Trivia

Contracted polio during WWII and was confined to a wheelchair.

In the 1950s he and Donald Swann had a very successful cabaret act. Michael sang and Donald played the piano.

He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1964 Queen's New Year Honours List for services to the handicapped.

Was a student at Westminster School, London, where his classmates included not only future stage partner and lifelong friend Donald Swann, but also Peter Brook, Peter Ustinov, and Rudolf von Ribbentrop, the son of Hitler's Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.

Since his death, his widow, Claudia, has become an ardent crusader for proper accomodations for the physically handicapped in the UK.

Two daughters, journalists Laura Flanders and Stephanie Flanders.

He collapsed and died while on holiday in North Wales.