Michael Crawford

Michael Crawford0:01

BBC sounds music

Speaker 20:03

Radio Podcasts. Hello, I'm Lauren Laverne, and this is the Desert Island Discs podcast. For rights reasons, the music is shorter than on the original broadcast. The presenter is Roy Plomley. I hope you enjoy listening.

Presenter0:27

This week, our castaway is the actor Michael Crawford. Michael, you're a very active chap. You'd think you could look after yourself on a desert island.

Michael Crawford0:35

Well, yes, I think I I think I could. Um I tend to live when I'm not working, a little as as though I'm on a desert island. I

Speaker 10:40

Something.

Michael Crawford0:43

live by myself. Although I do have a sort of girl Friday and my ninety three year old grandmother lives next door, but she's not too keen on running around getting the firewood.

Presenter0:53

Uh Uh

Michael Crawford0:53

Thank you.

Presenter0:54

Yes, I understand. Could you build a shelter?

Michael Crawford0:57

Um

Michael Crawford0:58

Yes, yes, I could. I'm I'm I'm I'm good at that sort of thing.

Presenter1:02

Um Uh

Michael Crawford1:02

Too fishy. Uh no, I haven't. No. I I'm I'm loath to bang things like that on the head, I must say. I don't I don't mind getting them out the water, but I'm

Michael Crawford1:11

I'm not too it it's like keeping chickens. I'm I'm great, but I'll end up with a hundred and fifty chickens and I haven't got the courage to what is known as wring their neck.

Presenter1:16

Yeah.

Presenter1:18

What is minus 10?

Presenter1:20

Would you try to escape?

Michael Crawford1:21

I think so, yes. Um unless some

Michael Crawford1:25

Very attractive young native girl turned up, I think. I would. Yes, I would try to build a little.

Presenter1:29

Yeah.

Michael Crawford1:30

Little boat or something, yeah.

Presenter1:32

Do you have a disc just

Michael Crawford1:33

Eight. What's the third?

Michael Crawford1:35

The first, I think, for a little necessary spiritual help, the Missaluba, the African Mass, which uh I heard years and years ago, Westminster Cathedral for the first time, live.

Michael Crawford1:49

And I think if there were any unfriendly cannibals, the the the drums on this record would certainly

Michael Crawford1:55

Scare the hell out of them. Right. Which bit of which we hear. The Gloria, I think, is is rather nice. There's beautiful young voices in it.

Speaker 12:09

I'm not sure if I can do it.

Speaker 12:12

Oh minimum plan.

Speaker 12:14

Now downstairs.

Presenter2:33

The Gloria from The Missaluba.

Michael Crawford2:35

What part of the country do you come from? Well, I started off in Wiltshire, but didn't stay there long enough.

Michael Crawford2:41

to sort of get an accent, a Wiltshire accent in Salisbury I was born and then I moved to Kent and then I moved to London.

Presenter2:49

Yeah.

Michael Crawford2:49

Mm-hmm.

Presenter2:50

You had a a musical upbringing. In fact, you you began as a choir boy, as a as a boy soprano.

Michael Crawford2:55

Yeah.

Presenter2:55

Yeah.

Michael Crawford2:55

Yes, I did. I was well, uh I actually cheated a little. I had a a little round, chubby face with very skinny legs. I looked like a sort of very fair advert for Oxfam when I was about six.

Michael Crawford3:09

And I went to a choir school and the voice hadn't really developed too well and I think that the choir master liked the look of my face and said that you look sort of angelic. Of course I wasn't. But I was allowed to stand up front of the choir and carry the cross but was forbidden to sing only to mine.

Michael Crawford3:29

because I I sometimes went out of tune or forgot the words.

Michael Crawford3:33

and or chewed gum.

Michael Crawford3:35

Yeah.

Presenter3:37

Did you draw it

Michael Crawford3:37

Did you do any

Presenter3:38

Any acting at school?

Michael Crawford3:39

Yes, I did, but uh never at the right time. I think I was a sort of clown in class who who th you have um lots of friends, you make everyone laugh until authority comes in the room and then you have no friends at all. Um but no, I did have one opportunity and that was to play The Little Sweep.

