Tony Monopoly (3 December 1944 – 21 March 1995) was an Australian-born

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

singer and actor who enjoyed success in the United Kingdom. Born Antonio Rosario Monopoli in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, he was a regular on the national

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, ''Kangaroos on Parade'' at the age of nine as a boy soprano. At the age of sixteen he became a

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friar and remained in the order for five years. During the 1960s he regularly performed with Edwin Duff and Norm Erskine, as a trio of singers, on '' In Melbourne Tonight'' and '' Tonight with Don Lane''. In 1975 he was appearing at Caesar's Palace in

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

when he auditioned for '' Opportunity Knocks'', a British television

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, for a run of six appearances. In June 1976, his self-titled album peaked at No. 25 in the

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. In a national pre-selection to choose the song that would go to the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

, held on 9 March 1977 at the New London Theatre, Monopoly earned 66 points and placed ninth with the tune "Leave a Little Love." By the early 1980s Monopoly performed aboard cruise liners, "I lived on one yacht for a year," he said. "I went to 56 countries. I had champagne for breakfast. But I hated it". When fulfilling his increasingly rare engagements on dry land, he divided his time between Australia and the UK. Monopoly was head-hunted for a musical while appearing in ''Cinderella'' at

Hanley Hanley is one of the Federation of Stoke-on-Trent, six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke- ...

, near

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

. He starred – in drag – in ''

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...

'', the inaugural production at the newly refurbished

Old Fire Station Theatre __NOTOC__ Arts at the Old Fire Station (AOFS) is a charity operating an arts centre, comprising a theatre, gallery, and cafe, in George Street, Oxford, England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the U ...

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. The show's success prompted

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "t ...

to mount a 1992 West End production, which opened to scathing reviews and promptly closed, after which Monopoly portrayed Old Deuteronomy in a UK tour of ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

''. Monopoly died of cancer in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, England on 21 March 1995. In 2000, a character named Tony Cluedo - an obvious reference to Tony Monopoly - played By Ted Robbins, appeared in Series 2 of BBC TV comedy ''The League of Gentlemen'' as the lead singer of Crème Brulee.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Monopoly, Tony 1944 births 1995 deaths Australian male stage actors Male actors from Adelaide Musicians from Adelaide 20th-century Australian male actors 20th-century Australian male singers