Most popular to theater audiences from his title role in
Andrew Lloyd Webber's version of
The Phantom of the Opera, Michael Crawford was in fact a star of the British stage and screen for almost two decades before that. Born in Wiltshire, England, in 1942, he began singing in the school choir and, while still a teenager, changed his name from Dumble-Smith to the more charismatic
Crawford and began working in radio, television, and film. After first stepping on the London stage in the early '60s,
Crawford's first regular television series was the BBC's 1960s show Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life; he appeared in several films as well (The War Lover, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and a starring turn in How I Won the War, which also featured
John Lennon).
Crawford moved to New York in 1967, and appeared in several small plays before
Gene Kelly recruited him to star in the film version of Hello, Dolly! with
Barbra Streisand. Other films proved less successful, and
Crawford returned to England in the early '70s, winning an award for his role in the sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.
Alternating between television series and award-winning roles in theater during the '70s,
Michael Crawford broke out with his title role in the musical
Barnum, which earned him several awards and proved a smash hit. He toured with the show during the early '80s, and
Barnum's popularity was the decisive factor in
Andrew Lloyd Webber's casting of him opposite
Sarah Brightman in
The Phantom of the Opera in 1986. The musical earned him immense critical praise, a Tony Award, and a hit single, "The Music of the Night," which reached the British Top Ten. Signed to Atlantic that same year,
Crawford released
Songs from the Stage & Screen, recorded with
the London Symphony Orchestra. After touring with
The Phantom of the Opera across Great Britain, North America, and Australia,
Crawford recorded his second album,
With Love, and set out on the road once more with a production of
The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, recorded as his third full-length release.
A Touch of Music in the Night followed in 1993, and two years later
Michael Crawford mounted
EFX, a $40 million production set at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, featuring
Crawford playing five different parts. In the spring of 1998
Michael Crawford released
On Eagle's Wings, a collection of spiritual songs;
Live in Concert followed later that same year, and in 1999 he released In the Moon of Wintertime: Christmas with Michael Crawford.
–
John Bush, Rovi