in several television series in recurring roles, as Squire Armstrong in The Adventures of Black Beauty (1972–74), Major Erwin Brandt in the BBC drama Secret Army (1977–78), crooked banker Ralph Saroyan in the second series of The House of Eliott (1992) and the strict Prior Robert ('Brother Prior') in Cadfael (1994–98).

His guest roles include an episode of The Professionals (1982) as Lawson, Miss Marple "The Moving Finger" (1985) as Edward Symmington and as Sir Reginald Musgrave, in the episode "The Musgrave Ritual" (1986) in the Granada Television series The Return of Sherlock Holmes.

He appeared as Captain Needa in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and played a major part in A Passage to India (1984) as a bigoted police inspector. In 2008, he appeared in a guest role in Sidetracked, the first episode of Wallander. Culver was in the first ever episode of New Tricks in 2003 as a corrupt dinosaur detective.

He performed in three of Tricycle Theatre’s Tribunal Plays: Nuremberg (A distillation of the 1945–46 Nuremberg trials – of leading Nazi war criminals); Half the Picture (From transcripts from the Scott Inquiry into Arms-to-Iraq – the first play to be performed in the Palace of Westminster.) and The Colour of Justice (The dramatisation of the evidence given during Sir William Macpherson’s inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, his family's search for justice and endemic racism in the police force). They were directed by Nicolas Kent. The Colour of Justice and Half the Picture and were broadcast by the BBC Television.

Activism

Culver protesting during the Stop the War march, Trafalgar Square, 15 March 2008

Culver is a peace activist and supporter of Brian Haw who protested in Parliament Square, opposite the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, from 2001 to 2011. On the day Tony Blair appeared for the first time at the Chilcot Inquiry into the invasion of Iraq, Michael Culver was shown on BBC News (and later used on Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe) outside shouting "If we're going to have a police state, at least organise it properly!"

Theatre

• Two Plays for Gaza, 2009 (Seven Jewish Children by Caryl Churchill and The Trainer by David Wilson & Anne Aylor; Hackney Empire. Cast included Corin Redgrave, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Janie Dee, Jana Zeineddine and Paul Herzberg. Also appearing on the bill were Reem Kelani, Palestinian singer and rap poet Lowkey plus ex-SAS soldier Ben Griffin who read from the Winter Soldier hearings into the Iraq War.
• The Colour of Justice Edited by Richard Norton-Taylor, Tricycle Theatre, transferred to the Lyttelton Theatre and toured the UK, 1999. Directed by Nicolas Kent assisted by Surian Fletcher-Jones.

Won Best Touring Production in Theatrical Management Association Awards. Michael Culver played Sir William Macpherson. Casts also included; James Woolley, Jenny Jules, David Robb, Kenneth Bryans, Michael Attwell, Christopher Fox, Tyrone de Rizzio (Neville Lawrence), Yvonne Pascal (Doreen Lawrence), Hugh Simon, Roderic Culver, Robert East, Leon Stewart (Duwayne Brooks), Jeremy Clyde (Michael Mansfield QC), Tim Woodward, Jan Chappell, Thomas Wheatley, Tanveer Ghani and Michael Cochrane.

• Nuremberg Transcripts edited by: Richard Norton-Taylor; Tricycle Theatre, 1996. Directed by Nicholas Kent.

Michael Culver played Albert Speer. Other cast members included: Michael Cochrane (as Hermann Göring), William Hoyland (as Field-Marshal Wilhelm Keitel), Jeremy Clyde (as Alfred Rosenberg), Thomas Wheatley (as Rudolf Höss), Richard Heffer and Colin Bruce.

• Half the Picture adapted and redacted by Richard Norton-Taylor With additional material by John McGrath; Tricycle Theatre, 1994. Directed by Nicholas Kent.

First play to be performed in the Palace of Westminster. Michael Culver (played Gore-Booth and Sir Nicholas Lyell), with Michael Stroud (as Richard Scott), Jan Chappell (as Presiley Baxendale QC), Sylvia Syms (as Margaret Thatcher), William Hoyland (as John Major and Geoffrey Robertson), Jeremy Clyde (as Alan Clark), Raad Rawli (as Alan Moses QC), Thomas Wheatley (as William Waldegrave), Robert East (as J. K. Galbraith and Tristan Garel-Jones) and David Robb (as Michael Heseltine).

• Rosmersholm by Henrik Ibsen (Hong Kong)
• Fashion by Doug Lucie; Haymarket Theatre, Leicester, transferred from to the Tricycle Theatre) 1989–1990.
• The Little Heroine by Nell Dunn; Nuffield Theatre, University of Southampton, 1988. Directed by Ian Watt-Smith. Michael Culver played Hugo. Cast also included: Katharine Schlesinger, Greg Cruttwell, Jonathan Coyne, and Georgina Hale.
• Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward. (1988 – toured Norway and Sweden)
• Terra Nova by Ted Tally; Watford Palace Theatre, 1982. Directed by Michael Attenborough

Michael Culver played Roald Amundsen. The rest of the cast was: Robert Powell (Captain Robert Falcon Scott), Stephanie Beacham (Kathleen Scott), Bill Stewart (Lieutenant Henry Robertson Bowers, "Birdie"), Donald Gee (Dr Edward Adrian Wilson, "Bill"), Neil Philips (Captain Lawrence Oates, "Titus") and David Troughton (Petty Officer Edgar Evans).

• An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde, at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, Berkshire, 1979 (the 1295th Production). Directed by Joan Riley

Michael Culver as Lord Goring. Other cast members included: Lucinda Curtis (as Lady Chiltern), Harold Reese, Anthony Howden, Raymond Graham, John Counsell, Jenny Quayle, Mary Kerridge, Wendy Williams and John Humphry.

• Macbeth by William Shakespeare Haymarket Theatre, Leicester, 1978. Directed by John Tydeman.

Michael Culver played Young Macduff. The cast also included: Hubert Gregg, Clive Wood, Donald Burton, Brian Jackson, Colin Baker, Nigel Bennett, Terry Mason, Adrian Scarborough and Heather Sears; Fights directed by Donald Burton.

• Time and the Conways by J. B. Priestley, Royal Exchange, Manchester; Cast included Dulcie Gray and Michael Denison.
• While the Sun Shines by Terence Rattigan; Hampstead Theatre Club, 1972. Directed by Alec McCowen

Michael Culver played The Earl of Harpenden. Others in the cast included: Jeffrey Segal, Doran Godwin, John Stratton, Richard Warwick and Anna Calder-Marshall.

• Anything For Baby by Talbot Rothwell and William Meyer; Wimbledon Theatre, 1969. Directed by Patrick Cargill

Michael Culver played Mike Danbury. Cast included: June Barry, Peter Sallis, Frank Middlemass, Anthony Sharp and Carol Cleveland.

• Howards End adapted by Lance Sieveking in collaboration with Richard Cottrell from the novel by E. M. Forster; toured 1967. Directed by Dacre Punt.

Michael Culver played Charles. The cast included: Gwen Watford, Gemma Jones, Joyce Carey, Andrew Ray, Carmel McSharry, Michael Goodliffe and Marda Vanne.

• Pride and Prejudice from the novel by Jane Austen; toured 1966. Produced/Directed by Sheila Hancock.

Michael Culver played Capt. Wickham. Cast also included: Jack Allen, Petra Davies, Susan Jameson, Terence Longdon and Michael Gaunt.

• The Cocktail Party by T. S. Eliot, Theatre Royal, Windsor, 1966. Directed by Neville Jason.

Michael Culver played Peter Quilpe. Others in the cast included: Hugh Burden, Meg Wynn Owen and Joyce Carey.

• A Share in the Sun by Terence Kelly and Campbell Singer, New Theatre, Oxford and Cambridge Theatre, 1966. Directed by Harold French.

Michael Culver played Ellis Petersen. Others in the cast included Charles Hyatt, Ron Randell, John Bentley and Jessie Matthews.

• Howards End by Lance Sieveking in collaboration with Richard Cottrell from the novel by E. M. Forster; The Nottingham Playhouse and the Arts Theatre, Cambridge Festival, 1965. Directed by Dacre Punt.

Michael Culver played Charles. The cast also included: Eleanor Bron, Zena Walker, Neil Stacey, June Brown, Michael Gwynn, Sheila Gish, James Aubrey and Sylvia Coleridge.

• A Severed Head, Criterion Theatre, 1963, by Iris Murdoch and J. B. Priestley, Directed by Val May.

Michael Culver played Alexander. The cast also included: Robin Bailey, Frances White, Heather Chasen, Paul Eddington and Sheila Burrell.

• The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen, Translated by Michael Meyer, The New Arts Theatre Club, 1962. Directed by Terence Kilburn. Michael Culver played Ragnar Brovik. The cast included: Keith Pyott, Andrew Cruickshank, Viola Keats and Mary Miller.
• Judith by Jean Giraudoux, adapted by Christopher Fry, Her Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket and Theatre Royal, Brighton, 1962. Directed by Harold Clurman.

Cast included: Sean Connery, Barry Foster, Michael Gough, Peter Bayliss, Vivien Merchant, Eileen Way, Gary Watson, Simon Oates and Roy Stewart. Producers: Roger L. Stevens, William Zeckendorf, designer: Boris Aronson, costume designer: Freddy Wittop, composers: Richard Rodney Bennett and Daphne Oram; H. M. Tennent Ltd. At Dundee Repertory Theatre 1959–1961

Casts including; Lucinda Curtis, Edward Fox, Glenda Jackson, Bruce Boa, Jeffery Dench, Ann Way, Nicol Williamson, Jimmy Gardner, Rowena Cooper, Tom Conti, Gawn Grainger, Prunella Scales, Frances White, Patrick Godfrey, Monica Evans, Trevor Martin, William Marlowe and Elizabeth MacLennan.

