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Tom Courtenay

Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he achieved prominence in the 1960s as part of actors of the British New Wave. Courtenay received numerous accolades including three BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award, the Silver Bear, and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Emmy Award. He was knighted for his services to cinema and theatre in the 2001 New Year Honours.

Courtenay earned the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his role in the coming-of-age film The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in David Lean's epic Doctor Zhivago (1965). Other notable film roles during this period include Billy Liar (1963), King and Country (1964), King Rat (1965), and The Night of the Generals (1967).

For his performance in the 1983 film adaptation of the play The Dresser, in which he reprised the role of Norman he originated both on the West End and Broadway, Courtenay won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and received Academy and BAFTA Award nominations. His later roles include Last Orders (2001), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), Quartet (2012), 45 Years (2015), and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018).

He received two British Academy Television Awards for his performances in the television film A Rather English Marriage (1998) and the first series of the crime drama Unforgotten (2015) as well as a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for the PBS miniseries Little Dorrit (2008).

Early life and education
Courtenay was born on 25 February 1937 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, the son of Annie Eliza (née Quest) and Thomas Henry Courtenay, a boat painter in Hull fish docks. He attended Kingston High School and went on to study English at University College London, where he failed his degree. After this he studied drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.

1960–1977
Courtenay made his stage debut in 1960 with the Old Vic theatre company at the Lyceum, Edinburgh, before taking over from Albert Finney in the title role of Billy Liar at the Cambridge Theatre in 1961. In 1963, he played that same title role in the film version, directed by John Schlesinger. He said of Albert Finney, "We both have the same problem, overcoming the flat harsh speech of the North."

Courtenay's film debut was in 1962 with Private Potter, directed by Finnish-born director Caspar Wrede, who had first spotted Courtenay while he was still at RADA. This was followed by The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, directed by Tony Richardson, and Billy Liar, two highly acclaimed films and performances which helped usher in the British New Wave of the early-to-mid-1960s. For these performances Courtenay was awarded the 1962 BAFTA Award for most promising newcomer and the 1963 BAFTA Award for best actor respectively. He also was the first to record the song Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter, doing so for the TV play The Lads. The song was released by Decca on a 45 rpm record.

For his role as the dedicated revolutionary leader Pasha Antipov in Doctor Zhivago (1965), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but was bested by Martin Balsam. Among his other well-known films is King & Country, directed by Joseph Losey, where he played opposite Dirk Bogarde; the all-star war film, Operation Crossbow, directed by Michael Anderson (starring George Peppard and Sophia Loren); King Rat, directed by Bryan Forbes and costarring James Fox and George Segal; and The Night of the Generals, directed by Anatole Litvak with Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif. He provided physical slapstick comedy in the ultimately chilling anti-nuke black comedy The Day the Fish Came Out in 1967. In 1969 and 1971, he was in two spy-comedies, Otley (in the title role) along with Catch Me A Spy (1970) starring Kirk Douglas; and previously, in 1968, he co-starred in a serious film of that genre, A Dandy in Aspic (1968), opposite Laurence Harvey. Courtenay's working relationship with Wrede returned to film when he played the title role in the latter's 1970 production of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

Despite being catapulted to fame by the aforementioned films, Courtenay has said that he has not particularly enjoyed film acting; from the mid-1960s he concentrated more on stage work, although in a later Telegraph interview on 4/20/2005, he admitted "I slightly overdid the anti-film thing". In 1968, Courtenay began a long association with Manchester when he played in The Playboy of the Western World for the Century Theatre at Manchester University directed by Michael Elliott. In 1969, Courtenay played Hamlet (John Nettles playing Laertes) for 69 Theatre Company at University Theatre in Manchester, this being the precursor of the Royal Exchange Theatre, which was founded in 1976 where he was to give many performances, firstly under the direction of Casper Wrede. His first roles for the Royal Exchange were as Faulkland in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals and the hero of Heinrich von Kleist's The Prince of Homburg. Since then he has played a variety of roles, including in 1999 the leading role in the theatre's production of King Lear, and in 2001 Uncle Vanya.

1980–1999
Courtney originated the role of Norman in Ronald Harwood's The Dresser which was first produced in the West End in 1980. The production started at Royal Exchange, Manchester before transferring to the Queen's Theatre. Courtenay acted opposite Freddie Jones as Sir. The production earned the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Play. He then reprised his role on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in 1981, acting opposite Paul Rogers. Courtenay received nominations for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play for his performance. He then was cast as Norman in the film adaptation of The Dresser (1983), acting opposite Albert Finney as Sir with performances from Eileen Atkins, Edward Fox, and Michael Gough. Famed critic from the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert praised Courtenay for his performance writing, "He is perfect for playing proud, resentful, self-doubting outsiders." Both Courtenay and Finney received nominations for Best Actor in the 1983 Academy Awards for their roles, losing to Robert Duvall in Tender Mercies.

He played the father of Derek Bentley (Christopher Eccleston) in the 1991 film Let Him Have It. And for an actor known to be cast in good or great films, he surprisingly co-starred in what's been considered one of the worst movies ever, the infamous Leonard Part 6 starring Bill Cosby. Courtenay's television and radio appearances have been relatively few, but have included She Stoops to Conquer in 1971 on BBC and several Ayckbourn plays. He appeared in I Heard the Owl Call My Name on US television in 1973. In 1994, he starred as Quilp opposite Peter Ustinov in a Disney Channel 'made for television' version of The Old Curiosity Shop. Rather unexpectedly, he had a cameo role as the anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski in the George Lucas 1995 US TV film Young Indiana Jones and the Treasure of the Peacock's Eye. In 1998 he teamed with Albert Finney again for the acclaimed BBC drama A Rather English Marriage. He played the role of God, opposite Sebastian Graham-Jones, in Ben Steiner's radio play "A Brief Interruption", broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004. In the same year, he played the role of Stanley Laurel in Neil Brand's radio play 'Stan', broadcast on Radio 4. Also for Radio 4, he played the title role in Nick Leather's The Domino Man of Lancashire and Maurice in Richard Lumsden's Man in the Moon, both broadcast in 2007. Courtenay also appeared in the 2008 Christmas special of the BBC show The Royle Family, playing the role of Dave's father, David Sr.

2001–present

In 2002, based on an idea by Michael Godley, Courtenay compiled a one-man show Pretending To Be Me based on the letters and writings of poet Philip Larkin, which first played at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. It later transferred to the Comedy Theatre in the West End in London. In 2007, Courtenay appeared in two films: Flood, a disaster epic in which London is overwhelmed by floods, and The Golden Compass, an adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel, playing the part of Farder Coram. In 2008, he appeared in the BBC adaptation of Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, playing William Dorrit, and the Christmas edition of The Royle Family, playing David (Senior). In March 2011, he joined the cast of Gambit, a film starring fellow RADA alumnus Alan Rickman that began filming in May. The film was released in Great Britain in November 2012.

