On display

Emmy Award

Award
1971 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Keith Michell (1926-2015) was one of the leading actors of the 1960s and 70s and was also the artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre, 1974-77.

Michell?s most enduring role is Henry VIII in the landmark BBC Television series The Six Wives of Henry VIII, first broadcast in 1970. The BBC devoted an episode to each of the monarch's six consorts. The film version, Henry VIII and his Six Wives (1972), adapted the same material into a single film, directed by Waris Hussein. Michell continued to be associated with the role, playing the king in Shakespeare's Henry VIII at Chichester in 1991, and in 1996 he was Henry in a television film, The Prince and the Pauper, when he was relieved to discover that the costumes for the rotund king were much lighter than the ones that he has worn some 20 years previously, which weighed 20 stone.

Michell received numerous awards for his performance as Henry VIII, including the Emmy Award for Best Actor.



Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleEmmy Award (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Copper, nickel, silver and gold
Brief description
Emmy Award for Best Actor presented to Keith Michell for The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 1971
Physical description
Emmy Award. Full length figure of a winged woman holding a representation of an atom aloft in both hands. The award is made of copper, nickel, silver and gold.
Dimensions
  • Height: 37cm
Marks and inscriptions
1971 - 1972 Television Academy Awards Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Keith Michell Catherine Howard: The Six Wives of Henry VIII August 29 1971 CBS
Gallery label
(2024)
The landmark BBC series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, was one of the most popular television programmes of the 1970s. Keith Michell won this Best Actor award for his performance as Henry. He became closely associated with the role and went on to play Henry on stage and in film.
Credit line
Given by Jeanette Michell
Object history
The Emmy statuette was designed by television engineer Louis McManus, who used his wife as the model. The winged figure represents the Muse of Art and the atom that she holds is the electron of science.
Summary
Keith Michell (1926-2015) was one of the leading actors of the 1960s and 70s and was also the artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre, 1974-77.

Michell?s most enduring role is Henry VIII in the landmark BBC Television series The Six Wives of Henry VIII, first broadcast in 1970. The BBC devoted an episode to each of the monarch's six consorts. The film version, Henry VIII and his Six Wives (1972), adapted the same material into a single film, directed by Waris Hussein. Michell continued to be associated with the role, playing the king in Shakespeare's Henry VIII at Chichester in 1991, and in 1996 he was Henry in a television film, The Prince and the Pauper, when he was relieved to discover that the costumes for the rotund king were much lighter than the ones that he has worn some 20 years previously, which weighed 20 stone.

Michell received numerous awards for his performance as Henry VIII, including the Emmy Award for Best Actor.



Collection
Accession number
S.800-2017

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Record createdFebruary 15, 2018
Record URL
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