Editing Michael Crawford (section)

===''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.<ref name="parcel"/>