Michael Duffield
{{Short description|English-born actor who worked in Australia (1915–1986)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{infobox person
| name = Michael Duffield
| birth_place = Reading, Berkshire, England
| birth_date = 20 January 1915
| death_place = Toorak, Victoria, Australia
| death_date = 16 June 1986 (aged 71)
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1939–1986
}}
Michael Duffield (20 January 1915 – 16 June 1986) was an English-born character actor who worked in Australia for many decades.{{Citation | title=[Biographical cuttings on Michael Duffield, actor, containing one or more cuttings from newspapers or journals] | publication-date=1900 | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/35880325 | access-date=19 October 2020}}{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122198907/?terms=%22michael%2Bduffield%22|title=Taking characters very much to heart|date=25 July 1983|page=14|first=Margaret|last=Simons}}
Career
Duffield's first acting role was in the 1939 television play French Without Tears, playing the part of Lieutenant Commander Rogers. He appeared in over 50 onscreen roles, including further televised live plays.
He was also a prominent theatre actor, his stage career beginning in 1950, in numerous productions with the Melbourne Theatre Company. He won awards in 1962 for his performance on stage in The Caretaker and also was notable for playing Winston Churchill in the production The Soldiers.
He was nominated for the 1979 AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as Methuselah in The Last of the Knucklemen,{{cite web |url= https://aso.gov.au/titles/features/the-last-of-the-knucklemen/notes/|title= The Last of the Knucklemen (1979) |last= Kuipers |first= Richard |date= |website= Australian Screen |publisher= NFSA |access-date= 5 November 2021 |quote=}} a role he reprised from the original stage production.{{cite magazine |last= Connolly |first= Keith |date=September–October 1979 |title= Film Reviews |url= https://issuu.com/libuow/docs/cinemapaper1979sepno023 |magazine=Cinema Papers |location= |publisher= |access-date=}}
Death
Duffield died in June 1986, aged 71 and was survived by a wife and three children.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/120683686/?terms=%22michael%2Bduffield%22|date=17 June 1986|page=4|title=Veteran Actor Dies|newspaper=The Age}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class=wikitable
! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
| 1955 | Dial 999 | Fingerprint Man (uncredited) | |
| 1957 | Bullet from the Past | Fingerprint Expert | Short film |
| 1957 | Rock You Sinners | Paul Selway | |
| 1969 | Two Thousand Weeks | Will's father | |
| 1971 | Stork | Judge | |
| 1977 | The Last Wave | Andrew Potter | |
| 1979 | The Last of the Knucklemen | Methuselah | |
| 1986 | Departure | Presley Swift |
=Television=
| class=wikitable
! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
| 1939 | French Without Tears | Lieutenant Commander Rogers | TV play |
| 1956 | The Gordon Honour | Guide | Season 2, episode 1: "The Prisoner's Candlestick" |
| 1957 | Bonehead | George | Pilot episode |
| 1958 | Emergency Ward 10 | George Henderson | Season 1, episode 46 |
| 1956–1958 | ITV Television Playhouse | Phillip Cook / Cody / Chief Petty Officer Thompson | 3 episodes |
| 1959 | Probation Officer | Maxwell | Season 1, episode 4 |
| 1961 | Night of the Ding-Dong | Colonel Beauchamp | TV play |
| 1961 | Quiet Night | Doctor Clayton | TV play |
| 1961 | Two-Headed Eagle | Felix Von Willenstein | TV play |
| 1962 | Fury in Petticoats | Reverend William Dill | TV play |
| 1962 | Suspect | Dr Rendle | TV play |
| 1962 | Fly by Night | Mr Dexter | TV play |
| 1962 | The Music Upstairs | TV play | |
