Quick Facts
| Intro | English television and film actor | ||
| Was | Actor Talent agent | ||
| From | United Kingdom | ||
| Field | Film, TV, Stage & Radio | ||
| Gender | male | ||
| Birth | 23 July 1912, Leigh-on-Sea | ||
| Death | 8 July 1979, London (aged 67 years) | ||
| Family |
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Biography
Michael Charles Gauntlet Wilding (23 July 1912 – 8 July 1979) was an English stage, television and film actor.
Early life
Born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, and educated at Christ's Hospital, Wilding was a successful commercial artist when he joined the art department of a London film studio in 1933. He soon embarked on an acting career.
Career
He appeared in numerous British films, often opposite Anna Neagle, but had a less productive career in Hollywood. His screen performances included Sailors Three (1940), In Which We Serve (1942), Undercover (1943), Piccadilly Incident (1946), Spring in Park Lane (1948), Stage Fright (1950), Torch Song (1953) and The World of Suzie Wong (1960).
In 1952, British exhibitors voted him the fourth most popular star at the local box office.
His last appearance was in an uncredited, non-speaking cameo in Lady Caroline Lamb (1972), which co-starred his last wife, Margaret Leighton.
He also appeared on television, including the title role in the 1957 episode "The Trial of Colonel Blood" of NBC's anthology series The Joseph Cotten Show.
Box-office ranking
At the peak of his career, British exhibitors voted him among the most popular stars in the country:
- 1947 – seventh most popular British star
- 1948 – fifth most popular star
- 1949 – second most popular star
- 1950 – sixth most popular British star
- 1951 – tenth most popular star
- 1952 – fourth most popular British star
Personal life
Wilding was married four times: to Kay Young (married 1937, divorced 1951), actress Elizabeth Taylor (married 1952, divorced 1957), Susan Nell (married 1958, divorced 1962), and actress Margaret Leighton (married 1964 until her death in 1976).
He and Taylor, who was 20 years his junior, had two sons, Michael Howard Wilding (born 1953) and Christopher Edward Wilding (born 1955). In 1957, he had a short-lived romance with actress Marie McDonald, who was nicknamed "The Body".
In the 1960s, he was forced to cut back on his film appearances because of illness related to his lifelong epilepsy.
Death
Wilding died in Chichester, West Sussex, as a result of head injuries suffered from a fall down a flight of stairs during an epileptic seizure. His body was cremated and the ashes were scattered.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 1933 | Bitter Sweet | Extra | Uncredited |
| Heads We Go | Minor Role | Uncredited | |
| Channel Crossing | Passenger Boarding Ferry | Uncredited | |
| 1935 | Late Extra | Newspaper Telephone Operator | Uncredited |
| 1936 | When Knights Were Bold | Soldier | Uncredited |
| Wedding Group | Dr. Hutherford | ||
| 1939 | There Ain't No Justice | Len Charteris | |
| 1940 | Convoy | Dot | |
| Tilly of Bloomsbury | Percy Welwyn | ||
| Sailors Three | Johnny Wilding | ||
| Sailors Don't Care | Dick | ||
| 1941 | Mr. Proudfoot Shows a Light | Officer | |
| Spring Meeting | Tony Fox-Collier | ||
| The Farmer's Wife | Richard Coaker | ||
| Kipps | Ronnie Walshingham | ||
| Cottage to Let | Alan Trently | ||
| 1942 | Ships with Wings | Lt. David Grant | |
| The Big Blockade | Captain | Uncredited | |
| In Which We Serve | Flags | ||
| Secret Mission | Pvt. Nobby Clark | ||
| 1943 | Undercover | Constantine | |
| Dear Octopus | Nicholas Randolph | ||
| 1944 | English Without Tears | Tom Gilbey | |
| 1946 | Piccadilly Incident | Capt. Alan Pearson | |
| Carnival | Maurice Avery | ||
| 1947 | The Courtneys of Curzon Street | Sir Edward Courtney | |
| An Ideal Husband | Viscount Arthur Goring | ||
| 1948 | Spring in Park Lane | Richard | |
| 1949 | Maytime in Mayfair | Michael Gore-Brown | |
| Under Capricorn | Hon. Charles Adare | ||
| 1950 | Stage Fright | Det. Insp. Wilfred 'Ordinary' Smith | |
| Into the Blue | Nicholas Foster | ||
| 1951 | The Law and the Lady | Nigel Duxbury / Lord Henry Minden aka Hoskins | |
| The Lady with a Lamp | Sidney Herbert / Lord Herbert of Lea | ||
| 1952 | Derby Day | David Scott | |
| Trent's Last Case | Philip Trent | ||
| 1953 | Torch Song | Tye Graham | |
| 1954 | The Egyptian | Akhnaton | |
| 1955 | The Glass Slipper | Prince Charles | |
| The Scarlet Coat | Major John Andre | ||
| 1956 | Zarak | Major Michael Ingram | |
| 1959 | Danger Within | Major Charles Marquand | |
| 1960 | The World of Suzie Wong | Ben Marlowe | |
| 1961 | The Naked Edge | Morris Brooke | |
| The Best of Enemies | Burke | ||
| 1962 | A Girl Named Tamiko | Nigel Costairs | |
| 1963 | Last Seen Wearing Blue Jeans | the Alfred Hitchcock Hour | |
| 1968 | Code Name, Red Roses | English General | |
| The Sweet Ride | Mr. Cartwright | ||
| 1970 | Waterloo | Sir William Ponsonby | |
| 1972 | Lady Caroline Lamb | Lord Holland |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 1956 | Screen Director's Playhouse | David Scott | Episode: The Carroll Formula |
| 1955, 1956 | The 20th Century Fox Hour | Robert Marryot Captain Robert Wilton | Episode: Cavalcade Stranger in the Night |
| 1957 | The Joseph Cotten Show | Colonel Blood | Episode: The Trial of Colonel Blood |
| 1958 | Climax! | Lt. MacKenzie Barton | Episode: The Volcano Seat (1) Episode: The Volcano Seat (2) |
| Target | Episode: The Clean Kill | ||
| 1959 | Lux Playhouse | Stephen MacIllroy | Episode: The Case of the Two Sisters |
| 1958, 1959 | Playhouse 90 | Sir John Alexander Chris Hughes | Episode: Verdict of Three Episode: Dark as the Night |
| 1962 | Saints and Sinners | Sir Robert | Episode: A Night of Horns and Bells |
| 1963 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | David Saunders | Episode: Last Seen Wearing Blue Jeans |
| Burke's Law | Dr. Alex Steiner | Episode: Who Killed Sweet Betsy? | |
| 1966 | The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | Franz Joseph | Episode: The Lethal Eagle Affair |
| Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Major Tucker | Episode: The Fatal Mistake | |
| 1968 | Mannix | Phillip Montford/Sir Arnold Salt | Episode: A View of Nowhere |
| 1973 | Frankenstein: The True Story | Sir Richard Fanshawe | TV film, (final film role) |
