Michael Starke was born on the 13th of November 1957 in Liverpool and is best known for his role as Thomas 'Sinbad' Sweeney which he played for sixteen years in the Channel 4 soap opera 'Brookside' where he was initially credited as Mickey Starke. Acting has been Michael's love for as long as he can remember, but coming off a council estate in Liverpool he didn't go around telling everyone that he wanted to act in musical theatre! His mum loved musicals, knew all the story lines, who wrote the songs, and who produced the show, so it feels fortunate even now that his mother-in-law also likes musicals and is a big fan. He never knew at the time how to get into acting so got himself into a comedy 'Show Band' and gained a provisional equity card. Deciding against drama school, he instead gained work as a commis chef and a burglar alarm fitter. Then, when he landed a part in a play in Liverpool's Playhouse Theatre, his fortunes changed. Writer Jimmy McGovern, who was working on 'Brookside' at the time, spotted Michael in the play and convinced the soap's producers to cast him. He was an immediate hit and hasn't looked back since. It wasn't long after he joined Brookside that he met the woman who was to become his wife, Lynn Francis, in a pub. The couple went on to have two daughters, Jane, 15, and Hayley, 13.
Michael joined the cast of 'Brookside' in 1984 as 'Sinbad', two years after the programme began, although we did see a quick glimpse of him in one of the first episodes back in 1982. The character was introduced as a window cleaner and friend of Edna Cross, who would place bets on horse races for her behind her husband Harry's back. Aside from window cleaning, Sinbad took sidelines in many illegitimate deals. The writers originally wanted to call the character 'Popeye' but later settled on Sinbad. Michael said the nickname was an old scouse mickey take, a window cleaner who doesn't do the corners is given a nautical name as the windows look like portholes. He took tips from actual window cleaners to make Sinbad's profession appear authentic. They told him to 'crack his scrim', to make it authentic, which means flicking the shammy leather like a whip. In the early 1990s Sinbad was brought forward and became a regular character and it was from there that we got to see a different side of him with his love life explored more and he also went on to go in search of his long-lost mother. Sinbad's marriage proposal to Marcia at Goodison Park was put by a 'Soaplife writer' in their 'top 10 proposals feature. However as the storylines became heavier, Michael decided to leave, after much deliberation with his wife. He had no plans and had nothing in the pipeline but wanted to go while he felt the character was still right up there.
After his departure from 'Brookside', in October 2000 he got a couple of nice jobs which he said "financed the next year, so I was prepared for a fallow period." He appeared in a Christmas 2000 episode of the BBC drama 'Casualty' broadcast on the 16th of December 2000, playing the part of Barry Dawson, a loner who is befriended by a widower neighbour following a rooftop accident with Christmas decorations. His next major role however was in the ITV drama series 'The Royal' as Kenneth Hopkirk of whom he said, "My costume is like a tribute to Ronnie Barker - beige overalls, brown tie and brown slacks." He first played this character in an episode of 'Heartbeat' in 2003 which led to an initial six-part hospital series set in the 1960s with the provisional title of 'Whitby Royal'. Michael went on to play the role in 63 episodes as St Aidan's head porter and father of Lizzie Hopkirk in the newly named series 'The Royal' (2003-2008). Over Christmas in 2005 he appeared in the pantomime 'Cinderella' in Southport and then in Alladin' during Christmas 2006, along with comedian Syd Little' in York. Michael then arrived on 'Coronation Street' in 2007 as kebab-owner Jerry Morton, with his four children in tow. He moved into No.6 and opened Jerry's Takeaway, where he often clashed with his next-door neighbour Gail Platt. Jerry had a short-lived romance with Eileen Grimshaw and an impromptu heart-attack signalled the arrival of his estranged wife Teresa Bryant. His character departed for Spain in 2008 after a new producer arrived on the soap looking to take the show in a different direction. Michael later blasted the 'faceless' TV executives who culled his role as kebab shop owner Jerry Morton. "They made a mistake and I think they know they made a mistake in getting rid of us," he fumed at the time.
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| in 'Sister Act the musical' |
Michael continued as a successful stage actor, appearing in several touring productions of hit West End shows, including playing the role of Edna Turnbull in the first UK tour of 'Hairspray' and originating the role of Monsignor Howard in the first UK tour of 'Sister Act the Musical'. He also made appearances in 'Anything Goes' and 'Our Day Out', a musical, with the book and music written by Willy Russell that premiered in 1983. His TV work also continued with appearances in the 2014 Kenneth Branagh directed action thriller film 'Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit' and then in the medical themed dramas, 'Doctors', 'Holby City' and 'Casualty'. In December 2017, he appeared at the Liverpool Playhouse' in the new musical 'The Star' and in 2018, starred alongside former Brookside co-stars Kate Fitzgerald and Claire Sweeney in the last series of ITV's 'Benidorm' as Dodgy Dave and then in the TV drama ' The Virtues' (2019). In 2021 he made a 'soap' return when he appeared in 3 episodes of the Channel 4 soap opera 'Hollyoaks' playing a cab driver who witnesses some 'interesting conversations' and appeared in Tony Schumacher's award winning TV crime drama 'The Responder' (2022).
Michael is a regular cabaret performer on P&O Britannia and is working on a new musical with his songwriting partner, Joe Wynne, about Everton FC and is a patron of Zoe's Place Baby Hospice, a charity for sick babies and young children.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2024/02/a-history-of-liverpool-thespians-keith.html
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