Michael Crawford3:58

in Let's Make an Opera.

Michael Crawford4:00

I'm Benjamin Britt.

Presenter4:01

Nope.

Michael Crawford4:01

I appeared at um Lambeth Town Hall, which I think has a little plaque there now. Um

Michael Crawford4:07

Not in honour, I might add, of me, but a catastrophe. It was my first.

Michael Crawford4:13

accident that I ever had, which maybe lined me up for my Frank Spencer role later in life. But I i I went in wholeheartedly to this this this part where where

Presenter4:24

Mm-hmm.

Michael Crawford4:24

The headmaster was playing the sweep. It was about little sweep boys being pushed up chimneys in the old days because they had very wide chimneys and they were cleaned out by sweep boys.

Presenter4:24

Right.

Michael Crawford4:32

And I played this little boy in rags and it was a chance for the headmaster to whip me unmercifully and he loved every minute of it and as he did it to music he put even more into it and the Frenchmaster who disliked me equally as much was beating me from another angle so I was covered in wilts all over and I was so nervous about coming on with these two men that on the opening night with the Lord Mayor of Lambeth and the Lord Mayor of Wandsworth and everyone was all the dignitaries from miles around were there.

Michael Crawford5:01

And they drag me on stage and that the first verse they rip my shirt off and the second verse they rip my trousers off and I'm left in these ragged little pants.

Michael Crawford5:10

I'm then pushed up the chimney on the third verse.

Michael Crawford5:13

Well, the first verse came and they ripped my shirt off and the second verse came and they started to struggle with my trousers and I was fighting back and I couldn't interrupt because he was in full voice, the headmaster, and he never liked to be interrupted. So I just had to let him go ahead and he ripped my trousers off and I'd forgotten to put the ragged pants on and it was the first frontal nudity that had ever been seen in Lambert Town Hall. And I must say it got rather a good round of applause. I was playing Flatten. But the headmaster, I was expelled because he thought I'd done it on purpose. And he threw me up the chimney three verses too early.

Presenter5:49

I think that's a very good way of getting you off.

Presenter5:54

It was your singing that that that brought you into the profession, wasn't it?

Michael Crawford5:57

Yes, yes, yes it was. Then I was sort of answering advertisements in The Telegraph for boy sopranos, which introduced me to the English opera group who were looking for boy sopranos for Let's Make an Opera. And we we played the old Scala Theatre in London and did six months touring England and it was a terrific introduction to music.

Presenter6:20

Yeah.

Michael Crawford6:20

It couldn't have been better.

Presenter6:22

So by now you were good in stage track. This was going to be your career.

Michael Crawford6:25

Yes, yes, I really was keen on that. But unfortunately, my voice slid. It didn't break.

Michael Crawford6:32

I went along for my first musical audition and I thought, well, this is wonderful. And have you sung before, Mr. Crawford? And I said, yes, yes, I have. I sang from Benjamin Britton. And they said, oh, really? Well, what are you going to sing for us? I said, on the street where you live. I would like to sing from My Fair Lady. And I stood up and I sang through On the Street Where You Live with a sort of Jimmy James introduction where I was saying to the pianist I'd never met in my life, he said, what key would you like? Well, I'd never been asked before. Benjamin Britton had always told me what key I was going to sing in and I sang in it. So I was going, on, on, on the street. And so there was this great search for the note. In the end, I found it and it wasn't the right one.

Michael Crawford7:13

I sang through the number and I could hear laughter throughout the entire audition. I finished the song and there were great roars of delight from the audience and the sweat was pouring off my head and they said, Do you know anything else? That was just wonderful. Do you know anything else?

Michael Crawford7:29

And

Michael Crawford7:31

I said, yes, yes, of course I do. And I went over and I whispered to the pianist and I said, would you please stand up? And they said, I beg your pardon. I said, would you please stand? And they stood. And I sang God Save the Queen and I walked on.

