Christopher Gable
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).
Acting
TV
Doctor Who
as Sharaz Jek
1963
Movie
The Lair of the White Worm
as Joe Trent
1988
Movie
Women in Love
as Tibby Lupton
1969
Movie
The Music Lovers
as Count Anton Chiluvsky
1971
Movie
The Slipper and the Rose
as John
1976
Movie
The Boy Friend
as Tony
1971
Movie
The Rainbow
as Will Brangwen
1989
TV
A Woman of Substance
as Arthur Ainsley
1985
Movie
Song of Summer
as Eric Fenby
1968
Movie
Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani
as Sharaz Jek
1984
TV
BBC Play of the Month
as Trofimov
1965
TV
BBC Play of the Month
as Bassanio
1965
TV
Armchair Theatre
as Jack
1956
Movie
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
as Pierre Gringoire
1976
Movie
Twiggy
as (archival footage)
2025
TV
The Devil's Crown
as Philippe Auguste
1978
TV
The Devil's Crown
as Charles Auguste
1978
Movie
Dance of the Seven Veils
as Richard Strauss
1970
TV
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
as Willy
1969
Movie
The Merchant of Venice
as Bassanio
1972
TV
Churchill's People
as Jack Cleveland
1974
Movie
The Cherry Orchard
as Trofimov
1971
Movie
Orpheus in the Underworld
as Mercury
1983
TV
Tycoon
as Charles Clark
1978
