Tony Winner Michael Gough, Famous for Playing Batman’s Butler, Dies at 94

Michael Gough, the Tony-winning stage and screen actor best known for playing Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred in several Batman movies, died on March 17, 2011 at the age of 94. According to BBC reports, Gough had been unwell for the past year and passed away at home surrounded by family.

Gough began his 65-year acting career in the 1946 TV movie Androcles and the Lion, the same year he got his big West End break in Frederick Lonsdale’s But for the Grace of God. He made his Broadway debut in 1958’s Compulsion, followed by Rialto roles in The Fighting Cock, Bedroom Farce (for which he won the 1979 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play) and Breaking the Code.

The veteran actor went on to appear in over 150 films, though he was certainly most recognizable as the loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth in the films Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. He continued to work with his Batman director, Tim Burton, on films like Sleepy Hollow and provided voices in his films Corpse Bride and Alice in Wonderland.

He is survived by his fourth wife, Henrietta, daughter Emma and sons Simon and Jasper.