Tony Sheldon (born c. 1954/1955) is an Australian actor and singer, best known for his work in theatre, especially his role as Bernadette in the original Australian stage production of the musical ''

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' is a 1994 Australian road comedy film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot follows two drag queens (played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) and a transgender woman (Terence St ...

''. He is also a writer.

Early life

Sheldon comes from one of Australia's leading theatrical families: his mother is

Toni Lamond Toni Lamond AM (born as Patricia Lamond Lawman; 29 March 1932) is an Australian former vaudevillian, cabaret performer, singer, actress, dancer, comedian, writer and television and radio personality. She had a successful career spanning over 8 ...

, his father and Frank Sheldon, his aunt

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on ra ...

, and his grandmother Stella Lamond.

Career

In 1993, Sheldon starred as the Baker in the Australian premiere of ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

''. One year later he starred as Mendel in ''

Falsettos ''Falsettos'' is a sung-through musical theatre, musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of ''March of the Falsettos'' (1981) and ''Falsettoland'' (1990), the last two installment ...

'' in its Australia premiere. Sheldon won the 2005 Helpmann Award, the Sydney Critics Award, the

Mo Award The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were last awarded in 2016. ...

and a Glugs Award for his performance as

Roger de Bris The following are fictional characters from the 1967 film '' The Producers'', the Broadway musical based on it, and the 2005 film adaptation of the musical. Leopold "Leo" Bloom Leopold "Leo" Bloom is a timid and mild-mannered accountant, prone ...

in '' The Producers'' in 2005. He was also nominated for a Helpmann and a

Green Room Award The Green Room Awards are Australian peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, theatre companies, independent theatre, musical theatre, contemporary and experimental performance, and opera. The awards, which were established in ...

for his work in ''

The Witches of Eastwick ''The Witches of Eastwick'' is a 1984 novel by American writer John Updike. A sequel, '' The Widows of Eastwick'', was published in 2008. Plot The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the early 1970s, follows the witc ...

'' in 2003. He wrote and directed ''The Times of My Life'' at the

Ensemble Theatre The Ensemble Theatre is an Australian theatre company and theatre, situated in the Sydney suburb of Kirribilli, New South Wales. History It is Australia's longest continuously running professional theatre group, having given its first perfor ...

(2006) and the

Adelaide Cabaret Festival The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is an annual arts festival featuring cabaret held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It has been held in June each year since 2001, with the exception of 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia ...

for his mother, Toni Lamond. Sheldon played more than 1,700 performances as Bernadette in '' Priscilla Queen of the Desert'' in Sydney,

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 ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, West End (2009) and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

prior to the Broadway premiere in March 2011. He won the Green Room Award, Best Male Artist in a Leading Role, and was nominated for an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

(2010, London). He was nominated for the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

as Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in ''Priscilla'' on Broadway. He played Horace in '' Hello, Dolly!'' at the

Goodspeed Opera House Goodspeed Musicals is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, located in East Haddam, Connecticut. Its landmark Goodspeed Opera House is a distinctive feature of ...

in 2013. In 2014, he portrayed Merlyn and Pellinore in a concert staging of ''Camelot'' at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

. As part of the tenth anniversary tour in Australia presented by Michael Cassel Group, Tony performed his 1800th performance as Bernadette in Melbourne on 7 March 2018 and hit the milestone of 1900 performances in the role on Wednesday 20 June at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. He played Dufayel in the musical adaption of ''

Amélie ''Amélie'' (, , ) is a 2001 French-language romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Written by Jeunet with Guillaume Laurant, the film is a whimsical depiction of contemporary Parisian life, set in Montmartre. It tells the story ...

'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in 2017. Starting in 2019 he played Grandpa Joe in the Australian production of ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' until February 2020.

