He was born Michael Patrick Dumbell-Smith
in Salisbury, Wiltshire,
England.From very young he had shown his
abilities in singing and comedy and he made his first public appearance
when he was seven as a choirboy at the St. Paul's
Cathedral in London.He made
his stage debut in Let's Make An Opera
by Benjamin
Britten which was a school production and then later Benjamin
Britten
hired him to play the role of
Sammy again, alongside a young soprano David Hemmings,
but this time in a production at London's
Scala Theatre.It was found out
that another performer used the same name as his and so he changed his
surname to Crawford which he decided on after having seen a biscuit truck
from that company.He was hired
by the English Opera Group and went on from there to act in operas and
plays alike in a very successful stage career.At the same time he appeared in over
400 radio broadcasts and TV series.He moved into film and played opposite Steve McQueen in The War Lover.His many other film roles would
include the movies A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum, How I Won the War and Hello Dolly. His biggest television
success was in the Some Mothers Do
'Ave 'Em which became Britain's
most popular TV series.It
still remains one of the Top-10 British TV Series of all time.He continued to appear on stage
and after appearing in several more musicals he was approached by
Andrew Lloyd Webber to star in The Phantom of the Opera
. He was awarded a Tony and an
Olivier Award along with several others. He performed "The Music of
the Night" at the Inaugural Gala for President George Bush onhis 47th
birthday in January 1989.In 1995 he took the starring role
in EFX
which was seen as the most
spectacular and ambitious show on the American stage but after an on-stage
accident which resulted in a hip replacement he left the show.He continues to perform concerts
throughout the world, has been the president of the Sick Children's
Trust since 1987 and is ranked as No. 17 in the 100 Greatest Britons.
