Michael Barrington

Michael Barrington (3 July 1924 – 5 June 1988) was a British actor born in Twickenham, Middlesex, who built a career spanning theatre, television, and film across several decades. He is perhaps best remembered for his television role as Governor Venables, the ineffectual prison administrator in the BBC sitcom Porridge, which starred Ronnie Barker in the lead role.

Barrington lost both parents when he was sixteen. His ambition to train as a veterinarian was interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served in a munitions factory and with the Royal Engineers. Following the war, he chose to pursue acting and trained at the Birmingham School of Drama. He subsequently worked in repertory theatres and appeared at the Vaudeville Theatre in a production of Salad Days.

His Broadway career ran from 1968 to 1970. Originally from London, Barrington appeared in Portrait of a Queen and starred in Conduct Unbecoming during that period. His television work in Britain was extensive, with appearances in Z-Cars, The Avengers, Adam Adamant Lives!, Private Schulz, and the Doctor Who serial The Seeds of Doom, in which he played Sir Colin Thackeray. He was also cast as Sir Robert Peel in the 1975 British miniseries Edward the Seventh, broadcast in the United States under the title Edward the King.

Among his film credits were Payroll (1961), The Hellfire Club (1961), Follow That Man (1961), Privilege (1967), Up the Junction (1968), The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970), Follow Me! (1972), The Black Panther (1977), and The Stud (1978).

Barrington was married to character actress Barbara New. He died on 5 June 1988 in London at the age of 63 following a prolonged period of ill health due to lung disease, the cause of death being a heart attack. He was buried at the East London Cemetery and Crematorium.