A vintage page from an autograph album, signed in person 20th February at The Arts Theatre in Covent Garden by Michael Balfour (1918 - 1997), the English actor who was an instantly recognisable face, often in small character parts and supporting roles, in nearly two hundred films and TV shows, from the 1940s to the 1990s. Often cast as heavies or otherwise shady characters notable for their "loud" clothes, he could also convincingly play an American. As his screen career began to slow down in the late 1970s, Balfour went on tour with European circuses, as a clown. He founded Circus Hazzard, and created his own clown character. He was also an accomplished painter and sculptor, even running his own gallery for a while..

His film credits include The Red Beret (1953), Genevieve (1954), The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1955), Albert R.N. (1955), Reach For the Sky (1956), Carry on Constable (1961), Kaleidoscope (1966), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), The Oblong Box (1969), Candleshoe (1977), The Prisoner of Zenda (1979), The Holcroft Covenant (1985) and Batman (1989). One of his last roles was as a boxing referee in The Krays (1990).