John Michael Terence Wellesley Denison (1 November 191522 July 1998) was an English actor. He often appeared with his wife,
Dulcie Gray
Dulcie Winifred Catherine Savage Denison, (''née'' Bailey; 20 November 1915 – 15 November 2011), known professionally as Dulcie Gray, was a British actress, mystery writer and lepidopterist.
While at drama school in the late 1930s she met ...
, with whom he featured in several films and more than 100
West End theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...
productions.
After a conventional
public school and university education he studied at a drama school and made his professional début in 1938. His career was interrupted by military service during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
but by the end of the 1940s he re-established himself among leading actors of his generation, and remained so until his death in 1998.
He was primarily a stage actor, and appeared in a wide range of roles from Shakespeare to farce, modern drama, musicals,
drawing-room comedy
In English literature, the term comedy of manners (also anti-sentimental comedy) describes a genre of realistic, satirical comedy of the Restoration period (1660–1710) that questions and comments upon the manners and social conventions of a gre ...
, and thrillers. He made some cinema films, particularly in the late 1940s and the 1950s, including ''
My Brother Jonathan
''My Brother Jonathan'' is a 1948 British drama film directed by Harold French and starring Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, Ronald Howard and Beatrice Campbell. It is adapted from the 1930 novel '' My Brother Jonathan'' by Francis Brett Young, ...
'', ''
The Glass Mountain'', ''
Angels One Five'' and the 1952 adaptation of the
Oscar Wilde play ''
The Importance of Being Earnest
''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
''. He became known for his appearance in the title role of the long-running courtroom series ''
Boyd QC'' which ran on British television from 1956 to 1964.
Life and career
Early years
Denison was born in
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
,
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
, 1 November 1915, the only child of Gilbert Dixon Denison (1888–1959) − a paint manufacturer − and his wife, Marie Louise, ''née'' Bain (1888–1915).
[McFarlane, Brian]
"Gray (married name Denison), Dulcie (real name Dulcie Winifred Catherine Savage Bailey) 1915–2011)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2015. His mother died when Denison was three weeks old; he was brought up by his mother's sister and her husband, who had no children of their own.
[ He was educated at ]Wellesley House School
Wellesley House School is an independent day and boarding preparatory school in the coastal town of Broadstairs in the English county of Kent. Founded in 1866, it educates boys and girls aged 3 to 13.
History
The history of Wellesley House Sch ...
, a preparatory school in the coastal town of Broadstairs in Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, followed by Harrow School and then Magdalen College
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
, Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, studying modern languages. He acted with the Oxford University Dramatic Society
The Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England. Not all student productions at Oxford University ...
(OUDS), making his first radio appearance when the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'' in April 1936. He also appeared in ''
'', he was "resolute but hampered by an unfortunate wig". After graduating with a
, a fellow student, who became his wife and his frequent acting partner.
Denison made his professional stage début in 1938 as Lord Fancourt Babberly in a
''.