Cameron Mackintosh Under Fire for Giving Racy Eulogy

Producer Cameron Mackintosh recently gave a eulogy for Frank Conway, a former tenant at his Highland estate, and according to the Telegraph, the speech has caught the attention of the Catholic church.

Father Joseph Calleja and some of the congregation of Our Lady of Prepatual Succor were "outraged" when Mackintosh told one of Conway's stories, which incuded the phrase "fornicating pr**k". Father Joseph told the Telegraph: "I was upset by it and still am. If you cannot say something good about somebody, you should say nothing."

Mackintosh defended his words, commenting: "What I read at the service was simply from Frankie's own book with his memoirs and I was using his own words and from his own material. In fact, I toned down a lot of the language that Frankie had used. The congregation were there to celebrate Frankie's life and I was very pleased that his family and many others were grateful that I properly reflected Frankie's personality and the life of a very special and much-loved person."

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Mackintosh has produced some of the most successful musicals of all time, including Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. His West End producing credits include Anything Goes, Oklahoma!, Cats, Little Shop of Horrors, Abbacadabara, The Boy Friend, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Follies, Miss Saigon, Moby Dick, Carousel, Oliver!, Martin Guerre, The Fix, The Witches of Eastwick, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, Sunday in the Park with George, Avenue Q, Hair and Betty Blue Eyes.

On Broadway, Mackintosh has produced Cats, Oliver!, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Five Guys Named Moe, Carousel, Swan Lake, Martin Guerre, Putting It Together, Oklahoma! and Mary Poppins. He is currently planning a re-imagined revival of Les Mis on Broadway and Miss Saigon in London.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos