Michael Williams loses fight against lung cancer
The actor Michael Williams has died after a battle against lung cancer.
The 65-year-old appeared in sitcom A Fine Romance with his wife Dame Judi Dench, but was known in his own right as a classical actor.
He died yesterday at his home surrounded by friends and family, a statement issued by his agent Julian Belfrage Associates said.
With no aspirations to conquer Hollywood, Williams was content to win plaudits for his work in theatre and on TV with the occasional dalliance in movies.
Brought up in Liverpool, he proved his abilities during a 14-year stint with the Royal Shakespeare Company where he worked with Sir Peter Hall.
At the age of 12, introduced to Shakespeare, he decided he would be an actor. His parents, however, encouraged him to go into insurance. Their son dutifully joining Commercial Union, where he worked in the same office as Leonard Rossiter, another aspiring actor.
Williams worked for two years in the insurance trade before heading off for two years in the RAF after which he passed auditions for Rada.
Getting together with his wife was a long, protracted affair. He first became aware of her when a colleague at Nottingham Playhouse, where he was in rep, told him he had just split up with her.
They became nodding acquaintances and over the course of nine years regularly met up for chats but romance failed to blossom.
When one of her productions headed for a tour of Australia, he jumped on a flight and surprised her by turning up unannounced. He stayed for a further six weeks.
"I asked her to marry me. Jude, quite rightly, said 'no, it's too romantic here with the sun and the sea and the sand. Ask me on a rainy night in Battersea and I'll think about it'. Some time after we got back we were walking down the road in Battersea and it happened to be raining, so I asked her again and this time she agreed."
The couple have one daughter Finty, whose real name is Tar Cressida, and a grandchild Sam.