In 2012, he co-starred in romantic drama Quartet alongside Maggie Smith, directed by Dustin Hoffman. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to positive reviews. In 2015, he co-starred with Charlotte Rampling in the highly-praised Andrew Haigh film, 45 Years. Courtenay won international awards including the Berlin International Film Festival's Silver Bear and Venice International Film Festival's Volpi Cup for Best Actor. for his role as Geoff Mercer, and the film was critically-acclaimed and very well-received internationally as well as in the U.S. In 2018, he appeared in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society starring Lily James and King of Thieves alongside Michael Caine and Michael Gambon.

In 2019, he was a panellist on Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule, Season 3 episode 1. For his introduction, after the other 3 guests had been announced Harry expressed surprise that the fourth seat (Courtenay's) was empty. Harry said he knew the guest had set off some time ago, which was followed by a cut to the 1962 film The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner in which Courtenay's character was running. Courtenay then entered the studio, apparently out of breath and in the same running kit he'd been wearing in the film. Also in 2019 he voiced the character of Prince Philip in The Queen's Corgi, his first voice role, and also appeared in The Aeronauts starring Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne.

Personal life
Courtenay married actress Cheryl Kennedy in 1973. They divorced in 1982. In 1988, he married Isabel Crossley, a stage manager at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. They have homes in Manchester and Putney in London. In 2000, Courtenay's memoir Dear Tom: Letters From Home was published to critical acclaim. It comprises a selection of the letters exchanged between Courtenay and his mother, interspersed with his own recollections of life as a young student actor in London in the early 1960s.

Courtenay is the President of Hull City AFC's Official Supporters' Club. In 1999, Courtenay was awarded an honorary doctorate by Hull University. In 2018, he was bestowed the Honorary Freedom of the City of Hull.

Theatre
His roles include:

Singles

 * Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1963), Decca F 11729. Originally sung by Courtenay in The Lads, a British 1963 TV play.

title: Tom Courtenay


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Michael Crawford

Michael Patrick Smith (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer.

Crawford is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and the titular character in the musical The Phantom of the Opera. His acclaimed performance in the latter earned him both the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical and Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. He has received international critical acclaim and won numerous awards during his acting career, which has included many film and television performances as well as stage work on both London's West End and on Broadway.

Crawford has also published the autobiography Parcel Arrived Safely: Tied With String. Since 1987, he has served as the leader and public face for the British social cause organization the Sick Children's Trust.

Early life and education
Crawford was brought up by his mother, Doris Agnes Mary Pike, and her parents, Montague Pike and his wife, Edith (née Keefe or 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.

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 in Kent. The isle was where his mother had grown up and where Crawford would later live with his mother and maternal grandparents. He attended St Michael's, a Catholic school in Bexleyheath which was run by nuns whom Crawford later described as not being shy in their use of corporal punishment. At the end of the Second World War, his mother remarried, this time to a grocer, Lionel Dennis "Den" Ingram. The couple moved to Herne Hill in 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.

Career beginnings
Crawford made his first stage appearance in the role of Sammy the Little Sweep in his school production of Benjamin Britten's Let's Make an Opera, conducted by Donald Mitchell, which was then transferred to Brixton Town Hall in London. He auditioned, unsuccessfully, for the role of Miles in Britten's The Turn of the Screw – the role being given to another boy soprano, David Hemmings; but it appears that Crawford's audition sufficiently impressed Britten as in 1955 he hired him to play Sammy, alternating with David Hemmings, in another production of Let's Make an Opera, this time at the Scala Theatre in London. He also participated in the recording of that opera (as Michael Ingram, singing the role of Gay Brook) made that same year, conducted by the composer.

In 1958 he was hired by the English Opera Group to create the role of Jaffet in another Britten opera, Noye's Fludde, based on the story of Noah and the Great Flood. Crawford remembers that it was while working in this production that he realised he seriously wanted to become an actor. It was in between performances of Let's Make an Opera and Noye's Fludde that he was advised to change his name, "to avoid confusion with a television newsman called Michael Ingram[s] who was registered with British Equity".

He went on to perform in a wide repertoire. Among his stage work, he performed in André Birabeau's French comedy Head of the Family, Neil Simon's Come Blow Your Horn, Bernard Kops's Change for the Angel, Francis Swann's Out of the Frying Pan, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Coriolanus, and Twelfth Night, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, The Striplings, The Move After Checkmate and others. At the same time, he appeared in hundreds of BBC radio broadcasts and early BBC soap-operas, such as Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School, Emergency - Ward 10, Probation Officer, and Two Living, One Dead. He appeared as the cabin boy John Drake in the television series Sir Francis Drake, a 26-part adventure series made by ITC starring Terence Morgan and Jean Kent. He made his film debut in 1958 with leading roles in two children's films, Blow Your Own Trumpet and Soapbox Derby, for The Children's Film Foundation in Britain.

In 1961 Michael Crawford appeared in an episode of One Step Beyond called "The Villa" in which he played a character experimenting with strobe lights. Crawford appears in the only surviving episode of the 1960 British crime series Police Surgeon alongside Ian Hendry. This series would spawn the much better-known The Avengers.

Early adult career
At age nineteen, he was approached to play an American, Junior Sailen, in the film The War Lover (1962), which starred Steve McQueen. To prepare for the role, he would spend hours listening to Woody Woodbury, a famous American comedian of the time, to try to perfect an American accent. After The War Lover, Crawford briefly returned to the stage and, after playing the lead role in the 1963 British film Two Left Feet, was offered a role in the British television series, Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life, as the Mod-style, tough-talking, motorbike-riding Byron. It was this character that attracted film director Richard Lester to hire him for the role of Colin in The Knack ...and How to Get It in 1965. The film was a huge success in the UK.

Lester also cast him in the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and How I Won the War, which starred Roy Kinnear and John Lennon (during the filming of which he lived in London with Lennon and his first wife Cynthia, and Gabrielle Lewis). Crawford starred in The Jokers (directed by Michael Winner) with Oliver Reed in 1967.

Broadway debut
In 1967, Crawford made his Broadway début in Peter Shaffer's Black Comedy with Lynn Redgrave (making her début as well) in which he demonstrated his aptitude and daring for extreme physical comedy, such as walking into walls and falling down staircases. While working in the show, he was noticed by Gene Kelly and was called to Hollywood to audition for him for a part in the film adaptation of the musical Hello, Dolly!. He was cast and shared top billing with Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau. Despite becoming one of the highest-grossing films of 1969, it failed to recoup its $25 million budget at the box office. It went on to win three Academy Awards, was nominated for a further four (including Best Picture), and is now considered to be one of the greatest musical films ever.

Crawford's later films fared less successfully, although Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, in which he played the White Rabbit, enjoyed moderate success in the UK. After performing in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and with offers of work greatly reduced and much of his salary from Hello, Dolly! lost, reportedly due to underhanded investments by his agent, Crawford faced a brief period of unemployment, in which he helped his wife stuff cushions (for their upholstery business) and took a job as an office clerk in an electric company to pass the time between. During this difficult time, his marriage fell apart and divorce followed in 1975.

