Michael Summerton (1943-2009)
Thursday, 30 July 2009 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The actor/agent Michael Summerton died on the 16th June 2009, aged 65.Summerton started out in the theatre and then moved to television with a role in the BBC Soap Compact; he then went on to play one of the very first Daleks to appear in Doctor Who.
In later life he became an agent, running his own company Michael Summerton Management Ltd which specialises in choreography and dancing, and was notable is being the agent for Arlene Phillips and Bruno Tonioli, both featuring as judges in the popular BBC series Strictly Come Dancing.
From The Telegraph Obituary:
His agent told him he would not need to learn any lines for the casting, and when he arrived at the BBC workshops he was asked to strip down to his underpants and sit in what appeared to be a tub on castors. Summerton (who was one of the four original Daleks) was instructed in how to move this apparatus about, the director saying: "We want to test this prototype for manoeuvrability. We want you to move forwards, backwards, sideways. Quickly, slowly." Presently the director lowered a lid over him with a plunger sticking out of it. Summerton found himself in total darkness. He would later relate: "When the lid went on I knew my career as an actor was over."
His agent told him he would not need to learn any lines for the casting, and when he arrived at the BBC workshops he was asked to strip down to his underpants and sit in what appeared to be a tub on castors. Summerton (who was one of the four original Daleks) was instructed in how to move this apparatus about, the director saying: "We want to test this prototype for manoeuvrability. We want you to move forwards, backwards, sideways. Quickly, slowly." Presently the director lowered a lid over him with a plunger sticking out of it. Summerton found himself in total darkness. He would later relate: "When the lid went on I knew my career as an actor was over."
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