Michael Crawford7:44

And I had the last laugh, but sadly they had the even later laugh because I didn't get another audition for five years.

Presenter7:51

Yeah.

Michael Crawford7:54

Yeah. Yeah.

Presenter7:54

Let's have another echo.

Michael Crawford7:55

Let's have another egg.

Michael Crawford7:56

Um well at that point in my life I think I was very much into jazz and and very lovely music things like Billy Holiday was one of my and still is one of my very favorite singers.

Michael Crawford8:09

And um

Michael Crawford8:11

Being a romantic, I think one of my favorite numbers that she sang was

Michael Crawford8:15

For all we know.

Speaker 18:22

This may only be a dream

Presenter8:31

Break town and go

Presenter8:37

Try to repro

Michael Crawford8:39

See you.

Presenter8:45

Billy hollered it.

Presenter8:46

Now you left school at fifteen. You had already done some broadcasting.

Michael Crawford8:51

Yes, I had. I'd made about 500 radio broadcasts, but as I told you, I I left school prematurely and

Michael Crawford9:00

I finished my education in the BBC Schools Department, where I was kept under very strict control.

Presenter9:03

Uh

Michael Crawford9:06

playing all sorts of parts.

Michael Crawford9:08

In one morning I played Henry VIII and three of his wives all in the same programme.

Presenter9:13

Yeah.

Michael Crawford9:13

Yeah.

Presenter9:13

Yeah.

Michael Crawford9:13

Well, they were short staffed and I had I was r very good Catherine of Aragon.

Presenter9:19

You did some children's films today.

Michael Crawford9:21

Oh yes, yes. One was uh called Soapbox Derby and uh Blow Your Own Trumpet, which were b both very big in Russia, if I I don't know why. They both won awards in Russia. Must have had something to do with my legs.

Presenter9:35

What was your first West End appearance?

Michael Crawford9:38

My first West End appearance, I think, was Come Blow Your Horn.

Michael Crawford9:42

Which was an American play by Neil Simon, which is a wonderful opportunity, and the very first time that I ever played comedy, which was about sixteen years ago. I think.

Michael Crawford9:52

It was a big success. It yes, it was. I w very, very fortunate. I mean, it was like a dream come true. I remember I was given the script and I went along. I was the very last person who auditioned.

Michael Crawford10:04

Um, and I very fortunately got the part. I'd studied an American comedian called Woody Woodbury, who nobody's sort of heard of over here, but he used to tell drunk stories and I told these

Speaker 110:14

The yes

Michael Crawford10:17

ghastly drunk stories about men coming home at three in the morning and works in Florida or women

Presenter10:20

I worked with Florida.

Michael Crawford10:22

Yes, that's it. And he sits at the piano and he says, my wife came home at three o'clock in the morning and I and my girlfriend says you gotta jump out the window and I said but we're on the 13th floor she said this is no time to be superstitious and there were awful stories like that. But I told these jokes to the producer and he sort of

Speaker 110:36

Mm-hmm.

Michael Crawford10:41

He's just groaning and grunting. I think he gave me the part just to shut me up.

Michael Crawford10:46

Right, I'll shut up. You'll be glad when I'm on this business, won't you?

Presenter10:53

Well there you are, you're you're in the West End, so we can stop now for your third record. What's that?

Michael Crawford10:58

Um, being romantic, it's just always dreaming about things and

Michael Crawford11:03

John Williams' Cavatina has such a a lovely sound to it and it has lots and lots of lovely memories of nice people.

Presenter11:40

John Williams Cavatina. So a leading part in the West End, still only 20 years old, I think. You had a nice break in television in not so much a program, more a way of life. That was marvellous. That was...

Michael Crawford11:51

It was about two or three years later and uh I played a character called Byron which was uh created by Peter Lewis, the writer on The Denny Mail, and Peter Do Bryner who was the golf correspondent and may he still is on The Observer.

Michael Crawford12:08

And Ned Sharon got them together and created that character for me. So I was very, very, very grateful.

Presenter12:13

Very good.

