Southern Charm Star Suffers Spinal Cord Stroke

NBCUMV Southern Charm cast

On February 23, Southern Charm star Patricia Altschul’s son, Whitney Sudler-Smith, announced that his mother’s butler, Michael Kelcourse, had recently suffered from a stroke.

“I am sorry to inform you that Michael Kelcourse, affectionately known as ‘Michael The Butler’, recently suffered an acute spinal cord infarction which is often called a ‘spinal cord stroke,'” Sudler-Smith revealed to Bravo’s The Daily Dish. “Although this tragedy has caused significant nerve damage and impairment, with the help of the outstanding physicians at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, we are hopeful Michael will soon recover. Thank you for respecting Michael’s privacy during this challenging time.”

Kelcourse has been a part of Altschul’s life since 2004, for over 17 years, and quickly became a fan favorite during the first season of Southern Charm. 

Michael Kelcourse Is Treated Like a Part of Altschul’s Family

Over the years, Kelcourse has been treated as a part of Altschul’s family. During an August 2018 interview with Bravo’s The Daily Dish, Altschul and her son gushed about Kelcourse, calling him the “nicest” guy in the world. “Michael, he’s devoted to mom,” Sulder-Smith said at the time. “He’s the nicest guy in the world. He’s invaluable to my mom because he helps with her coterie of animals.”

Sudler-Smith continued, telling Bravo, ” He knows everything. He knows history of how to serve [like] the correct silverware, [as well as] decor [and] decoration. He’s a master of this lost art. There are butler schools and academies and this and that, but he can teach these academies. He’s a master, essentially.”

Michael Kelcourse Recently Revealed What It’s Like Working for Altschul

During a recent May 2019 interview with Decider, Kelcourse opened up about what it’s like working for Altschul and the secrets behind his job, such as how he collaborates with the Southern Charm star to throw dinner parties.

“We plan everything almost like a military maneuver,” Kelcourse explained. “We go over the china, the crystal, the glassware, what part of the table we want certain people to sit. I’ll go over all the china with her to see what she wants to have the first course on, what she wants to have dessert on, if we’re gonna have special accouterments if we’re using the gold or the silver or we’re using the bamboo, what the flowers are going to be, if she wants to have individual salts and peppers or if she wants everything to be prepared and seasoned in the kitchen.”

Kelcourse continued, “If there’s going to be a sauce I have to find the appropriate vessel. And we don’t serve certain things in certain areas, too many things that are going to clash. And we never do a sorbet course, ever. We used to at my last house, we would do those sort of things. We had 18 servants and here we’re bringing people in when you need them.”

Kelcourse also revealed to Decider that even on his days off, he still finds himself surrounded by the family. “On my day off I usually come over and look after Mrs. A anyway because she’s such a nice person,” Kelcourse said.

READ NEXT: Margaret Josephs Slams RHOD Star