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Crawford's acting career took off again after he appeared on the London stage in the farce No Sex Please, We're British, in which he played the part of frantic chief cashier Brian Runnicles. His performance led to an invitation to star in a BBC television comedy series about a childlike and eternally haphazard man who causes disaster everywhere he goes. Crawford was not the first choice for the role of Frank Spencer in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em. Originally, the part had been offered to comedy actor Ronnie Barker but after he and Norman Wisdom had turned it down, Crawford took on the challenge, adopting a similar characterisation to that which he used when playing Brian Runnicles. Cast alongside him was actress Michele Dotrice in the role of Frank's long-suffering wife, Betty, and the series premiered in 1973.

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em soon became one of the BBC's most popular television series. Initially, only two series were produced, from 1973 to 1975, while the show's creators felt that it should stop while at its peak. There was a brief hiatus until popular demand saw it revived for a final series in 1978. The immense popularity that followed the sitcom was due perhaps to the unusual amount of physical comedy involved. Crawford said he had always been a fan of comedians such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy, as well as the great sight gags employed in the days of silent film, and saw Some Mothers as the ideal opportunity to use such humour himself. He performed all of his own stunts during the show's run, and never used a double.

1970s
While he was playing in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Crawford was approached to star in the musical Billy (based on the novel Billy Liar), which opened in 1974 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. This was his first leading man role on the West End stage and helped to cement his career as both a singer and showman. The part was demanding, requiring proficiency in both song and dance, and in preparation for the role, Crawford began taking both more seriously, studying singing under the tutelage of vocal coach Ian Adam and spending hours perfecting his dancing capabilities with choreographer Onna White.

Billy gave the many fans of Crawford's portrayal of Frank Spencer an opportunity to see him in a broadly similar role on the stage, and was a considerable hit (904 West End performances). After the closing of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Crawford continued to perform in plays and musicals, starring in Flowers for Algernon (1979) in the role of Charley Gordon, based on the book of the same title. He pursued another role on an ITV sitcom, Chalk and Cheese, as the slovenly, uncouth Dave Finn. The show did not go over well with his fans: the popularity of Crawford's portrayal of Frank Spencer, and the similar Billy Fisher character, had left him somewhat typecast, to the extent that they could not accept his very different role as Dave Finn. Crawford abandoned the show during its first series and returned to theatre work.

Condorman
Crawford starred in the 1981 Disney comedy/adventure film Condorman, playing an eccentric American comic book writer and illustrator named Woody Wilkins who is asked by his friend at the CIA to help a Russian woman to defect while acting out the fantasy of bringing his comic book creation, Condorman, to life. Critics panned the film. On their television show, critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert featured the film in their round-up of the year's worst films pointing out the less-than-special effects such as the visible harness and cable used to suspend Condorman in the air and the obvious bluescreen effect. The film performed poorly at the box office but years later gained a cult following among Disney fans.

Barnum
Also in 1981, Crawford starred in the original London production of Cy Coleman's Barnum (1981) as the illustrious American showman P. T. Barnum. He trained at the Big Apple Circus School in New York City to prepare for the ambitious stunts, learning to walk the tight-rope, juggle and slide down a rope from the rafters of the theatre. After further training for the second opening of Barnum, he was awarded a British Amateur Gymnastics Association badge and certificate as a qualified coach.

Barnum opened on 11 June 1981 at the London Palladium, where it ran for 655 performances. Crawford and Deborah Grant headed the cast. It was well-received, becoming a favourite of Margaret Thatcher as well as the Queen Mother. Crawford earned his first Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical on the London stage. After the initial production of the show, he worked extensively with Torvill and Dean, and can be seen rinkside with them as they received their "perfect six" marks in the 1983 world championships for their 'Barnum' routine.

In 1984 a revival of Barnum opened in Manchester at the Opera House, ending the tour at the Victoria Palace in the West End. In 1986 this production, with a new cast, though still headed by Crawford, was recorded for television and broadcast by the BBC. Crawford's Barnum is one of the longest runs by a leading actor.

The Phantom of the Opera
In 1984, at the final preview of Starlight Express, Crawford happened to run into the show's creator, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lloyd Webber had met Crawford socially several times and remembered him from his work in Flowers for Algernon. He informed Crawford that he was working on a new project based on a Gaston Leroux novel and wanted to know whether he was interested. Crawford said he was, but the show was still in the early planning stages, and nothing had been decided. Several months passed, during which Lloyd Webber had already created a pitch video featuring his then-wife Sarah Brightman as the female lead Christine, and British rocker Steve Harley as the Phantom, singing the title song in the manner of a contemporary new wave video. Crawford was turned off by that, supposing the songwriter had chosen to do a "rock opera"-inspired spectacle in lieu of a more traditional operatic musical.

Since casting Harley, however, Lloyd Webber had also begun to regret his artistic choices. According to the Behind the Mask documentary, he and producer Cameron Mackintosh agreed that Harley was neither an actor nor a commanding theatre presence, two areas in which Crawford had gained significant experience by this point. As production continued on the show, the bulk of the score was revealing itself to be far more classical and operatic, entirely unsuited to Harley's rough, contemporary voice. Wanting instead a performer with a more classic, melodic voice, as described in the original book, he began yet another search for the perfect actor to play his Phantom. Crawford's landing of the role was due in large part to the coincidence that he and Brightman were taking lessons from the same vocal coach, Ian Adam. Brightman and her husband had arrived early for her lesson, and it was while waiting that they chanced to hear Crawford practising the aria Care Selve, from the opera Atalanta by Handel. Intrigued, Lloyd Webber asked Adam who his student was. Soon after, Crawford was called in for an audition and was hired virtually on the spot.

Many critics were sceptical; Crawford was still largely pigeonholed as the hapless Frank Spencer, and questions were asked about his ability to manage such a vocally and dramatically demanding role.

In September 1986, Crawford began his performances in London at Her Majesty's Theatre. In October 1987, he was replaced in London by Dave Willetts, as he transferred over to Broadway. In January 1988, he started performances of the show on Broadway and in October of that same year, he was replaced by Timothy Nolen. Crawford then went on to start performing the show in Los Angeles in 1989. He played the Phantom for three and a half years and over 1,300 performances across the three productions, winning an Olivier Award (Best Actor in a Musical), a Tony Award (Best Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role, Musical), a New York Drama Desk Award, and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished Achievement in Theatre (Lead Performance).

During the run of Phantom in Los Angeles, Crawford was asked to perform "The Music of the Night" at the Inaugural Gala for President George H. W. Bush in Washington, D.C., on 19 January 1989. At the gala, Crawford was presented with a cake in celebration of his 47th birthday.

