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Michael Alan Gothard (24 June 19392 December 1992) was an English actor, who portrayed Kai in the television series '' Arthur of the Britons'' and the mysterious villain Emile Leopold Locque in the 1981
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film '' For Your Eyes Only''.


Early life

Michael Gothard was born in London in 1939. As a child, he lived in both Wales and London. After leaving
Haverstock School Haverstock School (formerly Haverstock Comprehensive School), is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school and sixth form located on Haverstock Hill in Haverstock, London, England. It is opposite Chalk Farm tube station, Chalk Farm U ...
, he travelled in France for several months before returning home. He went through various jobs, including being a building labourer and a trainee reporter. He even had a brief spell as a clothes model, but he never felt comfortable doing that job. He said: "I was as stiff as a board and I couldn’t overcome my sense of the ridiculous. I was a clothes hanger, an object, not a person."


Career

He joined the
New Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamber ...
as a scenery mover, and became part of an amateur film a friend was making. After landing the lead role, he was encouraged to take up the profession. He attended evening classes at an actors' workshop whilst holding down a day job. He was involved working in some of the first "Lunchtime theatre" productions in the 1960s, from pub cellars to top floor space
off St. Martin's Lane
His first television role was in an episode of ''
Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science f ...
'' in 1966 called "
The Machine Stops "The Machine Stops" is a science fiction short story (12,300 words) by E. M. Forster. After initial publication in ''The Oxford and Cambridge Review'' (November 1909), the story was republished in Forster's ''The Eternal Moment and Other Storie ...
". He was then cast in Don Levy's film ''
Herostratus Herostratus ( grc, Ἡρόστρατος) was a 4th-century BC Greek, accused of seeking notoriety as an arsonist by destroying the second Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (on the outskirts of present-day Selçuk). The conclusion prompted the crea ...
'' in 1967 and ''
Up the Junction ''Up the Junction'' is a 1963 collection of short stories by Nell Dunn that depicts contemporary life in the industrial slums of Battersea and Clapham Junction. The book uses colloquial speech, and its portrayal of petty thieving, sexual encoun ...
'' in 1968. He then acquired a female following after taking a role as the villainous Mordaunt in 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. ...
...
's adaptation of ''
Twenty Years After ''Twenty Years After'' (french: Vingt ans après) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized from January to August 1845. A book of ''The d'Artagnan Romances'', it is a sequel to ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844) and precedes the 1847–1850 no ...
'' (''Further Adventures of the Musketeers''). His performance as the nightclubbing killer Keith in ''
Scream and Scream Again ''Scream and Scream Again'' is a 1970 British science fiction conspiracy thriller film starring Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Alfred Marks, Michael Gothard, and Peter Cushing. It is based on the novel ''The Disorientated Man'' (1967) attributed ...
'', directed by
Gordon Hessler Gordon Hessler (12 December 1925 – 19 January 2014) was a German-born British film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. Biography Early Years Born in Berlin, Germany,Ephraim Katz, Katz, Ephraim. ''The Film Encyclopedia'', Harp ...
, was a break-out role for him, giving him exposure and leading to other, more prominent parts. In the film, Keith makes one of the most memorable escapes (in an
Austin-Healey Austin-Healey was a British sports car maker established in 1952 through a joint venture between the Austin division of the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and the Donald Healey Motor Company (Healey), a renowned automotive engineering and des ...
car) from the police ever seen. The film's main stars were
Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
,
Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...
and
Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...
. Executive producer Louis M. Heyward said of Gothard's performance: "I felt that Michael Gothard was going to be the biggest thing that ever happened. He had that insane look and that drive, and he was wonderful. Here is a kid who really threw himself into the picture wholeheartedly. Do you remember the scene where he appears to be walking up the cliff? That's a stunt that, as an actor, I would not have agreed to; I’d say, 'Hey, get a double or get a dummy. I ain't either one.' But the kid agreed to do it, without a double—he was that driven. He had a lot of class and a lot of style. Gordon (Hessler) came up with the idea of using an overhead cable to give that illusion of his walking up the cliff." He appeared in
Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...
's 1971 horror film, ''The Devils'', in which Gothard had a stand-out role as a fanatic
witch-hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The Witch trials in the early modern period, classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and European Colon ...
er and
exorcist In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, ...
who defiles
Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, two ...
and tortures
Oliver Reed Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his ...
. His performance as a young disillusioned hippie in Barbet Schroeder's ''La Vallée'' (1972) contrasted with the rest of his career. He also played a fictionalised version of the 17th century assassin John Felton in
Richard Lester Richard Lester Liebman (born January 19, 1932) is an American retired film director based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for directing the Beatles' films '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) and ''Help!'' (1965), and the superhero films ''S ...
's 1973 film of ''The Three Musketeers'' and its 1974 sequel, '' The Four Musketeers''. He had a regular role as Kai opposite
Oliver Tobias Oliver Tobias Freitag (born 6 August 1947), known professionally as Oliver Tobias, is a Swiss-born UK-based film, stage, and television actor and director. Biography Born in Zürich, Switzerland, he is the son of the Austrian-Swiss actor Rober ...
's
King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
on the aforementioned ''Arthur of the Britons'' during the early 1970s. He became known to a wider cinema audience for his menacing turn as the villainous (and non-speaking) Belgian henchman, Emile Leopold Locque, in the 1981
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film, '' For Your Eyes Only''. Gothard was actually the one who suggested Locque's
signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...
octagonal glasses in an effort to make the character more menacing. His later appearances included supporting roles in
Tobe Hooper Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influenti ...
's 1985 science-fiction horror extravaganza, '' Lifeforce'', and as
George Lusk George Akin Lusk (1839–1919) was a British builder and decorator who specialised in music hall restoration, and was the chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee during the Whitechapel murders, including the killings ascribed to Jack ...
in the 1988 TV movie, ''
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
'', with
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
. He appeared with
Dean Stockwell Robert Dean Stockwell (March 5, 1936 – November 7, 2021) was an American actor with a career spanning seven decades. As a child actor under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he first came to the public's attention in films including ''Anchors A ...
and
Shirley Knight Shirley Knight Hopkins (July 5, 1936 – April 22, 2020) was an American actress who appeared in more than 50 feature films, television films, television series, and Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in her career, playing leading and charac ...
in a
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense ''Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense'' is a short-lived (one season) anthology television series produced in Britain in 1984/85 by Hammer Film Productions. Though similar in format to the 1980 series '' Hammer House of Horror'', the ''Mystery ...
(a.k.a. Fox Mystery Theatre) episode, The Sweet Scent of Death. One of his last main appearances was in 1992s '' Christopher Columbus: The Discovery''. His final role was in David Wickes's ''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
'', starring
Patrick Bergin Patrick Connolly Bergin (born 4 February 1951) is an Irish actor and singer perhaps best known for his leading role opposite Julia Roberts in ''Sleeping with the Enemy'' (1991), the title character in Robin Hood (1991 film), terrorist Kevin O ...
and
Randy Quaid Randy Randall Rudy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor known for his roles in both serious drama and light comedy. He was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role in ''The Last Detail'' i ...
.


