Michael Crawford
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Michael Crawford CBE |
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Crawford in Sydney in 2012
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| Born |
Michael Patrick Smith 19 January 1942 Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actor, singer, comedian, stuntman |
| Years active | 1955–present |
| Spouse(s) | Gabrielle Lewis (1965–1975; divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | Official website |
Michael Patrick Smith, CBE (born 19 January 1942), known as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer. He has received great critical acclaim and won numerous awards during his career, which covers radio, television, film, and stagework on both London's West End and on Broadway in New York City.
He is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the popular 1970s British sitcom, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (which made him a household name), as well as for originating the title role in The Phantom of the Opera.
Michael Crawford was born in Salisbury, England as Michael Patrick Smith.
He was brought up by his mother, Doris Agnes Mary Pike, and her parents, Montague Pike and his wife, Edith (née O'Keefe), in what Crawford described as a "close-knit Roman Catholic family". His maternal grandmother was born in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and lived to be 99 years old. His mother's first husband, Arthur Dumbbell "Smudge" Smith (1918 – 6 September 1940), who was not his biological father, was killed, aged 22, in 1940 during the Battle of Britain, less than a year after they married. Sixteen months after Smith's death, Crawford was born, the result of a short-lived relationship, and given the surname of his mother's first husband.
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Wikipedia