Michael Caine’s Mom Secretly Carried Food from Their Fridge to His Hidden Brother — Actor Met Brother While in His 50s

• Michael Caine lived most of his life thinking he only had a younger brother, who followed in his footsteps into the movie industry.
• Caine was already in his 50s when he received a call from a reporter claiming he had a secret brother.
• Caine decided to get to know his brother and make his life better in ways he could.

Before Sir Michael Caine rose to fame, he was born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite on March 14, 1933. He is an English actor who rose to fame on "Alfie," which earned him a Best Actor Academy Award nomination in 1966.

He went on to have a stellar career spanning eight decades and has appeared in 160 films since then. He acted alongside his brother, Stanley Micklewhite, in several box office hits like "Play Dirty," "Billion Dollar Brain," and "The Italian Job."

In 2013, Micklewhite died, which devastated Caine greatly. He couldn't even attend his brother's funeral, as their family wanted to keep it private and knew the media would come if Caine attended.

Rather than paying his last respects in person, Caine had to grieve privately and silently. Micklewhite's widow recalled how both actors were "very close," which made the loss so heavy on Caine.

Other than his younger brother, Caine had other family members close to his heart. He is a proud dad to two daughters, Dominique and Natasha.

Throughout his successful career, Caine stayed close to his family. He thought he'd gone through all the challenges, only to realize there was more.

One day, he received a strange call from a reporter saying he would run an article on Caine. The media running reports on him was no news to the actor, as he's dealt with them for decades.

Unbeknownst to Caine, his mother had visited his half-brother every Monday for fifty years, giving him food from their fridge.

However, this editor found a life-changing fact about the "Batman Begins" actor's life – he claimed Caine had a long-lost brother.

His Mom Took Her Secret to the Grave

A couple of years after Caine's mother passed, he and his younger brother discovered they had an elder half-brother named David Burchell. He was an illegitimate child born out of wedlock before she married Caine's dad.

The actor discovered this fact from a reporter working on a piece on the state of mental health institutions in England. They were having round table discussions with some verbal patients at an institution when the fact was revealed to them.

Unbeknownst to Caine, his mother had visited his half-brother every Monday for fifty years, giving him food from their fridge. After the news broke, the actor remembered his mother visiting a "cousin" up at Cane Hill mental hospital, but it was a cover-up to see her eldest son.

How it was kept a secret for that long was peculiar to the actor. He assumed someone would have gotten wind of the fact that he had a younger brother in a mental institution.

The editors told him his mother had nurses swear on a bible to keep it a secret. Burchell had a photo of Caine, so he knew who he was.

His brother's girlfriend revealed to reporters that Burchell was Caine's half-brother. The reporter was all ears and decided to pursue the piece.

Caine Didn't Hesitate to Meet His Half-Brother

Caine wasted no time getting to know his brother, who had epilepsy as a child. Unfortunately, he only had 18 months to get to know him before Burchell died.

Throughout that time, Caine ensured his older brother lived comfortably. He said he "improved things for him a little bit," and when his brother died in 1991, the actor buried him beside their mom.

Caine wanted to help his brother as much as possible because their mother never asked him for help. He could have easily helped his brother earlier because he had already made a fortune as an actor.

The famous actor mostly got to know his brother through the nurses. Burchell was almost entirely non-verbal, and Caine could not understand what he was trying to say.

Despite the shocking secret he uncovered, Caine felt no resentment towards his mother despite her having "fooled" them. He admired her even more for the effort she went through for her eldest son. He once shared:

"To have been able to have done that for this boy who was never going to get better, who was never going to be any advantage to her, or go to work, make any money or anything. She was incredible, my mother."

At 90, Caine has done everything he could for his family. He now enjoys a retired life with his wife, Shakira, and their two daughters.

In May 2023, Caine and his wife went out on a romantic date. The aging actor used a rollator as they enjoyed an evening out together.

Caine has relied on a rollator since 2018. His reliance on the walker came after a freak accident on the ice that affected his ankle mobility.