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).

Filmography

• 2025Twiggy — (archival footage)
• 2001Creating Sharaz Jek
• 1994A Christmas Carol — Director
• 1992Northern Ballet's A Christmas Carol — Director
• 1989The Rainbow — Will Brangwen
• 1988The Lair of the White Worm — Joe Trent
• 1987A Simple Man — L.S. Lowry
• A Woman of Substance — Arthur Ainsley
• 1984Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani — Sharaz Jek
• 1983Orpheus in the Underworld — Mercury
• The Devil's Crown — Philippe Auguste, Charles Auguste
• Tycoon — Charles Clark
• 1976The Hunchback of Notre Dame — Pierre Gringoire
• 1976The Slipper and the Rose — John
• Churchill's People — Jack Cleveland
• 1972High Summer — Jack
• 1972The Merchant of Venice — Bassanio
• 1971The Boy Friend — Tony, Choreographer
• 1971The Cherry Orchard — Trofimov
• 1971The Music Lovers — Count Anton Chiluvsky
• 1970Dance of the Seven Veils — Richard Strauss
• ITV Saturday Night Theatre — Willy
• 1969Women in Love — Tibby Lupton
• 1968Song of Summer — Eric Fenby
• BBC Play of the Month — Trofimov, Bassanio
• Doctor Who — Sharaz Jek
• Armchair Theatre — Jack