On 29 April 1990, after three and a half years and over 1,300 performances later, Crawford left the show for the final time. He admits to having been saddened at his departure, and, during the final Lair scene, altered the Phantom's line to "Christine... I loved you", acknowledging that this was his final performance.

However, on 31 December 1990, he returned to the role in Los Angeles replacing Robert Guillaume in the role. Crawford played his true final performance on 28 April 1991. Davis Gaines replaced him in the production.

1990s
At the request of Liz Kirschner, wife of film producer David Kirschner, he obtained the role of Cornelius in 20th Century Fox's animated film Once Upon a Forest, which was produced by her husband.

In 1995, Crawford created the high-profile starring role in EFX, the US$70 million production which officially opened the 1,700-seat MGM Grand Theatre in Las Vegas. The Atlantic Theater label released the companion album to EFX. Early into the run, Crawford suffered an accident during a performance (which involved him sliding from a wire hanger from the back of the theatre all the way to the stage and then jumping down 12 ft to the stage itself) and left the show to recover from his injury, which resulted in an early hip replacement operation.

In the mid 1990s, Michael began a long-term relationship with Natasha MacAller, an American dancer and chef.

2000s to present
In 2001, Crawford sang Baby Mine from Disney's Dumbo on its 60th anniversary VHS and DVD. Crawford had a short comeback to Broadway as the Count von Krolock in the short-lived musical Dance of the Vampires (2002–03). He originated the role of Count Fosco in Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White, which opened at the Palace Theatre, London in September 2004. However, he was forced to leave the show three months later because of ill health caused by dehydration resulting from the enormous fat-suit he wore during the performance. He spent several months recuperating and was thus unable to reprise the role on Broadway. He learned he was suffering from the post-viral condition myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), which debilitated him for six years.

He later moved to New Zealand briefly, both to be near his daughter and her family in Australia and to convalesce from his illness.

In 2006, Crawford attended the Gala Performance of the stage version of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre to celebrate the show's becoming the longest-running musical in Broadway history (surpassing the run of Cats). He was delighted with it, stating this was the first time he had been an audience member of any of the shows he had done.

On 23 October 2010, Crawford attended the celebratory 10,000th performance of The Phantom of the Opera in London alongside composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Crawford spoke of his own memories of the first performance 24 years ago, and was then presented, along with Lloyd Webber, with a special cake to commemorate the landmark achievement.

Beginning with previews in February 2011, Crawford originated the part of the Wizard in the new Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical version of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium, which had its official opening on 1 March 2011. He stated on This Morning: Sunday, on 14 August 2011, that he had signed on for a further six months in the show. He left the production on 5 February 2012; the same day as co-star Danielle Hope played her final performance as Dorothy. From 14 February, Russell Grant took over the role.

On 2 October 2011 Crawford made a special appearance during the finale of The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall — a fully staged production of the musical at the famous London venue – marking 25 years since the show received its world premiere. Although reunited with Sarah Brightman, he did no real singing as he had just finished performing in a matinee of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium.

On 18 March 2016 Crawford and Dotrice reprised their roles in a one-off special of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, broadcast as part of the Sport Relief charity fundraiser event.

Crawford starred in the new West End musical The Go-Between which premiered on 27 May 2016 at Apollo Theatre. He appeared in the 60th anniversary performance of Britten's Noye's Fludde in London in 2018, performing the Voice of God, and recalled in a BBC Radio 3 interview Benjamin Britten's valuable support in his early career.

Recording career and chart success
In 1987, during Crawford's starring role in The Phantom of the Opera, a double A-sided single was released featuring two songs from the musical: "The Music of the Night", sung by Crawford, and "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again", sung by his Phantom co-star Sarah Brightman. It reached number seven in the UK Singles Chart.

Following on from this, in the same year Crawford released a studio album of show tunes with the London Symphony Orchestra, titled Songs from the Stage and Screen, which reached number 12 in the UK Albums Chart and number 74 on the Australian Music Report chart. From this album, his version of "When You Wish Upon a Star" was released as a single, reaching number 97 in the UK Singles Chart.

Songs from the Stage and Screen was followed by other charting studio albums recorded by Crawford, including With Love / The Phantom Unmasked (1989), Michael Crawford Performs Andrew Lloyd Webber (1991), A Touch of Music in the Night (1993), On Eagle's Wings (1998) and The Disney Album (2001), as well as several compilation albums. A Touch of Music in the Night included a new version of the Phantom song "The Music of the Night", this time recorded as a duet between Crawford and Barbra Streisand. Released as a single, it reached number 54 in the UK Singles Chart in early 1994. It was also included on Streisand's album Back to Broadway (1993), and was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 1994 Grammy Awards.

Concert tours
Crawford has performed many concert tours in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, beginning with The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1992. In 1998, Crawford began Michael Crawford: Live In Concert tour around the United States. One performance, done at the Cerritos Arts Center in Los Angeles, was filmed and broadcast on PBS for their annual fundraiser.

In 2006, he made a small concert tour of Australia and New Zealand, as well as a one-night benefit to open the LaSalle Bank Theatre in Chicago. He has also done various Michael Crawford International Fan Association (MCIFA) exclusive concerts around the US. The MCIFA makes contributions to many charities.

Charity work
Since the late 1980s, Crawford has affiliated himself with various charities, particularly for the good of children. He is a patron of the Lighthouse Foundation in Australia, and has also been President of the Sick Children's Trust since 1987.

Personal life
Crawford has three children. Two, born in 1966 and 1968, were daughters from his first marriage to Gabrielle Lewis.

In 2007, Crawford relocated to New Zealand for health reasons, as he sought recovery from his diagnosed ME and to be closer to one of his daughters who had settled in Australia which is in a similar time-zone to his home.

Accolades

 * Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his performance of the title role in Barnum (1981)
 * Awards won for his performance in the title role in The Phantom of the Opera:
 * Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (1986)
 * Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (1988)
 * Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (1988)
 * Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (1988)
 * Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished Achievement in Theatre (Lead Performance) (1990)
 * Awards won for his performance as Count Fosco in The Woman in White:
 * Variety Club of Great Britain Award for Outstanding Stage Performance (2004)
 * Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Actor in Supporting Role in a Musical (2004) voted by on-line readers of WhatsonStage.com
 * Named Show Business Personality of the Year by the Variety Club of Great Britain
 * Voted No. 17, ahead of Queen Victoria, in the 100 Greatest Britons (2002) poll sponsored by the BBC
 * BroadwayWorld UK Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for The Wizard of Oz (2011)
 * Received Aardman Slapstick Visual Comedy Legend Award (2016) – cited works include Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em

Crawford was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1988 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for charitable and philanthropic services, particularly to children's charities.