• The Curious Savage by John Patrick Directed by Anthony Page.
• In Search of Happiness by Victor Rozov Translated by Nina Froud. Directed by Anthony Page.
• Fools Rush In by Kenneth Horne, Directed by Anthony Page.
• A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. Directed by Anthony Page.
• Tomorrow's Child by John Coates.
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
• The Cat and the Canary by John Willard, Directed by Anthony Page Designer: Chris J. Arthur.
• The Critic and the Heart by Robert Bolt. Directed by Anthony Page.
• See How They Run by Philip King. Directed by Anthony Page Designer: Philip King.
• Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin. Directed by Anthony Page Designer: Peter Gray.
• Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.. Directed by Anthony Page Edward Furby.
• Five Finger Exercise by Peter Shaffer. Directed by Anthony Page.
• Roar Like a Dove by Lesley Storm. Directed by Lesley Storm.
• The Blind Madonna by Neil Curnow Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• Eighty in the shade by Clemence Dane. Directed by Raymond Westwell
• Dear Brutus by Sir James Matthew Barrie. Performance marking the centenary year of playwright J.M. Barrie's birth. Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• Any Other Business by Campbell Singer Directed by Anthony Page.
• Lucky Strike by Michael Brett.
• Caught Napping by Geoffrey Lumsden. Directedy Raymond Westwell.
• Summer of the Seventeenth Doll by Ray Lawler. Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• Gilt and Gingerbread by Lionel Hale. Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• I Have Been Here Before by J. B. Priestley. Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• Murder on Arrival by George Batson. Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• Sinbad the Sailor by James Grout and Ken Wynne, Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• Brothers in Law by Ted Willis and Henry Cecil. Directed by Raymond Westwell
• Present Laughter by Sir Noël Coward Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• The Long and the Short and the Tall by Willis Hall. Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• The Manor of Northstead by William Douglas-Home. Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• Love in a Mist by Kenneth Horne Directed by Mary Evans and James Ward.
• Not in the Book by Arthur Watkyn. Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• The Vanity Case by Jack Popplewell. Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas. Directed by Raymond Westwell.
• Love from a Stranger by Agatha Christie adapted by Frank Vosper. Directed by Anthony Page.
• The Durable Element by Cliff Hanley. Directed by John Crockett.

Shakespeare At the Old Vic Directed by Michael Benthall London with casts including Judi Dench, Coral Browne, Edith Evans, Harry Andrews, John Gielgud, John Neville, Barbara Jefford, Paul Daneman, Harold Innocent, Charles West, Dennis Chinnery, Derek Godfrey, David Waller, James Culliford, Edward Hardwicke, Barrie Ingham, Derek Francis, Ronald Fraser, Adrienne Hill, Colin Spaull and John Humphry.

• The Famous History of the Life of King Henry VIII
• The Tragedy of King Lear
• Midsummer Night’s Dream
• The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (fights arranged by Bernard Hepton).
• King Henry VI
• Twelfth Night
• The Sleeping Prince by Terence Rattigan The Stratham Hill Theatre, 1956. Directed by Anthony Knowles.

Michael Culver played the second footman and was the ASM. The cast included: Patrick Newell, Gawn Grainger and Jane Hylton.

Radio and voice work

• The Burning Glass by Jo Anderson and Directed Andy Jordan.

"Breizh has a problem. The World Cup looms and all eyes are on FRANCE. Down on the estate, something stirs." Others in the cast: Philip Madoc and Frances Jeater. BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play 30 May 1998 repeated 20 March 1990

• Rachmaninoff Presented by Melvyn Bragg

Michael Culver voiced Rachmaninoff. Other contributions from Vladimir Ashkenazy (speaker and piano), Jonathan Kydd (Yermakov voice over), Boris Berezovskii (piano), Shura Cherkassky (piano), Mikhail Falkov (tenor), Alexander Fedin (tenor), Joan Rodgers (soprano). With Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia Chorus.

• Fatherland by Robert Harris. Adapted and Directed by John Dryden

Cast included Anton Lesser (Xavier March), Graham Padden (Krause), Robert Portal (Jost), Peter Ellis (Max Jarger), Thomas Copeland (Pili), Andrew Sachs, Amanda Walker, Patrick Godfrey, Michael Byrne, Ian Gelder, Angeline Ball, William Scott Masson, Stratford Johns, Eleanor Bron, Dan Fineman, Alice Arnold and Trevor Nichols, with Ned Sherrin, Jonathan Coleman and Alan Dedicoat. Goldhawk Radio production. Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 June 1997

• Flight of the Swan by Jean MacVean. BBC Radio 4, 7 August 1982

Cast included: Rosalind Shanks and David Neal The play deals with human love and how it is so often impossible for one person to really know another.

• Wilderness of Mirrors Unabridged 1989 reading of the novel by Ted Allbeury

Filmography

Film

1961–1970

1971–1980

1981–1990

1991–2000

2001–2010

2011–present

Documentary

References

External links

• Michael Culver at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Culver at the Internet Broadway Database
  
• Michael Culver BFI
• Freedomlite, his own site: "genocidal jottings, mainly in the form of poems, are dedicated to the children of Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan"