Michael Brandon

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Michael Brandon (born Michael Feldman; April 20, 1945)^[1] is an American actor. He is known for his role as James Dempsey in the British drama series Dempsey and Makepeace (1985–1986) and narrating the U.S. dub of the children's television series Thomas & Friends (2004–2012). His theatre credits include the original Broadway production of Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? (1969), and Jerry Springer in the West End production of Jerry Springer: The Opera (2003–2004).

Early life

Brandon was born Michael Feldman in Brooklyn, New York, to Miriam (née Tumen) and Sol Feldman.^[1][2] At age nine, he and his family moved to Valley Stream, New York, where he attended Memorial Junior High and graduated from Valley Stream Central High School. Brandon then attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and made his debut on Broadway before turning to cinema.^[3] He is of Jewish extraction.^[4]

Career

Brandon starred in the TV series Dempsey and Makepeace and Dinotopia, the movies Quattro mosche di velluto grigio (1971), F.M. (1978), A Vacation In Hell (1979) and A Change of Seasons (1980), and the plays Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? and Jerry Springer - The Opera. Since moving to the UK, Brandon has worked in television shows such as The Bill, Trial & Retribution, and Dead Man Weds. He also played the title role in the musical Jerry Springer: The Opera for over a year in the National Theatre and after its transfer into the West End. Brandon starred in Singin' in the Rain in the summer of 2012.

In 2004, he became the third U.S. narrator of the children's television series Thomas & Friends from 2004 to 2012, replacing Alec Baldwin.^[5] In February 2008, he began his talk radio show on City Talk (now Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool & The North West), a new local radio station in Liverpool.^[6] In 2008, he appeared in the Series 4 finale of the BBC's Doctor Who, as General Sanchez, a UNIT officer. Also in 2008, he appeared in the television series Bones, as Roger Frampton, an American millionaire.

In 2011, Brandon guest-starred in an episode of the BBC1 con drama Hustle as Marcus Wendell (series 7, episode 3). Also in 2011, he was seen in a supporting role in the film Captain America: The First Avenger as a politician who befriends the titular character. In September 2013 he appeared in the ITV dancing show Stepping Out with wife Glynis Barber. In 2017, he collaborated with producer/director Guy Masterson to create his autobiographical stand-up comedy, Off Ramps which hit at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In 2022, he appeared in an episode of Casualty on BBC1.

