Michael Gwynn (30 November 1916 – 29 January 1976) was an English actor. He attended Mayfield College near Mayfield, Sussex. During the Second World War he served in East Africa as a major and was adjutant to the 2nd (Nyasaland) Battalion of the King's African Rifles. Life and career 6ft 3inch tall Gwynn is perhaps best remembered for his role in the first episode of the BBC comedy Fawlty Towers "A Touch of Class" (1975) as the conman "Lord" Melbury who eventually humiliates Basil Fawlty. For Hammer Films, he performed in several productions including the war film The Camp on Blood Island (1958), and Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960), a rare drama film for the studio; the actor also appeared in one of their very best horror movies, The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), in which he played a tragic experimental subject who turns into a cannibalistic killer, and the less well-regarded Scars of Dracula (1970) in the role of a priest determined to battle Count Dracula. He had a lead role in 1960's Village of the Damned, produced and distributed by MGM-British Studios. Gwynn also appeared on several adaptations of plays on the Caedmon Records label. Among them were Cyrano de Bergerac, in which he played Le Bret, and Julius Caesar, in which he played Casca. Both productions starred Ralph Richardson in the title roles. Gwynn also appeared in a BBC serialised adaptation of Great Expectations as Joe Gargery in 1959. Gwynn died on 29 January 1976 in London , aged 59. Earlier that day, he had finished filming on Spawn, a television play for London Weekend Television. Plays 1956 – A View from the Bridge (opening season) by Arthur Miller; director Peter Brook – Alfieri. Filmography 1954: The Runaway Bus - 1st Transport Officer 1957: The Secret Place - Steve Waring 1958: Dunkirk - Commander – Sheerness 1958: The Camp on Blood Island – Tom Shields 1958: The Revenge of Frankenstein – Karl 1958: The Doctor's Dilemma – Dr. Blenkinsop 1960: Never Take Sweets from a Stranger – Prosecutor 1960: Village of the Damned – Alan Bernard 1961: Question 7 – Friedrich Gottfried – Pastor 1961: What a Carve Up! – Malcolm Broughton 1961: Barabbas – Lazarus 1962: Some People – Vicar 1963: Cleopatra – Cimber 1963: Jason and the Argonauts – Hermes 1964: The Fall of the Roman Empire – Cornelius 1965: The Saint – Martin