Michael Crawford

Entertaining... Crawford whips up the merriment from the wings

Tied with String

By turns hilarious, revelatory and desperately sad, here is the autobiography of the man whose TV and stage appearances such as Hello Dolly!, Some Mothers Do `Ave 'Em and The Phantom of the Opera have made him a national institution. The story of the true identity of his father, which is behind this book's title, leads into an evocative depiction of his tender childhood years. Whilst all the men were away at war, Crawford was surrounded by loving women. For him this was an idyllic wartime childhood, but the return of the men in peacetime signalled darker times to come. Crawford's infectious enjoyment of stage work illumines his account of his early struggles to make a name for himself in the theatre business, and his early failures with girls are lifted by his abiding sense of the absurd. Both in his private life and his work as a successful actor and TV comedian, he begins a lifetime's habit of pratfalls that he would later turn to good use in the character of Frank Spencer in smash hit 1970s TV comedy show Some Mothers Do`Ave 'Em. His talent for mimicry makes the great personalities in his life come alive on the page; people he has worked with, including Benjamin Britten who taught him to sing, John Lennon - with whom he shared a villa - and Oliver Reed, Michael Winner, Barbra Steisand, Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra.

Parcel Arrived Safely

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Kate-Atkinson

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

prhuk-authors

Penguin Shop: 3 Clothbound Classics for £33

Michael Crawford

Praise for Parcel Arrived Safely

Compelling

Entertaining... Crawford whips up the merriment from the wings

Refreshingly candid

Compelling

Entertaining... Crawford whips up the merriment from the wings

Refreshingly candid

Compelling

Entertaining... Crawford whips up the merriment from the wings

Refreshingly candid

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter