Several outlets reported this morning on the passing of Michael Gough. Gough, perhaps best known as Alfred in four Batman films, acted for decades, most recently lending his voice talents to Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” and “All-Star Superman.”
Born in 1917, Gough cemented attention with genre fans as early as 1958. That year, he played Arthur in the Hammer Studios revival of Dracula (released in the U.S. as “Horror of Dracula”). He worked steadily for years, appearing in many films and TV series. He also won a Tony in 1979 for “Bedroom Farce”.
In 1989, Gough appeared as Alfred in Tim Burton’s “Batman”, bringing the wise (and occasionally wise-cracking) butler to life for a new generation of fans. He would appear in “Batman Returns”, “Batman Forever” and “Batman and Robin”, one of only two actors to feature in all four (the other being Pat “Commissioner Gordon” Hingle).
Gough had three children, one of whom, his adopted daughter Polly, died in a car accident in 1982. His son Simon is an actor, as are his grandchildren Samuel and Daisy.
March 17th, 2011 at 11:47 am
Other actors did a fine job with Alfred. (Can Michael Caine ever do a bad job with anything?) But Gough embodied Alfred in a way no one else did. He also brought the films a touch of class they sorely needed after Burton moved on. RIP, Mr. Gough.
March 17th, 2011 at 6:26 pm
So sad. That guy was awesome.