Michael Staniforth

 

Firstly, happy birthday to Ren's grandma and Harry Potter.

Secondly, we are remembering Michael Staniforth on the anniversary of his death. He was best known for his role as Timothy Claypole who was the ghost of a jester in the BBC kids show Rentaghost which is how we came to know of him.

In all honesty we discovered him by accident. Ren went to pay her respects at the graves of her relatives and happened to get interested in some other burials. One thing led to another and it came to light that this talented man and his parents were also buried here. She mentioned it in passing to her mum who informed her of Rentaghost and it became her own personal adventure as she tracked down the grave one dark Saturday morning through various clues.

Michael was born in Birmingham, which was a bit of a shock to us as he ended up buried in Hawkinge. However, he was always a traveller as he spent his childhood in Germany, Egypt, and Libya following his father who was a sergeant major in the Army. When he hit 21 he then moved to Australia and by 23 he had landed an acting gig in South Pacific. He remained on stage for the next few years and performed in 12 more musicals before returning to the UK in 1969.

Staniforth then took the West End and performed in many theatre productions before appearing in the BBC's Great Big Groovy Horse in 1975. This is what cemented him in stardom at the BBC as a year later he became Timothy Claypole and continued this role until 1984. He was the longest standing member of the cast and also responsible for the theme song which he composed and sang.

He then returned to the stage when his role as the lovable jester was over in Starlight Express, but sadly his stardom was not to be continued. Michael Staniforth died in 1987 aged 44 from an AIDS related illness. He was cremated in London before his ashes were brought to Hawkinge to be buried alongside his mother who died in 1978.

We have now seen a few episodes of Rentaghost and he was truly the life and soul of the show. It breaks our hearts that his life was cut so short, but AIDS is a terrible thing and a very unforgiving illness. Yet another talented man lost. So please today, remember Michael.