Death

Gothard, who struggled with depression for much of his life, committed
suicide by hanging Suicide by hanging is the intentional killing of oneself (suicide) via suspension from an anchor-point such as an overhead beam or hook, by a rope or cord or by jumping from a height with a noose around the neck. Hanging is often considered t ...
on 2 December 1992. He was 53 years old.


Filmography


Film

*''
Herostratus Herostratus ( grc, Ἡρόστρατος) was a 4th-century BC Greek, accused of seeking notoriety as an arsonist by destroying the second Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (on the outskirts of present-day Selçuk). The conclusion prompted the crea ...
'' (1967) as Max *''
Up the Junction ''Up the Junction'' is a 1963 collection of short stories by Nell Dunn that depicts contemporary life in the industrial slums of Battersea and Clapham Junction. The book uses colloquial speech, and its portrayal of petty thieving, sexual encoun ...
'' (1968) as Terry *'' Michael Kohlhaas-Der Rebell'' (1969) as John *''
Scream and Scream Again ''Scream and Scream Again'' is a 1970 British science fiction conspiracy thriller film starring Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Alfred Marks, Michael Gothard, and Peter Cushing. It is based on the novel ''The Disorientated Man'' (1967) attributed ...
'' (1970) as Keith *''
The Last Valley The Last Valley may refer to: * ''The Last Valley'' (novel), an historical novel about the Thirty Years' War ** ''The Last Valley'' (film), a 1971 film adaptation of the novel directed by James Clavell {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Valley, The ...
'' (1971) as Hansen *'' The Devils'' (1971) as Father Barre *''
Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? ''Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?'' (U.S. title: ''Who Slew Auntie Roo?'') is a 1972 horror-thriller film directed by Curtis Harrington and starring Shelley Winters, Mark Lester, and Sir Ralph Richardson. Based partly on the fairy tale "Hansel and Gr ...
'' (1971) as Albie *'' La Vallée'' (1972) as Olivier *''
The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...
'' (1973) as John Felton *'' The Four Musketeers'' (1974) as John Felton *'' King Arthur, the Young Warlord'' (1975) as Kai *''
Warlords of Atlantis ''Warlords of Atlantis'' (aka ''Warlords of the Deep'', though see below for further variant titles) is a 1978 British adventure science fiction film directed by Kevin Connor and starring Doug McClure, Peter Gilmore, Shane Rimmer, and Lea Brodie ...
'' (1978) as Atmir *'' For Your Eyes Only'' (1981) as Emile Leopold Locque *'' Lifeforce'' (1985) as Dr Bukovsky *'' Going Undercover'' (1988) (aka Yellow Pages) as Strett *'' Gioco al massacro'' (1989) as Zabo *''
Destroying Angel The name destroying angel applies to several similar, closely related species of deadly all-white mushrooms in the genus ''Amanita''. They are ''Amanita bisporigera'' and '' A. ocreata'' in eastern and western North America, respectively, and '' ...
'' (1990) as "the Hitman" *'' The Serpent of Death'' (1990) as Xaros *'' Christopher Columbus: The Discovery'' (1992) as Inquisitor's Spy *''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
'' (1992) as Boatswain (final film role)