Presenter12:14

Was it Byron who who got you your your film, The Neck?

Michael Crawford12:18

No, that was

Michael Crawford12:21

through just going along and doing about 16 auditions for Richard Lester and Oscar Luhnstein.

Presenter12:25

I don't know.

Michael Crawford12:27

and being brought down from about five hundred people again is ghastly auditions.

Presenter12:32

A film that won the Cam Festival, that didn't do you well.

Michael Crawford12:34

Where you are.

Presenter12:35

No.

Michael Crawford12:35

And that was very, very exciting.

Presenter12:37

And you also managed a pop group at one time.

Michael Crawford12:39

Yes, yes. Now I thought that was a wonderful idea. It was one of the things I was out of work.

Michael Crawford12:45

And we all came from Clapham at the time.

Michael Crawford12:48

And

Michael Crawford12:49

happens to be in south west London, south west four, and what better title for a group than the south west four? Except there were five of us, and so we either had to move to Tooting or otherwise

Michael Crawford13:03

Otherwise I had to drop out the group and by general consensus I dropped out.

Presenter13:09

Uh

Michael Crawford13:09

Because they weren't too appreciative of my singing and so I was once again like the choir master was asking me to mine rather than sing the songs

Michael Crawford13:21

Sorry.

Presenter13:22

You did another film for Richard Lester.

Michael Crawford13:25

Yes, I did two more for Richard Lester, How I Won the War, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which was really the first musical.

Michael Crawford13:34

Yeah.

Presenter13:34

that I ever did.

Presenter13:36

And you made your first appearance, your debut on the New York stage.

Presenter13:40

Yeah. Yes.

Presenter13:41

Uh

Michael Crawford13:41

A thrilling experience doing Peter Schaefer's black comedy.

Michael Crawford13:47

very, very frightening. Not a not a friend in the city until we'd opened and then suddenly we were whined and dined and it it really was everything that was written about it and one had heard about it.

Presenter13:59

That

Presenter14:01

We won an award as Best Actor of the Year in New York.

Michael Crawford14:04

That was love.

Presenter14:04

Probably.

Michael Crawford14:04

Yeah.

Presenter14:04

Yeah.

Presenter14:06

Record number four.

Michael Crawford14:07

Another lovely lady there who tells beautiful stories. Um and this all happened at the

Michael Crawford14:15

Time I've

Michael Crawford14:16

I was living on my own and feeling a little sorry for myself in my first bed sit in West Kensington and and this one's called The Right Thing to Do and it's by Carly Simon.

Presenter14:28

There's nothing

Speaker 114:34

Nothing anyone can say

Speaker 114:38

You're with me now, and as long as you stay, loving you's the right thing to do.

Presenter14:46

Lovin' use the right thing. Lovin' use the right thing. Oh, I know you've had some bad luck.

Presenter14:57

Carli Simon

Presenter14:59

Now your New York success led to some American films, didn't you?

Michael Crawford15:03

Yes, a lot of people fly over from Los Angeles, film people, and see what's going on on the the New York stage and by pure chance I had

Michael Crawford15:14

a movie on there at the time called The Jokers and that was very, very successful in New York.

Michael Crawford15:20

Well, a a gentleman, most wonderful gentleman, the late Roger Eden.

Michael Crawford15:25

Food.

Michael Crawford15:27

found and encouraged such people as Judy Garland and Ethel Merman and all but such stars you wouldn't believe.

Michael Crawford15:34

Well, he came to New York and came to see black comedy and thought that I might be right for the part of Cornelius Hackle in the movie of Hello Dolly.

Michael Crawford15:45

So he went back to

Michael Crawford15:47

Hollywood and had a word with with uh Gene Kelly and said he thought maybe he'd found the person to do this and Gene Kelly couldn't get to New York and I finished that week. So what happened? I had to fly over to San Francisco to meet him.

Michael Crawford16:03

And this I mean I like a 13-hour plane journey. I'd never been up there that long and I was so excited, but obviously I was exhausted by the time we got there. And I thought, he's calling at three o'clock, he's coming to see me, I've got to get myself ready.

