Anthony Lehmann (born 20 August 1969), professionally known as Lehmo, is an Australian comedian, actor, television and radio presenter.

Career

Born in

Peebinga, South Australia Peebinga is a town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia. Peebinga was the terminus of the Peebinga railway line which was built in 1914 as part of a major state government project to open up the Murray Mallee for grazing and c ...

, Lehmann started out working as a chartered accountant before realising he did not actually like accounting and decided to give comedy a try. Later he joined Gold 104.3 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

with

Brigitte Duclos Brigitte Duclos (born 13 December 1964) is an Australian television and radio presenter. Personal life Duclos, one of three sisters, was educated at Shelford Girls' Grammar. In December 2007, Duclos announced that she had split with husband ...

making the Morning Show "Brig & Lehmo". When Duclos was sacked,

Jo Stanley Joanne McFarlane (''née'' Bailey), commonly known as Jo Stanley, is an Australian television and radio presenter and comedian. Stanley was a host of ''Jo & Lehmo'' on Gold 104.3 from 2016 to 2017. She previously hosted ''Weekend Breakfast' ...

stepped in and then "Jo & Lehmo" was formed. For many years they were voted best Radio Station in Melbourne.

Stand up

Lehmann is one of Australia’s most experienced and well-travelled comedians. His live work has seen him headline at comedy clubs for well over fifteen years and work all corners of the globe – USA, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand. Lehmann has also become Australia’s number one 'combat comic', having completed seven 'tours of duty' performing for Australian troops abroad. These tours have seen Lehmann perform in army bases in

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

and on a number of naval ships around the world. He has also performed sell out seasons at the

Adelaide Fringe Festival Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between ...

(2000, 2002 and 2004), the

Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the largest international comedy festival in the world. First held in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starti ...

(1999, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005) and the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

(1996 and 1997). His live credits in the UK include the 1996 and 1997 Edinburgh Fringe Festivals,

The Comedy Store, London The Comedy Store is a comedy club located in Soho, London, England, opened in 1979 by Don Ward and Peter Rosengard.Jongleurs – the largest chain of comedy clubs in Britain. Lehmann has also performed regular gigs at the

Boston Comedy Club The Boston Comedy Club was an American comedy club in Manhattan, New York, founded by Barry Katz. The club was located at 82 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village between Thompson Street and Sullivan Street. The club was open from 1988 to 2005 ...

and

Gotham Comedy Club Gotham Comedy Club is a venue for stand-up comedy in New York City. The comedy club is located on 208 West 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eighth avenues in Chelsea, M ...

, both in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. His shows have included, "War, Marriage & Puppy Love" – about war, marriage and puppy love, "The Family Lifeboat" – about navigating life as a new father, and "Younger Than Brad Pitt" – about Lehmann accepting he is no longer 21 and time is marching on. Overseas demand for Lehmann has seen him appear on England's

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

Comedy Showcase ''Comedy Showcase'' is a series of one-off comedy specials featuring some of Britain's fledgling comedy talent. Its format is reminiscent of the much earlier television series '' Playhouse''. The format was replaced in 2012 by ''4Funnies''.Khals ...

and as a regular compere on Britain's longest-running television stand up show ''Stand up Live''. Lehmann also played himself in a series of ads for XXXX beer which were shot in India and screened in the UK. In 2021, Lehmann accused ''

RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under ''Drag Race Down Under'' (formerly ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'') is a reality competition television series based on the American television series of the same name produced by World of Wonder and Warner Bros. International Television Pr ...

'' contestant

Anita Wigl'it Nick Hall (formerly Kennedy-Hall), better known by the stage name Anita Wigl'it, is a British-New Zealand based drag performer best known for hosting '' House of Drag'' from 2018 to 2020, and competing on the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race ...

of stealing one of his jokes about

Prince Andrew Prince Andrew, Duke of York (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a younger broth ...

during her appearance as

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in the show's

Snatch Game Snatch Game is a comedy challenge recurring across the ''Drag Race'' television franchise and a fixture of the reality competition series. Since the second season of the original American ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' series in 2010, the challenge ha ...

challenge. Lehmann claimed he had first cracked the joke in August 2020 and that “my joke has now gone global without me.” Wigl'it later issued an apology on her

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

, saying ““Oh no! I do apologise!! When I was doing research for the Queen character I knew that there was something funny about the letter writing ..riends suggested the text. Turns out they had heard it somewhere before!”

