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Michael Crawford

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For other uses, see Michael Crawford (disambiguation)}}}.
Michael Crawford (born 19 January, 1942 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England), is an English actor and singer.

Although he most often appears on stage, in musicals such as Phantom of the Opera and Barnum, he first became a household name and famous to millions for his role as the hapless Frank Spencer in the British television sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973-78), for which he performed most of his own stunts. The series became one of the BBC's most successful programmes of all time.

Crawford has been awarded the OBE and has also been named Showbusiness Personality of the Year.

Biography

Born Michael Patrick Dumbell-Smith, Crawford was raised by his widowed mother, Doris, (whose husband Arthur Dumbell-Smith had died during the Battle of Britain and, subsequently afterward, her son Michael was the product of a short-lived relationship). He lived with his grandparents Monty and Edith Kathleen O'Keefe, until his mother re-married a grocer named Den Ingram in 1945.

From an early age, it was clear, even to his family and friends, that he demonstrated an exceptional singing voice and at the tender age of seven made one of his first public appearances as a choirboy at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

His first stage debut, in front of an audience, was in a school production of Benjamin Britten's, Let's Make an Opera playing the role of Sammy the Little Sweep (who was the leading character in the opera) at Brixton Town Hall, but his big break didn't come till Benjamin Britten hired him to play Sammy in a professional production of Let's Make an Opera at the Scala Theatre in London, which he alternated with another boy soprano, David Hemmings. It was in between his performances of Let's Make an Opera and Noye's Fludde, that he was told he had to change his name (since another performer in England used the same surname) and it was while he was sitting on a bus on the way home that he saw a lorry truck with the slogan "Crawford's Biscuits Are Best". It was then that Michael decided to change his name to "Michael Crawford". Soon afterward, the English Opera Group hired him and his career took off.

After appearing in two films for children Blow Your Trumpet and Soapbox Derby and numerous radio broadcasts and minor TV soap operas playing thin villains and car accident victims, even appearing for a short period as cabin boy, John Drake, in the TV series Sir Francis Drake , a twenty-six part adventure series made by ITC, starring Terrence Morgan and Jean Kent. His first big film role was in The War Lover opposite Steve McQueen.

By 1969, he was playing leading roles in films such as Hello, Dolly (1969), starring Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau, but more often appeared on stage, having starred in West End productions such as Billy (based on the novel, Billy Liar) (1974), Barnum (1981) (one of the longest runs by a leading man) and, most notably, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera (1986), for which he won an Olivier Award(Best Actor in a Musical), a Tony Award (Best Performance By An Actor in a Lead Role, Musical), an N.Y's Drama Desk Award, and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished Achievement in Theatre (Lead Performance). Many view Crawford as the quintessential Phantom; in fact, there was a grassroots movement in the early years of the 21st century to get Crawford cast in the motion picture version of the show in place of such stars as Antonio Banderas and John Travolta; however, he later lost the role to Gerard Butler.

He also performed "Music of the Night" at the Inaugural Gala for President George Bush in Washington, D.C., on 19 January, 1989. At the gala, Crawford was presented with a birthday cake (it was his own 47th birthday).

In 1995, Crawford created the high-profile starring role in EFX, the $40 million production which officially opened MGM's 1700-seat Grand Theatre in Las Vegas. The Atlantic Theater label released the companion album to EFX, which was hailed as among the most spectacular and ambitious shows ever produced on the American Stage.

He also had a short comeback to Broadway as the Count von Krolock in the short-lived Dance of the Vampires during late 2002 and early 2003 and then later on went on to originate the role of Count Fosco in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Woman in White which opened at the Palace Theatre, London, in September 2004. However, he was forced to leave the show in December 2004 due to ill health.

Crawford was invited to attend the Gala Performance of the stage version of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway at the Majestic Theater to celebrate the show becoming the longest running musical in Broadway history (supplanting Cats).

He will also participate in a special, as of yet unknown, presentation to celebrate. After that, he will continue to do concerts in Australia and New Zealand.

Crawford was ranked #17 in the 100 Greatest Britons (2002) poll sponsored by the BBC. The Michael Crawford International Fan Association () makes large contributions to many charities.

He married the actress Gabrielle Lewis in 1965, but they divorced in 1975; they have two daughters. He has never remarried.

Selected filmography

External links

 

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