Michael Patrick Smith, CBE (born 19 January 1942), known
professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and
singer. He has received international critical acclaim and won
numerous awards during his career, which has included many film and
television performances as well as stagework on both London's West End
and on Broadway in New York City. He played Frank Spencer in British
sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, which first made him a household
name, and the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera. His
performance in the latter earned him both the Tony Award for Best
Actor in a Musical and Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a
Musical.Crawford has also published the autobiography Parcel Arrived
Safely: Tied With String. Since 1987, he has served as the leader of
the Sick Children's Trust as well and acted as a public face for the
British social cause organization.Crawford 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 Dumbell "Smudge" Smith, who was not
his biological father, was killed, aged 22, on 6 September 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 his mother's surname, which was
that of her first husband.
professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and
singer. He has received international critical acclaim and won
numerous awards during his career, which has included many film and
television performances as well as stagework on both London's West End
and on Broadway in New York City. He played Frank Spencer in British
sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, which first made him a household
name, and the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera. His
performance in the latter earned him both the Tony Award for Best
Actor in a Musical and Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a
Musical.Crawford has also published the autobiography Parcel Arrived
Safely: Tied With String. Since 1987, he has served as the leader of
the Sick Children's Trust as well and acted as a public face for the
British social cause organization.Crawford 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 Dumbell "Smudge" Smith, who was not
his biological father, was killed, aged 22, on 6 September 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 his mother's surname, which was
that of her first husband.
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