{{Short description|British actor (1945–2009)}} {{distinguish|Michael's Harbour}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}} {{Use British English|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox person | name = Michael N. Harbour | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Michael Ninian Harbour | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1945|7|4}} | birth_place = Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2009|4|9|1945|7|4}} | death_place = Trebetherick, Cornwall, England | resting_place = St Enodoc's Church, Trebetherick | other_names = | known_for = | death_cause = | occupation = Actor | alma_mater = Rose Bruford College | years_active = 1969–2009 | spouse = {{marriage|Lesley Sizer Grieve|1968}} | children = Emma Lucy<br />Kate Elizabeth }} '''Michael Ninian Harbour''' (4 July 1945 &ndash; 9 April 2009) was a British actor.

==Biography== Michael Ninian Harbour was born in Edinburgh on 4 July 1945, a son of Harold Ernest, a veterinary surgeon, and Mary Phillipa (née McManus).

He was educated at Finchley Grammar School and St Columba's College, St Albans. He then attended the Rose Bruford drama college in Sidcup.<ref name=obit>{{Cite news|last=Coveney|first=Michael|title=Michael N Harbour|newspaper=The Guardian|date=11 June 2009}}</ref>

Harbour joined the BBC Drama Repertory Company, and then became a presenter of a BBC children's education programme, ''Finding Out'' in the early 1970s. His stage debut came in April 1975 when he played Frid in Wheeler and Sondheim’s ''A Little Night Music'', alongside stars such as Jean Simmons, Hermione Gingold and Joss Ackland. In 1998, he played the Mysterious Man/Cinderella's Father in ''Into the Woods'' at the Donmar Warehouse. He also played Firmin in the West End production of ''The Phantom of the Opera''.

His television career prospered with appearances in many major series such as ''Budgie'', ''Casualty'', ''Heartbeat'', ''Midsomer Murders'' and ''A Last Visitor for Mr Hugh Peter'' by Don Taylor, in which he co-starred with Peter Vaughan and Michael Pennington.<ref name=obit/>

==Personal life== Harbour met his future wife, Lesley Sizer Grieve, at St Columba’s. They married in 1968, and had two daughters: Emma Lucy, in 1968, and Kate Elizabeth in 1971.<ref name="BillionGraves"/>

Emma married John Bowe in 1995. She is an actress and writer, and a director of Bowe Harbour Productions Ltd.<ref>{{Cite web|title= Bowe, Emma Lucy|website=Find and update company information service|url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/09977476/officers|access-date=7 October 2023}}</ref> Kate is a voice actress.

Michael and his family lived for the last 20 years of his life on the Isle of Dogs. He was a keen gardener and spent much time at his late brother's house in Trebetherick in Cornwall, where he died on 9 April 2009, at the age of 63. He was buried at St Enodoc's Church, Trebetherick.<ref name="BillionGraves"/>

His wife Lesley died in 2020.<ref name="BillionGraves">{{Cite web|title=Lesley S Harbour|website=BillionGraves|url=https://billiongraves.com/grave/Lesley-S-Harbour/47441145?referrer=myheritage|access-date=7 October 2023}}</ref>

==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1985|| ''Wild Geese II'' || KGB Man || |- |1998|| ''Vigo'' || Studio Manager || |- |1999|| ''Sophie's World'' || George Berkeley || |- |2000|| ''Shafted!'' || Sextronaut || |- |2000|| ''Pandaemonium'' || Walsh || |- |2006|| ''Splinter'' || Beard || |- |2003|| ''Midsomer Murders'' ||S7E4 || |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0361961|name=Michael N. Harbour}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbour, Michael N.}} Category:1945 births Category:2009 deaths Category:People educated at Finchley Grammar School Category:Alumni of Rose Bruford College Category:English male stage actors Category:English male television actors