Cast albums

 * A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
 * Hello, Dolly! (1969)
 * Billy (1974)
 * Flowers for Algernon (1980)
 * Barnum (1981)
 * The Phantom of the Opera (1987)
 * Highlights from The Phantom of the Opera (1987)
 * Once Upon a Forest (1993)
 * EFX (1995) AUS No. 100
 * The Woman in White (2004)
 * WALL-E (2008) (excerpts from Hello, Dolly!)
 * The Wizard of Oz (2011)

Guest appearances

 * Save the Children: Christmas Carols and Festive Songs (1988) – "Let's Pretend"
 * The Premiere Collection: The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber (1988) – "The Music of the Night"
 * Showstoppers (1991) – "Fugue for Tinhorns" (with Barry Manilow & Hinton Battle)
 * A Christmas Spectacular of Carols and Songs (1992) – "Let's Pretend"
 * Back to Broadway (1993) – "The Music of the Night" (with Barbra Streisand)
 * David Foster: The Christmas Album (1993) – "O Holy Night"
 * The London Symphony Orchestra Performs the Works of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber (1994) – "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" Suites
 * The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection (1999) – "The Phantom of the Opera" (with Sarah Brightman)
 * Millennium Chorus: The Greatest Story Ever Sung (2000) – "How Still How Silent"
 * Child of the Promise: A Musical Story Celebrating The Birth of Christ  (2000) – "After All These Years", "Zacharias & Gabriel Recitative" (with Russ Taff), "He Will Prepare the Way"
 * My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs (2001) – "The Music of the Night"
 * Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs from the Stage (2012) – "The Music of the Night" (with Susan Boyle)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Michael Crawford


text:
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC1, created and written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice. It was first broadcast in 1973 and ran for two series, including two Christmas specials in 1974 and 1975. After a three-year absence, the programme returned for a third series in 1978 and again in 2016 for a one-off special. The series regularly garnered 25 million viewers and was broadcast in 60 countries.

The series follows the maladroit Frank Spencer through his various attempts to get and keep a job, which frequently end in disaster. The sitcom was noted for its stunt work, performed by Crawford himself, and it featured several well-known and much-lampooned catchphrases that have become part of British popular culture. In the 2004 series Britain's Best Sitcom, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em placed 22nd in the list of all British sitcoms.

Title
The series was originally conceived under the working title Have a Break, Take a Husband.

The expression "some mothers do have them" was once a common British euphemism to refer to a foolish or inept person.

Character of Frank Spencer
The ambitious but accident-prone Frank Spencer, who often wears his trademark beret and mackintosh, is married to the long-suffering Betty (Michele Dotrice), and in later series they have a baby daughter, Jessica.

The character was popular with impressionists such as Mike Yarwood in the 1970s, particularly Frank's ostensible main catchphrase, "Ooh Betty", which may actually have been said in only one episode (Series 2, Episode 2).

Other catchphrases include a quavering "Oooh ...", usually uttered with Frank's forefinger to his mouth as he stands amidst the chaos of some disaster he has just caused. He also sometimes complains about being "ha-RASSed!", or, occasionally, "I've had a lot of ha-RASSments lately" (originally an American pronunciation). Other recurring catchphrases include references to "a bit of trouble" and to the cat having "done a whoopsie" (presumably a euphemism for having defecated in an inappropriate place, on one occasion in Spencer's beret). When Frank is pleased or confused, he will often use the catchphrases "Mmmm – nice!" or "Ohhh – nice!".

Frank is essentially a sympathetic character who is loved by Betty despite his faults. He venerates the memory of his late mother and treasures his daughter. References to Frank's mother suggest she was very much like her son. Frank claimed he last saw his father at Paddington Station when only 18 months old. Crawford has mentioned that he based many of Frank's reactions on those of a young child.

The final series was produced after a break of five years (not counting two Christmas specials). Though still written by Raymond Allen, it was based on stories by Crawford. Frank's character changes noticeably in this series, becoming more self-aware and keen to make himself appear educated and well-spoken. He develops an air of pomposity, best demonstrated when someone enquires for "Mr. Spencer?", to which he habitually replies, "I am he." He also becomes more self-assured and more willing to defend himself when criticised, sometimes winning arguments by leaving his opponents dumbfounded by the bizarre nature of his statements. Frank also commits numerous malapropisms, especially when using long words to sound clever. For example, in the final episode he says 'pissimestic' instead of 'pessimistic'.

Acknowledging the show's success in Australia, in the final series Frank mentions relations who live there and contemplates emigrating himself.

Legacy
Crawford later had difficulty disassociating himself from the role, despite his career as a successful musical performer on the West End and Broadway stage and in popular musicals such as Barnum and The Phantom of the Opera.

Starring

 * Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer
 * Michele Dotrice as Betty Spencer (née Fisher)

Casting
Ronnie Barker and Norman Wisdom were the BBC's first and second choices for the role of Frank. David Jason was also a contender, but he was rejected because BBC executives at the time believed that he lacked star quality. However, the casting of Crawford proved effective because he invented many of Frank's mannerisms and catchphrases (some of which he had employed in the 1969 film Hello, Dolly!), and because of his ability to perform stunts and physical comedy.

Supporting cast

 * Jessica Forte as Jessica Spencer (5 episodes)
 * Jane Hylton as Mrs. Fisher (3 episodes)
 * Dick Bentley as Grandad Spencer (3 episodes)
 * Glynn Edwards as Mr. Lewis (3 episodes)
 * Anthony Woodruff as Dr. Smedley (3 episodes)
 * Hazel Bainbridge in roles as Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. Partridge and Miss Perkins (3 episodes)

Guest cameos
Most episodes would introduce at least one other character (such as a doctor, neighbour or employer) who would usually become unnerved by Frank's peculiar manner and clumsiness.

Guest cameo roles were played by actors including George Baker, James Cossins, Peter Jeffrey, Richard Wilson, Fulton Mackay, Bernard Hepton, Christopher Timothy, George Sewell, Bryan Pringle, Christopher Biggins, Milton Johns, Diane Holland, John Ringham, David Ryall, Gretchen Franklin, Geoffrey Chater, Royston Tickner, Michael Redfern, Babar Bhatti, Norman Chappell, Geoffrey Whitehead, Desmond Llewelyn and Elisabeth Sladen (who, in her autobiography, mentions that she was considered for the role of Betty).

Theme tune
The theme song by Ronnie Hazlehurst features two piccolos spelling out the title in Morse code, excluding the apostrophes.

Repeats

The BBC has repeated Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em several times since the series was produced in the 1970s. British channels Gold, BBC Two and BBC Prime took over repeats of the programme in 2007. Drama showed the series in early 2023. The programmes were aired on BBC Four and archived for streaming on BBC iPlayer. In June 2024 it was repeated on That's TV.

The programme has been shown on Catalan public television TV3 (Catalonia), the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation in the 1970s, in Nigeria on NTA since the 1980s, in Australia on the Nine Network's GO! from 2009 to 2010 and later on the Seven Network's digital channel 7TWO. It was also screened in the 1980s by TVNZ in New Zealand, where it was popular.

Special
On 18 March 2016, Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice reprised their roles for a one-off sketch for Sport Relief. Gemma Arterton guest-stars as Jessica, alongside Jenson Button, Boris Johnson, Sir Paul McCartney, Roy Hodgson, Arsène Wenger, David Walliams, Jessica Ennis, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Clare Balding, Sir Chris Hoy, Sir Andy Murray and Jamie Murray playing themselves.

Documentary
A behind-the-scenes documentary entitled To Be Perfectly Frank was first broadcast on BBC 1 on Easter Monday, 11 April 1977.

Home video
In the United Kingdom, six episodes from Series 1 and various other episodes were originally released by BBC Video on VHS in the 1990s. Series 1 and Series 2 were released on VHS and DVD on 21 October 2002. Series 3 and the Christmas specials were released on VHS and DVD on 19 May 2003. The Complete Series was released on VHS and DVD on 6 October 2003 by Second Sight available. On 1 November 2010, 2 entertain reissued Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em – The Complete Christmas Specials. On 14 February 2011, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em – The Complete Series and Christmas Specials was reissued by 2 entertain with new packaging.

The complete collection is now available from both BBC Store and iTunes as a digital download.

In Australia, Series 1–3 and the Christmas specials were released in 2003 and 2004. The complete boxed set was released in 2004 on DVD in region 4.

In the United States, 13 selected episodes were released on VHS in 1998 and reissued on Region 1 DVD in 2001. The complete series, including the 2016 Sport Relief special, was released on Region 1 DVD by the BBC and VEI in spring of 2021.

In popular culture

 * In The Now Show, Prince Edward is usually portrayed as Frank Spencer by Hugh Dennis. In an episode from June 2010, a sketch featured Fabio Capello using Frank Spencer impressions as a motivational strategy for the England World Cup squad.
 * The programme, and the character of Frank Spencer specifically, have even been mentioned several times in the UK House of Commons. On one notable occasion, Labour Party leader John Smith taunted Conservative prime minister John Major in a speech in 1993 by saying that recent government mishaps would be considered "too much" if submitted to the show's producers by scriptwriters.
 * On 14 November 1998 during an edition of Noel's House Party, Michael Crawford appeared as Frank to celebrate 25 years of the show.
 * Arctic Monkeys mention Frank Spencer in their song "You Probably Couldn't See for the Lights but You Were Staring Straight at Me" from their 2006 album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not with the lines: "I'm so tense, never tenser/Could all go a bit Frank Spencer."
 * Reuben named a song after the show – "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em" is the second track on their second album Very Fast Very Dangerous.
 * The title of the series, "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em", is similar to Jimmy Clitheroe's catchphrase from the late-1950s to early-1970s: "Don't Some Mothers 'Ave 'Em?"
 * Many of Frank Spencer's antics and catchphrases have been lampooned by numerous comedians, including Mike Yarwood and Lenny Henry.
 * In the One Foot in the Grave episode "The Trial", when Victor Meldrew calls a garden centre to complain about a yucca plant that was delivered to his house being placed inside the toilet bowl with compost (after Meldrew requested that it be put in the downstairs toilet), he says that he does not know who delivered the plant but adds that it "may have been Frank Spencer". Actor Richard Wilson who played Meldrew appeared in 1978 episode “Wendy House” of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em as Mr Harris.

Stage adaptation
A stage adaptation, written and directed by Guy Unsworth based on the television series, began a UK tour at the Wyvern Theatre, Swindon in February 2018. It starred Joe Pasquale as Frank Spencer, with Sarah Earnshaw as Betty and Susie Blake as Mrs. Fisher.

Following the success of the 2018 tour, the production began another tour in February 2020, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many dates were postponed to 2022.

title: Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em


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Talk:Tusk (album)

Untitled
I admit I don't have a clue what these guys were up to with regards to releasing this album (is it a full cover of the original Fleetwood Mac album?) but shouldn't this page be about the Fleetwood Mac release, with mention of Camper Van Beethoven, whoever they are, releasing... whatever it is they released? nknight 17:13 Dec 31, 2002 (UTC)

 * I'd say it should be about the original.. Fleetwood Mac was first. If anything, this artist could get a mention at the bottom of the FM tusk article - or maybe as part of the article itself. -Jazz77

Done. Something about it seems a bit off, though. Perhaps I shouldn't try rewriting articles so soon after waking up :). nknight 06:46 Jan 1, 2003 (UTC)

Move?
Camper van Beethoven released an album by this same name several years ago. I move that this article be moved to reflect the difference. --ZekeMacNeil 17:59, 25 Dec 2004 (UTC)

 * Moved to where, exactly? And why? Their release is just a cover of the original, and is mentioned at the bottom of the page. -- nknight 05:08, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)

NPOV
As much as I enjoy the flowing prose that currently graces the article, someone (with knowledge of the album) should rewrite so it's a little more objective.ProfessorFokker 07:00, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Bonus tracks of reissue
Would it not be of good taste to include information on bonus material of remaster? It makes good sense if we want to give information on the songs of band.

Drug use
Anyone think it would be worth mentioning Lindsey's well-known cocaine use during the time this album was recorded? I think it might be worth mentioning, since it definately influenced his erratic and fast-paced songwriting style on the album. Thoughts? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tprayx (talk • contribs) 20:14, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Moving un-cited trivia section here
I've moved the trivia section here. Trivia sections are discouraged, but can be permitted (Trivia sections). However, more importantly, nothing in this section is cited, which is not permitted (WP:VERIFY). Please add good cites for everything in this section before returning it to the article.

- Tusk Trivia - Mick Fleetwood has revealed in his autobiography that the album and title track are named after his penis. When Stevie Nicks was told of the decision to call the album 'Tusk', she was reportedly 'horrified'. Nicks had enjoyed a brief love affair with Fleetwood during the making of the album. The unusual title track, "Tusk", featuring the University of Southern California's Spirit of Troy marching band, proved to be a big hit, reaching both the US and UK Top 10. It started life as a jam between Buckingham and Fleetwood on the Rumours tour as part of the soundcheck. The accompanying promotional film shot at Dodger Stadium was often played as a fill-in segment by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) TV channels during the 1980s (the single had enjoyed its highest international chart placing in Australia, peaking at #3 in the singles charts).re The project had apparently made some record executives nervous, not only for its million-dollar production budget, but the label had expected a similar formula to that which had made Rumours so successful. The luxurious packaging and product that resulted did top the UK album charts on 10 November 1979 and reached #4 in the US, and although a commercial success, the album failed to reach the heights of Rumours. Warner Bros attributed this to the record being "over produced" by Buckingham, making it less commercially viable. However, Fleetwood himself stated that matters were not helped by a major US radio station playing all 20 of the tracks in their entirety just prior to the album's release, thus allowing for home taping. A VHS cassette was released by Warner Bros. in 1980 featuring rare studio outtakes from the Tusk sessions and concert footage from the Tusk tour. Never released on DVD to date, copies of the tape now command very high prices on ebay. A remastered and expanded version of the album (featuring 41 tracks) was released on a double CD in 2004. The first disc is the complete 20-track album (with the full length version of "Sara", which had been edited for the original CD release of the album due to running time constraints on earlier compact discs). The second disc features a collection of demo tracks, alternative cuts and other rarities from the Tusk sessions, including the 9-minute 'cleaning lady' demo of "Sara". In 1986, the group Camper Van Beethoven re-recorded Tusk in its entirety, publicly releasing the project in 2002. -- Writtenonsand (talk) 20:06, 1 December 2009 (UTC)

Useful material?
Removed from Compact disc and may be useful here --Kvng (talk) 02:51, 21 July 2010 (UTC)

Another example is the original late-1980s Warner Bros. Records reissue of Fleetwood Mac's Tusk album, which replaced the long album version of "Sara" with the shorter single version. Enough complaints were lodged to eventually convince Warner Bros. to remaster the album in the mid-1990s with the original contents intact.

