Sir Michael Redgrave was of the generation of English actors that gave the world the legendary John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, Britain three fabled "Theatrical Knights" back in the days when a knighthood for thespian was far more rare than it is today. A superb actor, Redgrave himself was a charter member of the post-Great War English acting pantheon and was the sire of an acting dynasty. He and his wife, Rachel Kempson, were the parents of Vanessa Redgrave, Corin Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave and the grandparents of Natasha Richardson, Joely Richardson and Jemma Redgrave.Michael made his professional stage debut on the 30th August 1934 as Roy Darwin in "Counsellor at Law" at the Liverpool Playhouse then spent 2 years at the Liverpool Repertory. He moved to London where he made his debut in September 1936 as Ferdinand in "Love's Labour's Lost" at the Old Vic. In 1941 he joined the Royal Navy as an ordinary seaman then transferred to the reserves and was discharged on medical grounds in November 1942. In 1955 he won the New York Drama Critics Award for his role of Hector in "Tiger at the Gates". In 1963 he won the Evening Standard Award for his performance of Uncle Vanya. His film debut in 1936 was in "Secret Agent". "The Browning Version" (1951) earned him an Evening Standard Award. In 1947 he received an award from the American Board of Film Review for "Mourning Becomes Electra"