| 1963 | The White Carnation | John Greenwood the ghost | TV play{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131720815 |title=TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=37 |issue=10,548 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=29 May 1963 |accessdate=19 October 2020 |page=35 |via=National Library of Australia}} |
| 1963 | Barnstable | Reverend Wandsworth Tester | TV play |
| 1963 | The Prisoner | The Prisoner | TV play{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104252318 |title=Famous Play Tonight |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=37 |issue=10,524 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=1 May 1963 |accessdate=19 October 2020 |page=33 |via=National Library of Australia}} |
| 1964 | On Approval | Richard | TV play |
| 1964 | Barley Charlie | Inspector | Season 1, episode 4: "The Inspector Calls" |
| 1964 | Corruption in the Palace of Justice | Chief Judge Cross | TV play |
| 1964 | Luther | Staupitz | TV play |
| 1964 | A Provincial Lady | Alexi Stupendev | TV play |
| 1964 | Otherwise Engaged | Henry Williamson | TV play |
| 1965 | Macbeth | Seyton | TV play |
| 1965 | Photo Finish | The Father | TV play |
| 1965 | Campaign for One | TV play | |
| 1968 | Shadow on the Wall | Sam Ho | TV play |
| 1968 | Salome | Capradocian | TV play |
| 1968 | Cobwebs in Concrete | Sir Miles Parker | TV play |
| 1969 | The Cheerful Cuckold | Professor Garraway | TV play (episode of Australian Plays) |
| 1972 | I’m Damned if I Know | TV play | |
| 1974 | This Love Affair | Birdey Wilson | Anthology series |
| 1974 | Out of Love | Anthology miniseries | |
| 1971–1975 | Matlock Police | 6 roles | 6 episodes |
| 1975 | Cash and Company | PJ Clarke | Miniseries, episode 8: "A P.J. Clarke Original" |
| 1971–1975 | Division 4 | 9 roles | 9 episodes |
| 1969 –1976 | Homicide | 12 roles | 12 episodes |
| 1976 | Power Without Glory | Jock McNeil / Magistrate | 2 episodes |
| 1977 | Bluey | Harry Silverman | Episode 28: "The Hydra" |
| 1978 | Chopper Squad | Captain | Season 1, episode 10: "J Is for Julie" |
| 1978 | Catspaw | Barton | |
| 1979 | Skyways | Sir Joseph Miles / Sir Godfrey Fox | Season 1, 9 episodes |
| 1980 | Lucinda Brayford | Arthur Brayford | Miniseries, episode 1: "The shoulder-knots of livery" |
| 1979–1980 | Prisoner | Charles Baldwin | Seasons 1–2, 7 episodes |
| 1981 | And Here Comes Bucknuckle | Colonel Aubrey Mannix | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
| 1978–1981 | Cop Shop | Albie Hinch / Digby / Dr. Penhurst | 4 episodes |
| 1978–1981 | The Sullivans | Arthur Johnson / Judge | 9 episodes |
| 1982 | Deadline | Air Vice Marshall | TV movie |
| 1982 | Sara Dane | Governor Bligh | Miniseries, episode 7 |
| 1982 | Women of the Sun | Muller | Miniseries, episode 2: "Maydina, the Shadow" |
| 1984 | Special Squad | Fulcher | Episode 41: "Mad Mountain Momma" |
| 1983–1984 | Carson's Law | Harry Armstrong / Judge / Doctor | 6 episodes |
| 1985 | Robbery Under Arms | Mr Falkland | TV movie |
| 1986 | The Anniversary | Wilbur | TV movie |
Theatre
Radio
| class=wikitable
! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
| 1953 | His Excellency | 2BL-NC-CN & 4QR-1 radio play{{cite web|url= https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1554247574/view?sectionId=nla.obj-1686447002&partId=nla.obj-1554429229#page/n11/mode/1up |title= ABC Weekly |publisher=NLA |date= 28 February 1953}} | |
| 1962 | The General Motors Hour | Dr Rendle | Episode: "Suspect" |
| 1978 | Kind Hearts and Coronets | Rev Lord Henry | ABC Radio Melbourne |
| 1979 | Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime | Dean of Chichester | ABC Radio Melbourne |
| 1979 | Cymbeline | Philario | ABC Radio Melbourne |
References
{{reflist}}