Michael Crawford16:21

And what should I wear to meet somebody like this? I don't know. So I had a bath and then I put something on and it was only two o'clock. So I had another bath and changed again. And then I had another bath because I couldn't sit still. And I kept sweating. So I had to keep having a bath, I thought, because I must be clean for when he arrived. And I was the cleanest actor in San Francisco by five to three.

Michael Crawford16:43

And I I had another change of clothes and but this time I had a pair of striped trousers and a Czech shirt on and a

Michael Crawford16:50

and sort of polar neck sweater. It looked ghastly. I I looked like something out of the the Mardi Gras and and there was a ring at the door and I rushed to the door and he I opened the door and he was standing there and

Michael Crawford17:04

I just, he said, I'm, I said, I know, I just, I know, I know, I couldn't speak, I couldn't in a word.

Michael Crawford17:12

He came in past me, and it looked as though it was all choreographed. He sort of ran down this corridor because I had a vast apartment. It was just vast. We ran through, and I thought I'd lost him. There was a piano in one room, and he went and sat down. I said, Excuse the way I'm dressed, but I've been waiting for you, and I just didn't know what to wear, so I kept changing. I just said, Okay, let's cut the small talk. He said, Now let's talk about what's in hand. He said, What we're he said, Can you dance? I said, Well, I did learn, I had two lessons to learn to dance in Tooting.

Michael Crawford17:45

funnily enough, by a woman called Dolly and I was fired after the second lesson because she had very large chest and and I used to like looking at my feet when I was dancing and she thought I was looking at something else and and she hit me round the head and I was asked to leave after the second lesson.

Michael Crawford18:01

Anyway, to be cut a very long story short, he then said about my singing and he went into a routine and said, just try that step.

Michael Crawford18:10

Well, there was no way I could try the step that he'd just done, but I had an attempt at it and I said that was awful. And he said, no, well, let me tell you what we're looking for. He said, we're looking for a...

Michael Crawford18:19

An attractive

Michael Crawford18:21

Idiot.

Michael Crawford18:22

And uh

Michael Crawford18:23

My wife thinks you're attractive.

Michael Crawford18:26

And I think you're an idiot.

Michael Crawford18:28

And I came back to England and I did a test and I very luckily got the pass.

Presenter18:35

Typecasting would be

Michael Crawford18:36

Yeah. Uh

Presenter18:36

Uh

Michael Crawford18:36

Yes, well I can't argue with that.

Presenter18:39

Yeah.

Michael Crawford18:39

Yeah.

Presenter18:39

So hello Dolly, then you've done one called The Game.

Michael Crawford18:42

Yes, that was uh another for Michael Winner, having done the Jokers for him, which is about Olympic athletes.

Michael Crawford18:49

Then you had a bad patch, didn't you? I spent about 18 months out of work.

Michael Crawford18:54

And making cushions and

Presenter18:54

Perhaps.

Michael Crawford18:56

And uh sort of uh literally stuffing cushions and selling cushions. But it it it kept me off the streets and I

Presenter18:58

Uh

Michael Crawford19:03

Happily occupied. What broke the spell?

Michael Crawford19:07

Um a farce, to say the least, called No Sex Please We're British, which I was offered and I

Michael Crawford19:16

Uh red and uh with uh

Michael Crawford19:20

You know, I do that w it wasn't what I really wanted to do and then w I changed a lot of it around and they allowed me to do certain things with it and I made it very physical and in the end I what I did was to create the characterization that um I later was to use as Frank Spencer.

Presenter19:36

Let's have another record. It's a long time since we had one.

Michael Crawford19:40

Well, having talked so much about Mr. Kelly, whenever I would would get depressed, or whenever I do get depressed, I think one of the loveliest things that have ever come out of any musical surely must have been singing in the rain.

Presenter19:54

I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain, what a glorious feel, and I'm happy again.

Presenter20:07

I'm laughing at clouds, so dark up apart.

Presenter20:15

And the sun's in my heart, and I'm red.

