Tony Monopoly

Tony Monopoly (3 December 1944 – 21 March 1995)[1] was an Australian-born cabaret singer and actor who enjoyed success in the United Kingdom.[2] Born Antonio Rosario Monopoli in Adelaide, he was a regular on the national radio show, Kangaroos on Parade at the age of nine as a boy soprano.[2]

At the age of sixteen he became a Carmelite friar and remained in the order for five years.[2] 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.[3]

In 1975 he was appearing at Caesar's Palace in Luton when he auditioned for Opportunity Knocks, a British television talent show, for a run of six appearances.[2] In June 1976, his self-titled album peaked at No. 25 in the UK Albums Chart.[4][5]

In a national pre-selection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest, 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".[2] 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, near Stoke-on-Trent. He starred – in drag – in Moby Dick, the inaugural production at the newly refurbished Old Fire Station Theatre in Oxford. The show's success prompted Cameron Mackintosh to mount a 1992 West End production,[6] which opened to scathing reviews and promptly closed, after which Monopoly portrayed Old Deuteronomy in a UK tour of Cats.

Monopoly died of cancer in Brighton, England on 21 March 1995.[2]

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

  1. ^ Antonio Rosario Monopoli gravestone
  2. ^ a b c d e f Chalmers, Robert (28 March 1995). "Obituary :Tony Monopoly". The Independent. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  3. ^ Broun, Shirley (14 October 2012). "Edwin Duff takes his final bow". On with the show. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  4. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 375. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  5. ^ "Tony Monopoly | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Tony Monopoly – Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 December 2012.