Personal life

Brandon lived with actress Kim Novak for 18 months in 1973–74.^[7] Brandon was married to actress Lindsay Wagner from 1976 to 1979.^[2] He has been married to actress Glynis Barber, with whom he co-starred in Dempsey & Makepeace, since 18 November 1989.^[2] They remain in the United Kingdom.^[2] The couple have a son.^[7]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1969	Goodbye, Columbus	Dartmouth		[8][9]
1970	Lovers and Other Strangers	Mike
	Jennifer on My Mind	Marcus Rottner
1971	Four Flies on Grey Velvet	Robert Tobias
1972	Strangers in 7A	Billy
1973	Heavy Traffic	Street Cat (voice)
	The Third Girl From the Left	David
1974	Hitchhike!	Keith Miles
	The Red Badge of Courage	Jim Conklin
1975	Queen of the Stardust Ballroom	David Asher
	Cage Without a Key	Ben Holian
1976	James Dean	Bill Blast
1978	FM	Jeff Dugan
1979	A Vacation in Hell	Alan
	Promises in the Dark	Dr. Jim Sanderson
1980	A Change of Seasons	Pete Lachapelle
1981	Rich and Famous	Max
1983	Venice Medical	Dr. Pete Marcus
1985	Deadly Messages	Michael Krasnick
1989	Divided We Stand	Bryan Gibbs
1990	Have a Nice Night	Tom Lepski
	Want to Stay Alive?
	Présumé dangereux
	Try This One for Size
	The Care of Time	Robert Halliday
1996	The Disappearance of Kevin Johnson	Jeff Littman
1997	The Apocalypse Watch	Ambassador Courtland
	Deja Vu	Alex
2001	Contaminated Man	Wyles
	Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase	Skeleton Gladiator (voice)	DVD movie
	The Lost Battalion	General Robert Alexander
2004	Hawking	Arno Penzias
2005	Calling All Engines!	US Narrator
2006	The Detonator	Commander Flint
	Are You Ready For Love?	Randy Bush
2008	Me and Orson Welles	Les Tremayne
2009	Toscanini in His Own Words	Wilfrid Pelletier
	Hero of the Rails	US Narrator
	The Last Days of Lehman Brothers	Jamie Dimon
2010	Misty Island Rescue	US Narrator, Diesel
2011	Captain America: The First Avenger	Senator Brandt
2011	Day of the Diesels	US Narrator, Diesel
2012	Blue Mountain Mystery
2014	Born of War	Harm Helder
2017	The Time of Their Lives	Harry Scheider
2019	Passport to Oblivion	Parkington	Voice
2022	Renegades	Palmer
TBA	Canary Black	TBA	In production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1969	Medical Center	Andy Tobin	Episode: "Thousands and Thousands of Miles"	[10][9]
	Mr. Deeds Goes to Town	Unknown role	1 episode
1971	The Impatient Heart	Frank Pescadero	Television film
1972	Owen Marshall, Counsellor at Law	Pete Giannetta	Episode: "Journey Through Limbo"
	Love American Style	Leonard	1 episode
1973	Love Story	Gary Stone	Episode: "Love Came Laughing"
1974	Medical Center	Dr. Lensko	Episode: "Web of Intrigue"
1975	Police Surgeon	Brian Lewis	Episode: "Insight to Murder"
	Police Story	Mike Ripley	Episode: "A Community of Victims"
1976	Scott Free	Tony Scott	Television film
1977	Red Alert	Carl Wyche	Television film
1978	The Comedy Company	Paul Lester	Television film
1980	A Perfect Match	Steve Triandos	Television film
1982	Between Two Brothers	Lead	Television film
1983	St. Elsewhere	Tony Gifford	Episode: "AIDS & Comfort"
1983–84	Emerald Point N.A.S.	David Marquette	11 episodes
1984	The Seduction of Gina	Keith Sindell	Television film
1985–86	Dempsey and Makepeace	Lt. James Dempsey	30 episodes
1987	Screen Two	Eddie	Episode: "Visitors"
1988	Tales of the Unexpected	Stephen Baker	Episode: "The Finger of Suspicion"
	The Magical World of Disney	Jeff Robins	Episode "Rock and Roll Mom"
1991	Dynasty: The Reunion	Arlen Marshall	2 episodes
1992	Home Fires	Ted Kramer	6 episodes[11]
1994	Shattering the Silence	Ted Ricci	Episode: "Not in My Family"
1994	Murder, She Wrote	Alex Weaver	Episode: "Proof in the Pudding"
1996	Gone in a Night	David Protess	Television film
1997	The Knock	Greg Taylor	Mini-series
1998	Dark Realm	Bristol	Episode: "Murder One"
	J.A.G.	D.A. Nardoni, Col.Hegstetter	2 episodes
	The Nanny	Stan	Episode: "The Nanny & the Hunk Producer"
	Ally McBeal	D.A. Dawson	Episode: "The Inmates"
1999	CI5: The New Professionals	Dr. Woods	Episode: "Skorpion"
	Jonathan Creek	Capt. Frank Candy	Episode: "The Omega Man"
	The Practice	D.A. Dawson	2 episodes
2001	The Division	Judge Stone	Episode: "Deal with the Devil"
2002	Dinotopia	Frank Scott	8 episodes
2003	Ed Stone Is Dead	Dad	1 episode
2004–2012	Thomas & Friends	Narrator (Series 6 (redub), 7–16), Diesel (Series 13–16), Mr. Bubbles (Series 13–15) (voices)	US dub; 239 episodes
2004	The Catherine Tate Show	Various	Episode: "Car Party"
2005	Dead Man Weds	Chuck Newman	6 episodes
2006	Miss Marple	Martin Zimmerman	Episode: "The Sittaford Mystery"
	The Catherine Tate Show	Robert	Episode: "Large Breasted Doctor"
	Trial & Retribution	Max Stanford	Episode: "XI: Closure"
2006-2008	Jack and the Sodor Construction Company	US Narrator	13 episodes; Spin off
2007	Casualty	Mike Barnicott	Episode: "Inheritance"
	The Bill	Louis Dreyfuss	4 episodes
2008	Bewitched	Rex	1 episode
	Doctor Who	General Sanchez	Episode: "The Stolen Earth"
2009	After You've Gone	Bill Tucker	Episode: "There Will Be Pud"
	Bones	Roger Frampton	Episode: "The Yanks in the U.K.: Parts 1 and 2"
	New Tricks	Colonel Norton	Episode: "The Truth Is Out There"
2010	Rosamund Pilcher's Shades of Love	Conrad	2 episodes
	Hustle	Marcus Wendell	Episode: "Clearance from a Deal"
2012	Mr. Selfridge	FW Woolworth	Episode: #1.8
2012–2017	Episodes	Elliot Salad	8 episodes
2013	Death in Paradise	Joel Maurice	Episode: "A Deadly Curse"
2014	Blandings	Grumman	Episode: "Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best"
2015	Galavant	Sid's Dad	Episode: "Two Balls"
2016–2018	Tracey Ullman's Show	Hal	4 episodes
2017	I Live with Models	Don	Episode: "Tommy's Dad"
	Tracey Breaks the News	Rich	1 episode
	Loaded	Leslie 'The Emperor'	3 episodes
2018	Trust	Walter Annenberg	Episode: "White Car in a Snowstorm"
2019	Urban Myths	Robert Calgary	Episode: "The Trial of Joan Collins"
2022	Casualty	Bill Phillipsen	Episode: "On the Edge"
2023	The Power	Robertson Laing	Episode: "A Better Future Is in Your Hands"

