Michael Redgrave

Sir Michael Redgrave (March 20, 1908 - March 21, 1985) was an English actor. Born in Buckinghamshire, the son of Australian silent film star Roy Redgrave, he attended Cambridge University and briefly taught school before becoming an actor in 1934. His first major film role was in Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes in 1938.

Redgrave moved to Hollywood after a successful career in British theater. His first major American role was opposite Rosalind Russell in Mourning Becomes Electra in 1947, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In the early 1950s, he starred in The Browning Version, The Importance of Being Earnest and 1984.

Redgrave was knighted in 1959. He is the father of actors Lynn Redgrave, Corin Redgrave and Vanessa Redgrave, and the grandfather of Natasha Richardson, Joely Richardson and Jemma Redgrave. He is the author of four books:

• The Actor's Ways and Means
• Mask or Face
• The Mountebank Tale
• In My Mind's Eye