Michael N. Harbour - the 'n' standing for Ninian - was born in Edinburgh, one of six children of a vet and was brought up in London and St. Alban's in Hertfordshire, where he first became interested in amateur dramatics and where he met his wife Lesley, whom he married in 1968. The actress and voice-over artist Kate Harbour, his daughter, was born a year later. He graduated from the Rose Bruford Drama School in Kent and joined the BBC Radio Repertory Company, as well as presenting the children's educational programme 'Finding Out.' Well-known as a stage performer at Stratford East, he was also an accomplished singer and appeared in such musicals as 'Zorro' and 'Into the Woods', though he was cut from the film version of 'Sweeney Todd'. He died of cancer whilst staying with relatives in Cornwall in April 2009.