Michael Crawford20:19

Yeah.

Presenter20:20

Mr. Kelly.

Presenter20:22

Now, you have mentioned some mothers do, haven't?

Presenter20:25

Uh television series about a character called Frank.

Presenter20:28

Hey, you work on the scripts of those.

Michael Crawford20:31

Yes, I do. Uh from the word go

Michael Crawford20:34

started off with Duncan Wood and uh Michael Mills and then r Raymond Allen had written a script.

Michael Crawford20:43

We all got together and discussed it and then just Michael Mills was left to produce and direct the show.

Michael Crawford20:50

And then Raymond and I got to work together and we just found some stories and refined. He was very...

Michael Crawford20:59

uh slapsticky to start with and we slowly have

Michael Crawford21:03

refined him and uh even though he's still

Michael Crawford21:07

silly and and and

Michael Crawford21:09

I think he's uh

Michael Crawford21:11

He's it it's a little more mature now. How many series have we done? We've done thirteen shows, that's all. That's all. Yes, it seems long.

Presenter21:18

You're filming some more now, aren't you?

Michael Crawford21:20

Yes, we're doing seven more to bring to a total of twenty including one for Chris. A lot of

Presenter21:27

Yeah.

Michael Crawford21:27

Uh

Presenter21:27

Stunting.

Michael Crawford21:28

Very exhausting.

Presenter21:29

Things done.

Michael Crawford21:29

Well, it's all to do with the most incredible timing.

Michael Crawford21:32

And uh then you don't hurt yourself.

Presenter21:35

Well, that's the theory.

Michael Crawford21:36

That's the theory. Of course one always will, but uh not too badly on hope.

Presenter21:41

Another exhausting character in your repertoire is Billy, whom you played at Drury Lane, the musical version of Billy Lyre.

Presenter21:48

Were you ever offstage in that show?

Michael Crawford21:50

No, I wasn't. Um it was it was about three hours long and I had two very quick changes and I was off the stage for a total of about a minute and a half.

Michael Crawford22:01

And so that was quite tiring. How long did you play?

Presenter22:04

Super

Michael Crawford22:04

Uh

Presenter22:04

For two years.

Presenter22:05

Long run. A great thrill of course working in the Theatre Royal Road there. Yeah.

Michael Crawford22:10

Uh and I'm

Presenter22:11

Yeah.

Michael Crawford22:11

forgettable experience and it was the most exciting two years I've ever spent in the theater.

Presenter22:17

Record number six.

Michael Crawford22:18

Well, working in No Sex Please Boo British, I had the lovely experience of working with Evelyn Lay.

Michael Crawford22:25

who taught me an enormous amount.

Michael Crawford22:28

One of the reasons that I was impressed enough to stay with Billy for two years was something that she said to me, never turn your back on success.

Michael Crawford22:37

Never leave success. When it's there, enjoy it and savour it and drink it up. No matter how hard, just drink it up because it may not always be there.

Michael Crawford22:47

So I'd like to hear the lovely Miss Lay singing When I Grow Too Old to Dream.

Presenter22:51

And I could all be in I love the universe.

Presenter23:04

And I broke all into dream of

Presenter23:19

Evelyn Leigh

Presenter23:20

We're nearly up to date, Michael. You you've been in a play recently, haven't you?

Michael Crawford23:24

Uh

Presenter23:25

Yeah. Yeah.

Michael Crawford23:25

Yes, I did a play called the same time next year. which uh uh was once again back at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

Presenter23:32

And a two handler, so that was our hard evening's work.

Michael Crawford23:34

Yes, it was indeed. It was very, very hard. And we did it for I I l I mean, I lasted seven months and and we played to wonderful houses, got great reviews and and uh then I

Speaker 123:41

Uh

Speaker 123:44

Yeah.

Michael Crawford23:46

Had to leave it.

Michael Crawford23:47

Record number seven.