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2017	Star Wars: Battlefront II	Additional voices		[9]
2021	King's Bounty II	The Seer

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1967	Under the Yum Yum Tree	Lead	Barn Dinner Theater	[12]
1968	The Rainmaker	Jim Curry	Barn Dinner Theater
1969	Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?	Prince	Belasco Theater, Broadway
1979	Lady and the Clarinet	Jack	Long Wharf Theatre
1992	The Writing Game	Leo Rafkin	Manhattan Theater
1999	Speed the Plow	Cox	The Royal Lincoln
2000	The Adjustment	Matt	Guildford's YvonneArnaud Theatre, National tour
2003–2004	Jerry Springer: The Opera	Jerry Springer	National Theatre / Cambridge, West End
2007	On the Waterfront	Charlie	Hackney Empire Theatre
2010	Wet Weather Cover	Brad	Kings Head / Arts Theatre, West End
2011–2012	Singing in the Rain	R.F. Simpson	Palace Theatre, London
2014	The Long Road South	Jake Price	Hope Theatre, London
2016	Off The Kings Road	—	Jermyn Street Theatre, London
2016	Carry On Chilcot	—	Duke of Wales, London
2017	All My Sons	—	Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong
2017	Off Ramps - A Stand-Up Story	—	Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh Fringe
2018	Local Hero	Mark Knopfler	Workshop, Mark Knopfler
2019	Other People's Money	—	Southwark, Part of Jorgy Jorgensen
2019	Roman Holiday	—	Shanghai Theatre Festival
2019	White Christmas	—	Dominion Theatre, West End
2021	Straight White Men	—

References

External links

• Michael Brandon at IMDb
• Michael Brandon at AllMovie