Michael Francis Gregson was born on January 27. 1928 in Poona, British India. The son of Donald Gregson, a captain in the 3rd Indian Cavalry. He moved to Great Britain with his family at the age of three and then to Canada when he was ten. When he turned sixteen he joined the British Merchant Navy and eventually returned to England.
He acted under the stage name Michael Craig and first appeared in the theatre. He started as an assistant stage manager at the Castle Theatre, Farnham in 1950. It wasn’t long before his talents shown began to show. His stage credits include “A Whistle in the Dark” (1961), “Wars of the Roses” (1963–64) and “Funny Girl” with Barbra Streisand (1964).
His film career began as an extra. His first speaking role came in “Malta Story” in 1953, after which he performed on stage and screen successfully int the 1970s. Some of his notable films include “Svengali” (1954), “Sea of Sand” (1958), “Sapphire” (1959), “Life in Emergency Ward 10” (1959), “Cone of Silence” (1960), “The Iron Maiden” (1962), “Modesty Blaise” (1966), “Star!” (1968) and “Twinky” (1969). After his Rank contract expired he signed with Columbia Pictures and appeared in “Mysterious Island” (1961) and “Ride a Wild Pony” (1975).
As well as acting, Craig also became a screenwriter his credits include the highly acclaimed ABC-TV trilogy “The Fourth Wish” (1974), which starred John Meillon in an award-winning performance. He also wrote the screenplay for the feature film of “The Fourth Wish” (1976), which was produced following the success of the television series.
During the seventies and eighties Craig seemed to drifted into television, which were offering him more work than the rapidly declining film industry. His appearances include ‘Arthur of the Britons’, ‘The Professionals’, ‘Shoestring’, ‘Tales of the Unexpected’, ‘Dr Who and Robin of Sherwood’
In private Michael Craig has been married twice, his first wife was Babette Collier and his second is Susan Walker. He is the father of Michael, Stephen and author Jessica Gregson.
Michael is still active in the business, mostly in Australia, where he mainly resides.
CRAIG, Michael (Michael Francis Gregson) [1/27/1928, Poona, Bombay Presidency, British India - ] – writer, theater, film, TV actor brother of producer, writer Richard Gregson [1930-2019], uncle of actress, singer Natasha Gregson Wagner (Natsha Gregson) [1970- ], married to Babette Rita Collier [1956-19??], father of Michael Craig Jr. Stephen Craig, married to actress Sue Walker (Suzanne Walker) (197?- ) father of author Jessica Gregson [1978- ].
A Town Called Hell – 1971 (Paco)
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