Recent Vinyl Only Releases of Live Tracks and Alternate Tusk
How should the recent release of 'In Concert' on vinyl that was taken from the recent deluxe release be handled on this page and within the wider Fleetwood Mac discography, same for the up and coming Alternate Tusk vinyl edition that will be released on Record Store Day 2016? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Fmfanuk (talk • contribs) 14:39, 26 March 2016 (UTC)

 * We'll probably mention it near the end of the lead section. Since "Dragonfly" charted with the help of Record Store day, I'm sure 'Tusk' we'll find similar success too. Dobbyelf62 (talk) 02:19, 30 March 2016 (UTC)

UK Year End Chart
Tusk was the [|25th] Best Selling Album of 1979 in the UK (Coachtripfan (talk) 13:31, 27 September 2016 (UTC))

Writer and Lead Vocals columns
Do these really need to be separate columns? There is no track in the list where the writer and lead vocals are different credits. Consider consolidating to reduce formatting redundancy and improve readability.

Beat me to it. I was about to say the exact same thing here. It looks really silly.

Copyright problem removed
Prior content in this article duplicated one or more previously published sources. The material was copied from: https://us103.com/fleetwood-mac-faq-book-excerpt/. Copied or closely paraphrased material has been rewritten or removed and must not be restored, unless it is duly released under a compatible license. (For more information, please see "using copyrighted works from others" if you are not the copyright holder of this material, or "donating copyrighted materials" if you are.)

For legal reasons, we cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or published material; such additions will be deleted. Contributors may use copyrighted publications as a source of information, and, if allowed under fair use, may copy sentences and phrases, provided they are included in quotation marks and referenced properly. The material may also be rewritten, providing it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or plagiarize from that source. Therefore, such paraphrased portions must provide their source. Please see our guideline on non-free text for how to properly implement limited quotations of copyrighted text. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously, and persistent violators will be blocked from editing. While we appreciate contributions, we must require all contributors to understand and comply with these policies. Thank you. /wiae /tlk  21:18, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Tusk (album)


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Manhattan Christian College

Manhattan Christian College (MCC) is a private Christian college in Manhattan, Kansas. It was founded in 1927 as Christian Workers University. The institution's name was changed to Manhattan Bible College in 1930 and Manhattan Christian College in 1971.

MCC is historically affiliated with nondenominational, independent Christian churches and churches of Christ of the Restoration Movement. While many of the students and professors have a background in Christian Church/Churches of Christ congregations, students from other denominational backgrounds are encouraged to attend and are welcomed into the MCC family.

The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and the Association for Biblical Higher Education.

Academics
Programs of study include both single and dual-degrees (in cooperation with Kansas State University, as well as an adult degree completion program both on campus and online.

The college offers bachelor of arts or science degrees in various ministerial fields. The Leadership Education for Adult Development (LEAD) degree completion program assists individuals interested in either Management & Ethics or Biblical Leadership, allowing them to complete a college degree for personal and career development. MCC also offers these two degree-completion programs through online distance education.

MCC programs of study can be taken in conjunction with numerous programs at Kansas State University allowing students to earn two bachelor's degrees in five years. Students may also choose to pursue a 2-year associate degree, or simply obtain a 1-year certificate as well.

Manhattan Christian College was granted an exception to Title IX in 2016 which allows it to legally discriminate against LGBT students for religious reasons. It is ranked among the "Absolute Worst Campuses for LGBTQ Youth" by Campus Pride.

Athletics
The college offers many sports programs including men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, men's baseball, and men's and women's cross country which was recently added for the Fall 2010 season. In 2014, the college changed its athletics nickname from "Crusaders" to "Thunder." The program competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association Division II and is a member of the Midwest Christian College Conference.

title: Manhattan Christian College


text:
John Smith (dentist)

John Smith (1825–1910) was a Scottish dentist, philanthropist and pioneering educator. The founder of the Edinburgh school of dentistry, he served as president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (1883) and president of the British Dental Association. He was the official surgeon/dentist to Queen Victoria when in Scotland.

Life
Smith was born in Edinburgh, the son of dental surgeon John Smith. His family lived at 30 Frederick Street in the New Town.

He was educated at the Edinburgh Institution, the University of Edinburgh (MD 1847) and the Royal College of Surgeons. He conducted postgraduate studies in London and Paris, making drawings of gunshot and sabre wounds. He took over his father's dental practice in 1851.

In 1856 Smith started teaching the first regular courses on dental physiology and diseases in Scotland. His lectures were given at Surgeons' Hall as part of the Edinburgh Extramural School of Medicine. He was surgeon dentist to the Royal Public Dispensary. He co-founded the Hospital for Sick Children in 1859. Recognising the need for improved training, he founded, together with Francis Brodie Imlach, Peter Orphoot and Robert Nasmyth, the Edinburgh Dental Dispensary in 1860.

In 1862 Smith was elected a member of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh and served as president in 1888. In 1871 he was appointed Surgeon Dentist to Queen Victoria, and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, upon the nomination of John Hutton Balfour. In 1876 he was elected a member of the Aesculapian Club and was Honorary Secretary from 1887 to 1905.

The Dental Dispensary grew into the Edinburgh Dental Hospital and School by 1879.

He was awarded an honorary doctorate (LLD) by the University of Edinburgh in 1884.

Smith was also a moderately successful playwright. He was a senior elder in St Andrews Parish Church in Edinburgh.

In his final years he lived at 11 Wemyss Place, a fine Georgian house on the Moray Estate in Edinburgh's New Town. The dental practice element (in the same property) was taken over by William Guy from around 1899.

He died on 15 April 1910. He is buried on the edge of the path which runs over the central vaults in Warriston Cemetery.

Family
In 1853 he married Elizabeth Marjory Peters (1830–1912).

