Michael York

He married Patricia McCallum, a photographer on March 27, 1968.

In 2013, he was diagnosed with a disease called amyloidosis, which has affected his face and his voice. Initially, the doctors believed he was suffering from bone cancer.

Michael Hugh Johnson was born to Florence Edith May and Joseph Gwynne Johnson, in Fulmer, Buckinghamshire. He has two sisters. He lost a younger sister who was a twin, hours after her birth.

He was raised in Burgess Hill, Sussex, where he studied at Bromley Grammar School for Boys, Hurstpierpoint College and University College, Oxford.

In 1956, he made his debut in a production entitled, ‘The Yellow Jacket’. Three years later, he made a brief appearance in the production in West End, ‘Hamlet’. He also toured with the National Youth Theatre and was a part of the Oxford University Dramatic Society and the Dundee Repertory Theatre.

He graduated from the University College in 1964 and the following year, he worked with Franco Zeffirelli in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.

In 1967, he was cast as ‘Jolyon’ in ‘The Forsyte Saga’ and made his film debut the same year in ‘The Taming of the Shrew’. The following year, he was cast as Juliet’s evil cousin, ‘Tybalt’, in Zeffirelli’s adaptation of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

In 1969, he appeared in ‘The Guru’, which was a Merchant Ivory Productions film. He then appeared in ‘Something for Everyone’ as a footman, alongside Angela Lansbury the next year.

He broke all conventions when he played a bisexual in Bob Fosse’s adaptation of ‘Cabaret’, in 1972. He played the character of ‘D’Artagnan’ in the adaptation of ‘The Three Musketeers’ and also made his Broadway debut with ‘Out Cry’, the next year.

In 1976, he played the lead role in the film adaptation of ‘Logan’s Run’, which gave him one of his biggest hits. The subsequent year, he united with Franco Zeffirelli and played the role of ‘John the Baptist’ in ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ and also starred in ‘The Island of Dr. Moreau’, where he was cast opposite Burt Lancaster.

Through the 1980s, he appeared in a number of Broadway productions, such as, ‘Bent’, ‘The Little Prince and the Aviator’ and an adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’.

One of his greatest works was his role as ‘D’Artagnan’ in the 1973 film, ‘The Three Musketeers’. The film collected around $10.1 million in Canada and the United States. A sequel of the movie was released the next year titled, ‘The Four Musketeers’. York was glorified for his acting skills, spontaneity and his impeccable screen presence.