Personal life

Sheldon and his long-term partner, actor and playwright Tony Taylor, had been together for 45 years in 2025.>

Awards and nominations

;''Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'', 2011 Glug Awards – Colleen Clifford Memorial Award Outstanding Performance in a Musical or Special Comedy Satire, co-winner, for ;Broadway, "Priscilla", 2011 * Tony Award-Leading Actor in a Musical (nomination) *Drama League-Outstanding Performance (nomination) *Drama Desk- Leading Actor in a Musical (nomination) *Outer Critics Circle Award-Leading Actor in a Musical (nomination) *Theatre World Award (winner) ;West End, ''Priscilla'', 2009 *Oliver Award – Leading Performance in a Musical (nomination) *What's on Stage Award – Leading Performance in a Musical (nomination) ;Australia, ''Priscilla'', 2006/7 *Sydney Theatre Critics Award – Best Actor in a Musical (winner) * Greenroom Award – Best Actor in a Musical (winner)"2007 Nominations and Recipients"
greenroom.org.au, accessed 5 May 2011 *

– Musical Theatre Performer of the Year (winner) *Aussietheatre.com – Best Actor in a Musical (winner) *

Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Musical Sir Robert Murray Helpmann (né Helpman) (9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet (no ...

(nomination) * Australian Dance Award – (nomination) ;2005, ''The Producers'' * Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical (winner) *Mo Award – Best Featured Actor in a Musical (winner) *Sydney Theatre Critics Award – Best Featured Actor in a Musical (winner) * Glugs Award – "Most Versatile" (winner) * Greenroom Award – Best Featured Actor in a Musical (nomination) ;2003, ''The Witches of Eastwick'' * Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical (nomination) * Green Room Award for Male Actor in a Leading Role (Music Theatre) (nomination) ;2000, ''A Poor Student'' * Norman Kessell Memorial Award for Outstanding Performance – Actor ;1994 * Glugs Award – Best Actor in a Play, ''A Poor Student'' (winner) *Green Room Award – Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, ''Falsettos'' ;1991, ''Wherefore Art Thou, Cabaret?'' *Mo Award – Performer of the Year (nomination) *Mo Award – Best Actor in a Musical (nomination) ;1985, ''Madonna and Child'' *Green Room Award – Best Actor in a Musical (nomination) *Greenroom Award – Best Director of a Musical (nomination) ;1984, ''Torch Song Trilogy'' *Greenroom Award – Best Actor in a Play (winner) *Variety Club Heart Award – Actor of the Year (winner) *Sidney Myer Award – Contribution to Sydney Theatre (nomination) ;1977, ''Inner Voices'' *National Theatre Award – Best Actor in a Play (winner) *Sydney Theatre Critics Award – (winner)

Discography

Cast albums and soundtracks

* ''

The Venetian Twins ''The Venetian Twins'' (, or "The two Venetian twins") is a 1747 play by Carlo Goldoni, based on Plautus's ''Menaechmi''. It was performed by Il Teatro Stabile of Genoa at the 1965 Edinburgh International Festival, directed by Luigi Squarzina ...

'' - original cast (1979) * ''

I Love My Wife ''I Love My Wife'' is a musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which s ...

'' - original Australian cast (1982) * '' Once In A Blue Moon - a celebration of Australian musicals'' (1994) * '' Lift Off Live'' (1995) * ''Songs from Fame the musical'' - Australian cast (1999) * ''

'' - original Australian cast (2007) * ''Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' - original Broadway cast (2011) * ''

Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay '' I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervan ...

'' - Australian cast (2015)

Select acting credits

Film

*'' Spoiled'' (1974) as The Boy

Television

* ''

Murder Call ''Murder Call'' is an Australian television series, created by Hal McElroy for the Southern Star Entertainment and broadcast on the Nine Network between 1997 and 2000. The series was inspired by the ''Tessa Vance'' novels by Jennifer Rowe, ...

'' (1998, S2 E13: ''A Dress to Die For'') as Garth Boyle

Theatre

References

External links

* *
Biography, Magnormos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, Tony Australian male stage actors Australian male musical theatre actors Helpmann Award winners Australian LGBTQ singers Australian gay actors Australian gay musicians Gay singers Male actors from Brisbane Musicians from Brisbane Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Dora Mavor Moore Award winners People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney Theatre World Award winners 20th-century Australian LGBTQ people 21st-century Australian LGBTQ people