The Six Wives of Henry VIII
1 9 7 0 (UK)
6 x 90 minute episodes
The Six Wives Of Henry VIII was first broadcast by the
BBC in 1970 and became one of its most celebrated historical drama
serials. The nine-hour series went on to be shown in some 70
countries and received seven major awards for both the quality of
the performances and for its historical authenticity.
The gargantuan figure of Henry himself was played by the
hitherto unknown Australian actor Keith Michell, who earned an
award for "Best Television Actor" as a result of his
efforts.
Michell started out as an art teacher and really owed the role
to Laurence Olivier, who had been impressed by Michell while on
tour in Australia and had brought him back to England to advance
his career.
The series was neatly split into six episodes, each one dealing
with one of the six wives and tracing their varied experiences and
sometimes bloody ends at the hands of one of England's most
infamous rulers.
The wives themselves were played by Annette Crosbie, Dorothy
Tutin, Anne Stallybrass, Elvi Hale, Angela Pleasance, and Rosalie
Crutchley, all respected stars of stage and screen. Annette
Crosbie collected a "Best Actress" award for her
performance as Catherine of Aragon.
Michell, though, was always the focus of attention. His
challenge was to portray Henry at the different stages of his
life, beginning with the athletic 18-year-old monarch and
culminating in the oversize 56-year-old tyrant plagued by a
variety of physical ailments.
Playing the aging Henry proved the most demanding challenge.
Michell, who boasted only half the girth of the real king, spent
over four hours each day having his make-up applied and was unable
to eat or drink except through a straw because of the padding
tucked into his cheeks.
The impersonation was very convincing and critics hailed the
attention to detail in costume and sets. No one twigged that
Henry's mink robes were really made of rabbit fur, or that the
fabulous jewels adorning his hats and coats were humble washers
and screws sprayed with paint.
The costumes and settings and the brilliance of Michell and his
co-stars ensured the success of the series and stardom to Michell.
The series also did much to establish the BBC's cherished
reputation for ambitious and historically authentic costume drama,
consolidated a year later by the equally-acclaimed series Elizabeth
R, starring Glenda Jackson as Henry's daughter.
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