Christopher Gable
Actor
Biography
Christopher Michael Gable, CBE (13 March 1940 – 23 October 1998) was an English ballet dancer, choreographer and actor. Born in London, Gable studied at the Royal Ballet School, joining the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet in 1957. He was promoted to soloist in 1959 and principal in 1961.
Gable's roles included Romeo in the Kenneth MacMillan production of Romeo and Juliet, Mercury in Offenbach's comic operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, and Colas in La fille mal gardée. Gable frequently partnered with Lynn Seymour. Gable suffered from a chronic rheumatoid condition in his feet and left the Royal Ballet in 1967 to pursue a career in acting.
Gable appeared in a number of television and film productions directed by Ken Russell. These included Song of Summer (1968) and Dance of the Seven Veils (1970) for BBC television, and the films Women in Love (1969), The Music Lovers (1971), The Boy Friend (1971), The Lair of the White Worm (1988), and The Rainbow (1989). His other roles included John, valet and friend of Prince Edward, in the Cinderella film musical The Slipper and the Rose (1976), the composer Peter Cornelius in Wagner (1983), Mercury in the BBC television production of Orpheus in the Underworld (1983), ambiguous villain Sharaz Jek in the Doctor Who serial The Caves of Androzani (1984), and Arthur Ainsley in the miniseries A Woman of Substance (1985).
As Director
Filmography
The Lair of the White Worm
as Joe Trent 1988
Women in Love
as Tibby Lupton 1969
The Music Lovers
as Count Anton Chiluvsky 1971
The Slipper and the Rose
as John 1976
The Boy Friend
as Tony 1971
The Rainbow
as Will Brangwen 1989
Song of Summer
as Eric Fenby 1968
Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani
as Sharaz Jek 1984
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
as Pierre Gringoire 1976
Twiggy
as (archival footage) 2025
Dance of the Seven Veils
as Richard Strauss 1970
Orpheus in the Underworld
as Mercury 1983
The Merchant of Venice
as Bassanio 1972
The Cherry Orchard
as Trofimov 1971
A Simple Man
as L.S. Lowry 1987
High Summer
as Jack 1972