Talk:Michael Gothard

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How and why did he commit suicide?

To the unsigned question above: The imdb page has some info on that. I'd put it here, but I am a bit disillusioned with Wikipedia and its deletionists lately. tharsaile (talk) 15:20, 15 February 2017 (UTC)

He hanged himself. He had a history of depression, but what caused him to kill himself at this time is not known. See the Michael Gothard Archive for extensive research on his life and work. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.254.252.116 (talk) 23:11, 1 September 2018 (UTC)

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...was removed due to lack of a non-free use rationale for this article. Videmus Omnia Talk  05:06, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

Some additional facts
In the spring of 1984 Michael Gothard came to Stockholm to stage a minor roll in a film called Starman, where he originally was casted for the title role. However, due to some intrigues, he was replaced by Jeff Bridges. In the film you can see that the mechanical dolls, supposed to show the Starman taking the shape of a human being, are based on Michael Gothards traits. He would have been perfect to embody this alienated personality tryng to survive by adapting to the life on earth. Instead he was to stage a researcher in weelchair. Anyway the film a year later was promoted with Micheal Gothards name in capital Letters as if he still was playing one of the leading characters. So he had a lot of hours off in Stockholm and went to a performance of King Lear staged by Ingmar Bergman at the Dramatic Theatre. Michael Gothard was an intellectual man who knew his Shakespeare by heart, and probably he was the only one in the filmteam who bothered to attend a theatreperformance in Swedish. I happend to sit behind him and got the whole story about Starman, and it really astonished me.

I visited Michael Gothard in London and learned to know him as a warm, intellegent and humorous character that made original remarks and comments about things going on. I will never forget what he said about the center of Stockholm, that used to be a place with old houses – among them palaces from the 17th and 18th centuries. When Michel saw the brutal city renewal from the 70s he would go: "–I didn't think Sweden was in the war!" I had to inform him that the stupid Swedes had destroyed their city.

Talking about war, Michael told me he had suffered through the Blitz as many other Londoners, but during those – also to grown ups scaringly dark years - he was parted from his parents. Michael Gothard, although working for the commercial filmindustry, was a culturally critical person, he was a member of the peace movement, he was against nuclear power and politically leftist. A film he recommended to me from those times was "My Dinner with Andre", not interesting for its camerawork, but for its way of explaining the social situations of actors. He told me that he in the beginning of his career had been offered a job at RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company), and I asked why he hadn't tried this, and I must say I never really understood his answer; it was something about not repeating yourself. But I thought filmactors had to repeat the scenes all the time...

Before Michael Gothard chose to work with his language as an actor, he had also volonteered as journalist at local papers. He was a witty and funny letterwriter. Michael Gothard was a multitalanted person, he played the saxophone, he was also scetching what I remember as abstract pictures, and he closely followed his times, describing himself as a news addict.

Coming from a country, famous for its suicides, I also want to add, that of course the cause of death throws its shadow on a persons life, but it doesn't mean that the life itself was a very dark one. At least Michael and I had a lot of fun together and I wish our friendship had lasted longer. What also bothers me are some stories about the less serious parts of the filmindustry Michael told me. He said actors could sometimes get killed and their death then masked as a suicide or an accident, so they wouldn't have to pay the actor. Anyway, if he took his life it wasn't an action against us that loved him, it was due to very sad and tragic circumstaces. Depression is a disease with as big a risk of death as some severe forms of cancer, and it has to be treated by specialists, sometimes even in hospital. What a tradgedy that there was no one there to take him by the hand and lead him to the hospital. — Preceding unsigned comment added by The Runewriter (talk • contribs) 08:53, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

Runewriter, this is fascinating. You are so lucky to have met Michael, and I would love to hear more. Did he mention where he learned to ride? But I'm mystified as to why Michael was in Sweden. The film appears to have been shot in the US. Also, a friend of mine has seen the film, and found no trace of a researcher in a wheelchair. Was even this scene cut? (Valtrepkos (talk) 17:50, 21 June 2012 (UTC)).