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IMDbPro

Michael Crawford(I)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Composer
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Michael Crawford
Cartoonist Woody becomes the superhero he draws. Using his gadgets he helps a Soviet spy defect to the West.
Play trailer2:05
Condorman (1981)
8 Videos
92 Photos
Michael Crawford raised by a single mother (Doris Pike) and his maternal grandparents (Montague Pike and Edith O'Keefe Pike) in what Crawford described as a "close-knit [Roman] Catholic family". His maternal grandmother was born in County Londonderry, Ireland, and lived to be 99 years old. His mother's first husband, Arthur Dumbell 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.

During his early years, Crawford divided his time between the army camp in Wiltshire, where he and his mother lived during the war, and the Isle of Sheppey, off the coast of Kent, where his mother had grown up. He attended Saint Michael's, Bexleyheath, a Catholic school run by nuns whom Crawford later described as not being shy in their use of corporal punishment. At the end of WWII, his mother remarried, this time to a grocer, Lionel Dennis Ingram. The couple moved to London, where Crawford attended Oakfield Preparatory School, Dulwich, where he was known as Michael Ingram. His mother's second marriage was abusive, according to Crawford.

Crawford landed a leading role on Broadway in 'Black Comedy', where he tumbled down a steep staircase and crashed into a solid door face first eight times a week during the run of the play. Producer Roger Edens saw him. Impressed by the young man's agility and talent, Edens recommended him to Ernest Lehman for the role of "Cornelius Hackl" in Hello, Dolly! (1969).
BornJanuary 19, 1942
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BornJanuary 19, 1942
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy

Photos92

Steve McQueen and Michael Crawford in The War Lover (1962)
Michael Crawford in The War Lover (1962)
Steve McQueen and Michael Crawford in The War Lover (1962)
Steve McQueen and Michael Crawford in The War Lover (1962)
Michael Crawford in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
Annette Andre and Michael Crawford in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
Michael Crawford in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
Michael Crawford in The Ghosts of Christmas Eve (1999)
Michael Crawford in The Ghosts of Christmas Eve (1999)
Michael Crawford in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973)
Michael Crawford in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973)
Michael Crawford and Karl Michael Vogler in How I Won the War (1967)

Known for

The Knack... and How to Get It (1965)
The Knack... and How to Get It
6.3
  • Colin
  • 1965
Walter Matthau and Barbra Streisand in Hello, Dolly! (1969)
Hello, Dolly!
7.0
  • Cornelius Hackl
  • 1969
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973)
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
7.6
TV Series
  • Frank Spencer
Kathy Najimy, John Ratzenberger, Andrew Stanton, Lori Alan, Bob Bergen, Ben Burtt, John Cygan, Donald Fullilove, Teresa Ganzel, Jeff Garlin, Jan Rabson, Jess Harnell, Kim Kopf, Sherry Lynn, Laraine Newman, Teddy Newton, Jeff Pidgeon, Jim Ward, Fred Willard, Elissa Knight, and Niki McElroy in WALL·E (2008)
WALL·E
8.4
  • Soundtrack("Put On Your Sunday Clothes", "It Only Takes a Moment")
  • 2008

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973)
    Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
  • The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (2011)
    The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall
  • Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Ghost of Christmas Eve (2001)
    Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Ghost of Christmas Eve
  • Peter Adamson, Jean Alexander, Johnny Briggs, Margot Bryant, and Doris Speed in Coronation Street (1960)
    Coronation Street
    • (uncredited)
  • Noel's House Party (1991)
    Noel's House Party
  • Touch of Music in the Night: Michael Crawford
  • Michael Crawford & Patti LaBelle: With Your Hand Upon My Heart (1993)
    Michael Crawford & Patti LaBelle: With Your Hand Upon My Heart
  • Elisabeth Moss, Ellen Blain, Michael Crawford, Paige Gosney, Benji Gregory, and Ben Vereen in Once Upon a Forest (1993)
    Once Upon a Forest
    • (voice)
  • Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Premiere Collection Encore (1992)
    Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Premiere Collection Encore
  • Barnum! (1986)
    Barnum!
  • Barbara Carrera and Michael Crawford in Condorman (1981)
    Condorman
  • Chalk and Cheese (1977)
    Chalk and Cheese
  • White Powder Christmas
  • Play for Today (1970)
    Play for Today
  • CBS Children's Film Festival (1967)
    CBS Children's Film Festival

Writer

  • Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973)
    Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em

Composer

  • Michael Crawford & Patti LaBelle: With Your Hand Upon My Heart (1993)
    Michael Crawford & Patti LaBelle: With Your Hand Upon My Heart

Videos8

Trailer
Trailer 2:05
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:15
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 3:42
Official Trailer
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Trailer 1:18
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Hello, Dolly!
Trailer 4:15
Hello, Dolly!
Once Upon A Forest
Trailer 0:32
Once Upon A Forest
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Trailer 1:07
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Which 8 Christmas Movies Almost Had Completely Different Stars?
Video 2:34
Which 8 Christmas Movies Almost Had Completely Different Stars?

Personal details

Edit
    • Michael Crawford International Fan Association
    • January 19, 1942
    • Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK
    • 1965 - October 30, 1975 (divorced, 2 children)
    • (Grandparent)
  • Other works
    He has made several successful recordings for Atlantic Records.
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 1 Article
    • 2 Pictorials
    • 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Once treated a little girl named Vanessa, who was suffering from the final stages of leukemia, to a very rare, private performance of "Barnum" (which he had been doing at the time) as a special treat for her, even having the theater remove some of the seats to make way for her nurses, hospital bed, and family to come and watch and Michael and the entire cast performed the show just for her. Vanessa, tragically, later died of the disease and even today, he still fondly remembers her.
  • Quotes
    If it had not been for Benjamin Britten (the composer), I wouldn't have been an actor. He gave me belief, self-belief.
    • Known for his roles, Frank Spencer in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973) and the Phantom in the stage production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera."

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