Publications

 * Handbook of Dental Anatomy and Surgery (1864).

title: John Smith (dentist)


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John Smith (missionary)

John Smith (27 June 1790 – 6 February 1824) was an English missionary and abolitionist whose experiences in the British West Indies attracted the attention of the anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce. As a result of his actions, trial by court-martial and subsequent death whilst under imprisonment, Smith became known as the "Demerara Martyr". His case, and news of the enormous size of the uprising and the brutal loss of African life, caused a great awakening in England, strengthening the abolitionist cause which eventually succeeded in British territories worldwide in 1838.

Biography
Smith was born an orphan on 27 June 1790 in Northamptonshire. He received his early education only at Sunday school, and trained to be a baker, after which he applied to be a missionary. He married Jane Godden. On 12 December 1816 he was ordained at Tonbridge Chapel.

Smith arrived in Demerara under the auspices of the London Missionary Society on 23 February 1817. He lived at the 'Le Resouvenir' plantation, where he preached at Bethel Chapel, primarily attended by African slaves.

In the morning of 18 August 1823, in what is known as the 'Demerara rebellion of 1823', about ten to twelve thousand slaves drawn from plantations on the East Coast of the Demerara colony rebelled, under the belief that their masters were concealing news of the slaves' emancipation.

Smith was subsequently charged with promoting discontent and dissatisfaction in the minds of the African slaves, exciting the slaves to rebel, and failing to notify the authorities that the slaves intended to rebel. In his trial he was defended by William Arrindell. John Smith was arraigned in a court-martial before Lt. Col. Goodman on 13 October.

Smith's trial concluded one month later, on 24 November; Smith was found guilty of the principal charges, and was given the death sentence; he was transferred from Colony House to prison. Bryant suggested that a pre-existing illness was the cause of Smith's demise on 6 February 1824, before the intended Royal reprieve arrived; he asserted that Smith had been ill for some time, but that his accommodation was airy and spacious and that had been looked after with "utmost attention and kindness". Others, namely Jakobssen (1972) Craton (1982), however, state that Smith died in a damp prison of consumption. Out of fear of stirring up slave sentiment, the colonists interred him at four a.m., without marking his grave. His death was a major step forward in the campaign to abolish slavery. News of his death was published in British newspapers, provoked enormous outrage and garnered 200 petitions to Parliament.

title: John Smith (missionary)


text:
Eamonn Andrews

Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ Authority), which oversaw the introduction of a state television service in the Republic of Ireland. He is perhaps best remembered as the UK host of This Is Your Life from its inception in 1955 until his death in 1987.

Early life
Andrews was born in Synge Street, Dublin, son of carpenter William Andrews and Margaret, née Farrell. He was educated at Synge Street CBS. He began his career as a clerk in an insurance office. He was a keen amateur boxer and won the Irish junior middleweight title in 1944.

Broadcasting career
By 1944, he was the Hon. Secretary of St. Andrew's Boxing Club. In 1946, he became a full-time freelance sports commentator, working for Radio Éireann, Ireland's state broadcaster. In 1950, he began presenting programmes for the BBC, being particularly well known for boxing commentaries, and soon became one of television's most popular presenters. The following year, the game show What's My Line? began and Andrews was the host. He was also an occasional panellist on the American version, and once acted as host when John Charles Daly was absent.

Throughout the 1950s, he commentated on the major British heavyweight fights on the BBC Light Programme, with inter-round summaries by W. Barrington Dalby. On 20 January 1956, he reached No 18 in the UK Singles Chart with a "spoken narrative" recording named "The Shifting Whispering Sands (Parts 1 & 2)", which was produced by George Martin with musical backing by the Ron Goodwin Orchestra, released by Parlophone as catalogue number R 4106, a double-sided 78 rpm record. The song later reappeared on Kenny Everett's compilation album The World's Worst Record Show, released in June 1978.

Between 1955 and 1964, he presented the long-running Sports Report on the BBC Light Programme. In 1965, he left the BBC to join the ITV contractor ABC, where he was the first host of World of Sport and where he pioneered the chat show format in the UK. He hosted The Eamonn Andrews Show on ITV for five years. He was known for coming up with off-the-cuff linkings that did not work, such as: "Speaking of cheese sandwiches, have you come far?" This was parodied by the character Seamus Android on Round the Horne in the 1960s, performed by Bill Pertwee. In the 1960s and 1970s he presented Thames Television's Today news magazine programme.

He was probably best known as the presenter of the UK version of This Is Your Life, between its inception in 1955 and his death in 1987, when he was succeeded by Michael Aspel (who like Andrews hosted Crackerjack! nearly twenty years earlier). Andrews was the first This Is Your Life subject on British television when he was surprised by the show's creator, Ralph Edwards. Andrews also created a long-running panel game called Whose Baby? that originally ran on the BBC and later on ITV. He was a regular presenter of the early Miss World pageants.

Andrews chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ Authority) between 1960 and 1964, overseeing the introduction of state television to the Republic of Ireland and establishing the broadcaster as an independent semi-state body. At about this time, he also acquired a number of business interests in Ireland, including recording studios and a dance hall. Andrews stepped down from the RTÉ Authority amidst a bitter political storm over what was seen as the controversial content of The Late Late Show. Before leaving RTÉ, Andrews defended the show as 'freedom of expression'.

Death
After months of illness during 1987, originally caused by a virus contracted during a plane journey, Andrews died from heart failure on 5 November 1987 aged 64 at the Cromwell Hospital in London.

He had recorded his last edition of This Is Your Life six days before on 30 October 1987. After his death, the show, and two others that had yet to be broadcast, were postponed until, with his widow's permission, they were broadcast in January 1988.

A funeral service was held for Andrews at St Anne's Church in Portmarnock where he had his home, and his body was buried in Balgriffin Cemetery to the north of Dublin. A memorial mass was held for him in Westminster Cathedral.

Personal life
Andrews married Gráinne Bourke in 1951. They raised three adopted children.

Civic recognition
For his work in British broadcasting, Andrews was awarded an honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1970.

Andrews' contribution to radio in the United Kingdom is commemorated in the Radio Academy Hall of Fame.

Television credits

 * What's My Line? (BBC, 1951–63; Thames, 1984–87)
 * This Is Your Life (BBC, 1955–64; Thames, 1969–87)
 * Crackerjack! (BBC, 1955–64) and Playbox (BBC) (both children's series)
 * The Eamonn Andrews Show (ABC, 1964–68; Thames 1968–69)
 * World of Sport (ABC, 1965–68)
 * Whose Baby? (a panel game he created and owned)
 * Top of the World (Thames, 1982)

Portrayal in media
Andrews was parodied as "Seamus Android", played by Bill Pertwee, in the radio comedy Round the Horne.

Andrews appears as a character in Series 8, Episode 1, of the television detective series Endeavour. Andrews, played by Lewis Macleod, surprises a celebrity footballer during a fashion show in Oxford. Andrews also served as the namesake for a song by English progressive rock band Soft Machine.

title: Eamonn Andrews