Television

*''
Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science f ...
'' (1966) as Kuno *''
Thirty-Minute Theatre ''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' was a British anthology drama series of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, which was used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short running length, and which t ...
'' (1966) as Grady, in "The Excavation" *'' The Further Adventures of the Three Musketeers'' (1967) as Mordaunt *''
Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Canadi ...
'' (1969) as Brian, in "The Story-Teller" *''
Fraud Squad A Fraud Squad is a police department which investigates fraud and other economic crimes. *Fraud squad (United Kingdom) *Garda Fraud Squad Fraud squad may also refer to: *Fraud Squad (duo), musical partnership between Daz Sampson and with JJ ...
'' (1969) as Jacky Joyce, in "Run For Your Money" *'' Department S'' (1969) as Weber, in "Les Fleurs du Mal" *'' Randall and Hopkirk'' (1970) as Perrin, in "When the Spirit Moves You" *''
Paul Temple Paul Temple is a fictional character created by English writer Francis Durbridge. Temple is a professional author of crime fiction and an amateur private detective. With his wife Louise, affectionately known as 'Steve' in reference to her jo ...
'' (1970) as Ivan, in "Games People Play" *'' Menace'' (1970) as Pip, in "Nine Bean Rows" *'' Arthur of the Britons'' (1972–1973) as Kai *''
Warrior Queen ''Warrior Queen'' is a British television series made by Thames Television for ITV that was broadcast from 20 February to 27 March 1978. Set in Britain under Roman rule, this historical drama starred Siân Phillips in the title role as Boud ...
'' (1978) as Volthan *'' The Professionals'' (1979) as Kodai, in "Stopover" *''
A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the ...
'' (1980) (Michael E. Briant version) as Gaspard *''
Shoestring Shoelaces, also called shoestrings (US English) or bootlaces (UK English), are a system commonly used to secure shoes, boots, and other footwear. They typically consist of a pair of strings or cords, one for each shoe, finished off at both ends ...
'' (1981) as Harry, in "The Mayfly Dance" *''
ITV Playhouse ''Playhouse'' is a British television anthology series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour ...
'' (1981) as Dieter, in "The Perfect House" *''
Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...
'' (1982) as Athelstane *''
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense ''Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense'' is a short-lived (one season) anthology television series produced in Britain in 1984/85 by Hammer Film Productions. Though similar in format to the 1980 series '' Hammer House of Horror'', the ''Mystery ...
'' (1984) as Terry Marvin, in "The Sweet Scent of Death" *''
Scarecrow and Mrs. King ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King'' is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to September 10, 1987, on CBS. The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner, as divorced housewife Amanda King and top-level "Agency" operative ...
'' (1984) as Karl Portillo, in "Our Man in Tegernsee" *''
Lytton's Diary ''Lytton's Diary'' is a drama TV series made by Thames Television for the ITV network about the life of a newspaper gossip columnist. Cast Episodes ''Storyboard'' Lytton's Diary (30 August 1983) – director Brian Parker Series One #Rabid D ...
'' (1985) as Jake Cutler, in "Daddy's Girls" *''
Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...
'' (1985) as Sergei, in "From Fulham, With Love" *''
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
'' (1988) as
George Lusk George Akin Lusk (1839–1919) was a British builder and decorator who specialised in music hall restoration, and was the chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee during the Whitechapel murders, including the killings ascribed to Jack ...
*''
Capital City A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...
'' (1989) as Stefan in "Twelve Degrees Capricorn"


References


External links

*
Michael Gothard Archive
- an oral history and personal photographs submitted by friends and colleagues {{DEFAULTSORT:Gothard, Michael 1939 births 1992 deaths English male film actors English male television actors Suicides by hanging in England Suicides in Hampstead Male actors from London People with mood disorders 20th-century English male actors 1992 suicides