Michael Crawford23:48

Well, this has to do with my filming at the moment. It's a new love I've got, uh, flying. Oh, yes, you you've got your ticket now, have you? Yes, I have. I worked quite hard at at flying and I got my pilot's license in seven weeks, which meant uh

Michael Crawford24:03

sleepless days and nights, and writing it all over the ceiling so I to sort of even dream it.

Michael Crawford24:09

And not that I did it for this reason, I did it because I've always wanted to fly and I learned to fly and enjoyed it so much and then I got lots of ideas about the funny things that had happened to me while I was learning.

Michael Crawford24:20

that I've I've written in a catastrophic episode which I believe will be our Christmas show of Frank Spencer being let loose in a in a light aircraft and it I think it should be one of the most terrifying sequences that's ever been shown. You're going to do your own stunt flying? Yes, I I've done it already so I'm I'm I'm happily here living to tell the tale. But it was I mean it is I hope just people have had their their Christmas dinners and well digested them before they watch it'cause it

Speaker 124:42

But it was

Michael Crawford24:48

It's it it frightened me when I watched it, but it and it wasn't frightening me when I was doing it. So this record links to that, I think, a a lovely record by David Gates called Cloud.

Presenter25:02

On this airplane coming home to you

Presenter25:08

Sometimes I think I've flown my whole life now

Presenter25:22

As I win my

Presenter25:27

David Gates.

Presenter25:29

Clouds

Presenter25:30

And now your last desk.

Michael Crawford25:32

Well, I would love to take something to to remind me uh that the really highlights of my nights in the theatre have always been musicals, I think.

Michael Crawford25:43

And um

Michael Crawford25:45

I think Billy's too personal to take. I would like to generally take some sort of musical with me and maybe to remind me of all the catastrophes that happened when when I first auditioned and the first jobs that I got and maybe that every actor has to go through which people don't know about. And that was the opening night I went to a chorus line and I sat there in the third row.

Michael Crawford26:08

As these marvellous dancers turned away, as you hear in the opening sounds of this record, they turn away from the mirror and they come towards you and it's an audition. The only difference being that there's this wonderful orchestra which you never have. You just have, as you hear at the beginning, a plaintive sound of a piano and it's usually very, very cold and there's lots of air coming out of your mouth.

Michael Crawford26:30

And when they turned away and this orchestra came in,

Michael Crawford26:33

I broke out into this cold sweat.

Speaker 126:33

Review.

Michael Crawford26:35

And my mouth fell wide open and that was just one of the most magical moments I've ever spent in a theatre.

Michael Crawford26:42

The opening number from chorus line.

Michael Crawford27:06

I hope I get it.

Michael Crawford27:08

I hope I guess how many people does it need? How many people?

Speaker 127:12

Yeah.

Presenter27:13

The cast of chorus line. If you could take just one disc out of the eight, which would it be?

Michael Crawford27:19

I think

Michael Crawford27:20

The Missaluba.

Michael Crawford27:22

And one luxury to take with it.

Michael Crawford27:25

Um

Michael Crawford27:27

Well, I've thought about this a great deal and I think it would have to be an inflatable woman.

Michael Crawford27:33

But I'd also like one little extra, um a puncture outfit, because then I could safely sunbay with her on the rock.

Presenter27:41

I think that's a very good question.

Presenter27:43

And one book apart from the obvious choices of the Bible and Shakespeare. And we don't allow big encyclopedias.

Michael Crawford27:51

No, well I couldn't carry big encyclopedias and they don't float. I think I'd take John Seymour's book of self-sufficiency, which has already been a great help to me living in Bedfordshire, so I think it would be um an even greater help to me living on a desert island.

Presenter28:05

It's a kind of survival manual, isn't it?

Michael Crawford28:07

Yes, and the most wonderful thing that you'd never believe, how to exist and and cook stinging nettles. I mean, my children hate me reading it, but I adore reading it.

Presenter28:16

Unit

Michael Crawford28:17

Trying it all out on them.

Presenter28:17

Trying a door

Presenter28:18

Self-Sufficiency by John Seymour. Right. And thank you, Michael Crawford, for letting us hear your Desert Island Disc. Thank you very much. Goodbye, everyone.