World record

In May 2005, Lehmann broke the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for the most jokes told in an hour with 549, beating the previous record of 499, which was held by UK comedian

Tim Vine Timothy Mark Vine (born 4 March 1967) is an English comedian, actor, writer and presenter best known for his puns and other one-liners and his role on the TV sitcom '' Not Going Out'' (2006–2012, 2014). He has also released a number of stand- ...

. In April 2014, the record was reassigned back to Tim Vine following a decision from Guinness World Record officials. An official spokesman said that Anthony Lehmann had breached the guidelines.

Radio

SAFM

In 2003, Lehmann’s radio career started as co-host of

SAFM SAFM (official callsign: 5SSA) is a commercial FM radio station owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo as part of the Hit Network. The station is broadcast to Adelaide, South Australia from studios in Franklin Street. History The stati ...

breakfast show 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 ...

with Lisa Millard. In July 2020, Lehmann returned to SAFM to host breakfast alongside Rebecca Morse and Andrew Costello 'Cosi'.

Mix 1011 & Gold 104.3

In January 2010, Lehmann joined

Mix 1011 KIIS 1011 (official callsign: 3TTT) is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on a frequency of 101.1 MHz and is the Melbourne affiliate of ARN's KIIS Network. The station was formerly known as 3DB ...

to host ''Mix Mornings'' where he replaced

Tom Gleeson Thomas Francis Gleeson (born 2 June 1974) is an Australian stand-up comedian, writer, television and radio presenter. Gleeson currently hosts '' Hard Quiz'' and '' Taskmaster Australia'' and previously co-hosted ''The Weekly with Charlie Picker ...

. In December 2011,

Australian Radio Network ARN Media Ltd., formerly Here, There & Everywhere and APN News & Media, is an Australian media company. Divisions include broadcast radio and Out-of-home advertising. The company previously had assets in New Zealand, and previously owned Adsh ...

announced that Lehmann and Duclos would move to present ''Brig & Lehmo for Breakfast'' on Gold 104.3 replacing ''Grubby & Dee Dee''. In November 2015, Duclos resigned from Gold 104.3 with

replacing her from January 2016. In November 2017, Lehmann's co-hosted the ''Jo & Lehmo Breakfast Show'' on Gold 104.3, which became the #1 breakfast show in Melbourne. The show was axed in December 2017 .

ABC Radio

In 2018, Lehmann joined ABC and hosted ABC Grandstand with

Angela Pippos Angela Athena Pippos (born 29 December 1969), is an Australian journalist, television/radio presenter, author, MC and public speaker, of Greek heritage. Biography Pippos completed an Honours degree in Politics at the University of Adelaide an ...

and Emma Race. He also hosted the summer sports ABC radio show
Grand National

Triple M

In April 2007, Lehmann joined

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 45 radio stations with flagship stations broadcasting a mainstream/classic rock music format in Sydney, Melbourne, and B ...

to co-host drive-time program ''

Wil & Lehmo ''Wil & Lehmo'' was an afternoon drive time radio program broadcast nationally on Triple M and was hosted by Wil Anderson and Anthony "Lehmo" Lehmann. It began broadcasting on 2 April 2007. The timeslot for this show was previously held by ''Th ...

'' which also starred fellow comedian co-host

Wil Anderson William James Anderson (born 31 January 1974) is an Australian comedian, writer, presenter, and podcaster. Early life William James Anderson was born on 31 January 1974 in Sale, Victoria, and grew up on a dairy farm near Heyfield, Victoria.< ...

. The show ended in November 2008. Lehmann has since been a regular contributor on the Triple M network.

Television

The former accountant is no stranger to TV, playing series regular 'Jim' in ABC TV's ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

'', which has won several awards including Best Television Comedy Series at the 4th

AACTA Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the cinema of Australia, film and ...

, Equity Award for Most Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series at the

Equity Ensemble Awards The Equity Ensemble Awards (or Equity Awards) are an Australian awards system, that is an accolade presented by The Equity Foundation, the performers branch of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA). The awards have been presented annua ...

, and Most Outstanding Comedy Program at the

Logies The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The event is telecast live and b ...

. He has been seen regularly on Network Ten's ''

Celebrity Name Game ''Celebrity Name Game'' is an American syndicated game show that premiered on September 22, 2014. Based on the board game ''Identity Crisis'' (created by Laura Robinson and Richard Gerrits), the series was developed by Courteney Cox and David ...

'', '' The Project'', ''

Have You Been Paying Attention? ''Have You Been Paying Attention?'' (abbreviated as HYBPA?) is an Australian panel game television quiz show on Network 10. The series, which is produced by Working Dog Productions, is a mix of news and comedy which sees host Tom Gleisner quiz ...

