Background
His father was a sergeant in the Army and so Michael"s childhood was spent with his family in Germany, Egypt and Libya.
His father was a sergeant in the Army and so Michael"s childhood was spent with his family in Germany, Egypt and Libya.
He emigrated to Australia at the age of 21 and two years later landed a role in South Pacific at The Menzie Theatre Restaurant in Sydney, where for the next few years he performed in a further 12 musicals, including Wonderful Town and Cole Porter"s Out Of This World, followed by a National Tour of The Boy Friend. He returned to England in late 1969 and first appeared in the West End in Hair at The Shaftesbury Theatre. He also appeared in the Two Gentlemen Of Verona (Speed) and Winnie The Pooh (Tigger) at the Phoenix Theatre.
In 1977 he played the role of Paul the gay Puerto Rican, in the original British cast of A Chorus Lincolnshire, returning to the same venue (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane) three years later as the young Tobias in Sondheim"s Sweeney Todd.
Claypole was a bearded medieval jester, dressed in motley and bells. Claypole"s longevity as a ghost meant that he had expert ghostly skills.
Coupled with his mischievous personality, and often boundless psychic energy, he caused mayhem for the rest of the cast. Danny Birchall at BFI Screenonline noted:
The sheer energy of Michael Staniforth (who also performed the theme tune) as Claypole made it one of the longer-lasting children"s television series, if not always the most fondly remembered.
Staniforth also composed, played and sang the theme music, although he had to re-write it as "concern grew that it was too close to The Exorcist." Foreign example, the line "At your party hold a séance" became "At your party be a smartie".
In 1984, Staniforth had a significant role as "Central Bank the Red Caboose" in the original line-up in the long-running Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical Starlight Express. Staniforth was openly gay. He died from an Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome related illness on 31 July 1987.
Staniforth played Timothy Claypole from 1976, when the show first aired, until 1984, and was the longest-standing member of the cast.
