OOH BETTY! MICHAEL CRAWFORD AWARDED MEDAL BY TRUMP
Donald Trump has honoured Michael Crawford with a medal for his contribution to American arts.
Crawford, the 83-year-old actor and musician who starred as hapless Frank Spencer in the 1970s British sitcom Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em, was presented with the Kennedy Centre medal at the Oval Office on Saturday.
The other 2025 honourees included the rock band Kiss, country music star George Strait, disco legend Gloria Gaynor and Sylvester Stallone, the star of the Rocky and Rambo films and a vocal supporter of Mr Trump.
Previous recipients have included Aretha Franklin, Meryl Streep, Sir Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen.
Mr Trump hailed his hand-picked 2025 winners as “perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class”.
The president’s involvement in the awards, ousting the board that selects the medallists and imposing himself as chairman, is an example of broader White House interference in America’s cultural institutions.
He has ordered museums to remove content deemed “anti-American” and fired the majority of the National Council on the Humanities.
On Saturday, Mr Trump praised Crawford, the original lead in Phantom of Opera, as “the great star of Broadway” in the annual honours, which recognise a lifelong contribution to American arts.
The US president is known to be an avid fan of the musical, in which Crawford played the title role in both the West End and Broadway productions, earning an Olivier and Tony Award.
Mr Trump said he was “there” for Crawford’s 1967 Broadway debut in Black Comedy and lauded him as a “generational talent” and an “international sensation”.
In Britain, Crawford is fondly remembered as for his portrayal of Frank Spencer and his “Ooh, Betty” catchphrase in Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em.
The president called the 2025 honorees “incredible people” who he said represented the “very best in American arts and culture”, adding: “I know most of them, and I’ve been a fan of all of them.”
On Saturday, he showered praise on Stallone who he named as one of his “special ambassadors” to Hollywood, calling him a “wonderful” and “spectacular” person and “one of the true, great movie stars”.
Kiss, he said, were an “incredible rock band” and “among the greatest artists, actors and performers of their generation”. The band’s members have been mixed in their support for Mr Trump over the years.
The overhaul of the Kennedy Centre has become a personal political project for Mr Trump.
Despite skipping the ceremony each year in his first term, breaking a long-held presidential tradition, the Republican returned in his second term determined to leave his mark on the centre, which he has called a “national jewel”.
It is part of a broader effort to solidify control over the capital’s institutions and cultural life, remaking and revamping Washington in his image.
Mr Trump provoked outrage in February when he purged the centre of its board members and made himself chairman.
He then set about appointing Trump loyalists to leadership positions, and condemning the centre’s past shows for being “woke” and “terrible”. He also promised an end to “drag shows specifically targeting our youth”.
The centre’s new president, Richard Grenell, a veteran of the first Trump administration and the president’s long-time foreign policy adviser, has helped steer its new conservative agenda.
Mr Trump has also repeatedly flirted with the idea of renaming the centre “the Trump Kennedy Centre”. More than 100 staff members have resigned or been dismissed since February, The Washington Post reported.
The gala for the honourees takes place on Sunday night. Tom Cruise turned down an award this year, citing “scheduling conflicts”, according to The Washington Post.
2025-12-07T16:10:53Z