'' and featured in roles on ''

It's A Date ''It's a Date'' is a 1940 American musical film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Deanna Durbin, Kay Francis, and Walter Pidgeon. Based on a story by Jane Hall, Frederick Kohner, and Ralph Block, the film is about an aspiring actr ...

'', ''

Please Like Me ''Please Like Me'' is an Australian comedy-drama television series created by and starring Josh Thomas. Thomas also serves as a writer for every episode. The series premiered on 28 February 2013 on ABC2 in Australia and is on occasion available ...

'', ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' (as himself). Lehmann was a team captain on

Fox Footy Fox Footy (stylised as FOX FOOTY) is an Australian rules football subscription television channel dedicated to screening Australian rules football matches and related programming. It is owned by Fox Sports Australia operated out of its Melbou ...

's AFL-themed quiz sho
''The Beep Test''
and had guest roles o
''Drunk History Australia''
'' Hughesy, We Have A Problem'', ''

A League Of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). It stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Ma ...

'', '' Can Of Worms'', ''

Good News Week ''Good News Week'' is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and 11 February 2008 to 28 April 2012. The show's initial run aired on ABC until being bought by Network Ten in ...

'', ''

Rove Live ''Rove'', also titled ''Rove Live'', is an Australian television variety show that featured live music performances and interviews with local and international celebrity guests. The program premiered on the Nine Network on 22nd September 1999, b ...

'', '' The Circle'', '' The Glasshouse'', ''

Hey Hey It's Saturday ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' is a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 28 years on the Nine Network from 9 October 1971 to 20 November 1999, with a recess in 1978. Its host throughout its entire ...

'' and ''Stand Up Live'' (UK TV). Lehmann was also a core cast member of the much loved ''

Before The Game ''Before the Game'' was an Australian rules football comedy panel television show which aired on Network Ten on 1 March 2003 until 27 September 2013. The show was hosted by Andrew Maher with regular panelists Mick Molloy, Dave Hughes, Antho ...

'' for over 6 years on TEN. Lehmann hosted the ABC’s coverage of the

2018 Invictus Games The 2018 Invictus Games was an adaptive multi-sport event for wounded, injured and ill veteran and active defence personnel, held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The fourth Invictus Games, an event founded in 2014 by Prince Harry, Duke of ...

. That year, he co-hosted the ABC’s live broadcast of the 2019

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Government-owned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the state and territor ...

announcement as well as Channel 9’s '' Footy Show''. In 2024 Lehmo appeared in “The Big Trip” on Channel 7 where celebrity contestants travelled from Adelaide to Sydney in all electric cars completing challenges en route.

Film

In 2009 Lehmann played a cameo role in the Australian movie ''Offside''. He appears as the character 'Leechy', a former Junior

Socceroo The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliate ...

, a soccer star – a role he says is not at odds with his public identity as an active supporter of

Aussie Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by kic ...

football club Hawthorn. In order to play the role of ''Leechy'', Lehmann flew to Adelaide for six hours on 6 February 2008. Once shooting was completed, he broadcast his afternoon drive-time radio show from a sister Adelaide radio station, before flying back to Sydney. In 2010, Lehmann was developing another script with writer/director Carlo Petraccaro. Lehmann has also had cameos the Working Dog film Any Questions For Ben? and comedy That’s Not My Dog!

Other work

In 2007, he was the face of the advertising campaigns for the

Australian International Motor Show The Australian International Motor Show (AIMS) was an annual auto show held in Australia, alternating between the cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Prior to the Sydney event in 2010, both cities previously hosted separate annual exhibitions. Mel ...

held in Sydney. He is also the face of adverts for the new

Vegemite Vegemite ( ) is a thick, dark brown Australian food spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice Food additive, additives. It was developed by Cyril Callister in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, for ...

spread '' iSnack 2.0'' which commenced airing on 21 September 2009 and during the

2009 AFL Grand Final The 2009 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the St Kilda Football Club and the Geelong Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 26 September 2009. It was the 113th annual AFL Grand Final, grand final ...

broadcast.

Personal life

In December 2013, Lehmann announced his engagement to television producer Kelly Kearney while on holiday in South Africa. They married on 29 December 2014 in

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

. Their first child, a boy, was born on 26 July 2016.

References

External links

Official sitearchived April 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehmann, Anthony Triple M presenters Australian stand-up comedians Australian male film actors 1969 births Living people Male actors from Adelaide Australian television presenters People educated at Sacred Heart College (Adelaide) Australian male comedians Comedians from Adelaide