Tommy Leonetti
Encyclopedia
Tommy Leonetti was an American
pop
singer-songwriter
and actor
of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. In Australia
his most famous song was "My City of Sydney" (written by Leonetti & Robert Troup) and was used by the Australia
n TV channel ATN7
in Sydney
for station identification into the 1980s. In America he achieved greater success as a songwriter
for movies
and Broadway
plays.
, New Jersey
in 1929. He married the American actress Cindy Robbins and was stepfather to her daughter, Kimberly Beck
. They lived in Sydney, Australia in the 1960s and 1970s before returning to America.
) and divorced in 1964 (no children). Leonetti acted in minor roles in American TV series: Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
(1964-1965 as 'Corporal Nick Cuccinelli'), I Spy (1966), Hawaii Five-O
(1977), The Waltons
(1978) and The Eddie Capra Mysteries (1978). He had a film role in The Human Duplicators (1965) a science fiction alien invasion movie.
" which reached number 30 in 1954. Your Hit Parade
(1957–1958), The Steve Allen Show
(1958–1959) and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
(1971–1973) featured performances by Leonetti. He also hit in the US with the only charted version of the spiritual "Kum Ba Yah" in early 1969.
While in Australia, Leonetti hosted his own talk-show
from 1968 to 1970 for ATN-7, and provided the basis for the parody character Norman Gunston
(according to creator Garry McDonald).
He had a major Sydney hit with "Let’s Take a Walk" (penned by Leonetti and Bobby Russell) with his step-daughter Kim in 1968. Leonetti's rendition of "My City of Sydney", as used by ATN7 for nightly sign-off can be viewed on YouTube. Sydney punk rock
ers XL Capris
(with lead vocalist Johanna Pigott
) provided their version in 1979 (also on YouTube), this promo includes blue-tinged portions from Leonetti's TV sign-off. Other versions were performed by yodeller
Mary Schneider
, 1990s punk rockers Frenzal Rhomb
and James Valentine
on his radio show in February 2008.
and his television show were initially devised as a parody of Leonetti's late-night Sydney TV variety show, "The Tommy Leonetti Show", hosted by Leonetti from 1969 to 1970.
(1976, starred stepdaughter Beck) and She Came to the Valley (1979). He also co-wrote (with Jill Williams) and sang "Cross Roads" for Massacre at Central High. TV music included: The ABC Weekend Special
episodes 1.2 "The Ransom of Red Chief", 1.9 "Soup and Me", 2.5 "Little Lulu" and 2.6 "Soup for President".
Leonetti died in 1979 in Houston
, Texas
, of cancer, at the age of 50. Gravestone name is "Nicholas Tommy Leonetti".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
his most famous song was "My City of Sydney" (written by Leonetti & Robert Troup) and was used by the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n TV channel ATN7
ATN
-Medicine:*Acute tubular necrosis, a medical condition involving the death of tubular cells that form the tubule that transports urine to the ureters*Asymmetric tonic neck reflex*Atypical trigeminal neuralgia-Television:...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
for station identification into the 1980s. In America he achieved greater success as a songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
for movies
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
plays.
Personal life
Tommy Leonetti was born Nicola Tomaso Lionetti in Bergen CountyBergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in 1929. He married the American actress Cindy Robbins and was stepfather to her daughter, Kimberly Beck
Kimberly Beck
Kimberly Beck is an American actress with over sixty television and film roles to her credit.-Biography:...
. They lived in Sydney, Australia in the 1960s and 1970s before returning to America.
Actor
Married in 1958 to Patricia Quinn (later "Alice" in the 1968 film Alice's RestaurantAlice's Restaurant
"Alice's Restaurant Massacree" is a musical monologue by singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie released on his 1967 album Alice's Restaurant. The song is one of Guthrie's most prominent works, based on a true incident in his life that began on Thanksgiving Day 1965, and which inspired a 1969 movie of the...
) and divorced in 1964 (no children). Leonetti acted in minor roles in American TV series: Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.The show renders the title as Gomer Pyle - USMC. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy...
(1964-1965 as 'Corporal Nick Cuccinelli'), I Spy (1966), Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
(1977), The Waltons
The Waltons
The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
(1978) and The Eddie Capra Mysteries (1978). He had a film role in The Human Duplicators (1965) a science fiction alien invasion movie.
Singer and entertainer
"Free", Leonetti's 1956 single, has been described as a US one-hit wonder peaking at number 23. He also had a minor hit with his version of "I CriedI Cried
"I Cried" is a popular song written by Michael Elias and Billy Duke.The best-selling version was done by Patti Page, reaching #13 on the Billboard charts in 1954. It was released by Mercury Records as catalog number 70416. The song was a two-sided hit, with the flip side "What a Dream" doing even...
" which reached number 30 in 1954. Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade, is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During this 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or...
(1957–1958), The Steve Allen Show
Steve Allen (comedian)
Stephen Valentine Patrick William "Steve" Allen was an American television personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best known for his television career. He first gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent...
(1958–1959) and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
(1971–1973) featured performances by Leonetti. He also hit in the US with the only charted version of the spiritual "Kum Ba Yah" in early 1969.
While in Australia, Leonetti hosted his own talk-show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
from 1968 to 1970 for ATN-7, and provided the basis for the parody character Norman Gunston
Norman Gunston
Norman Gunston was a satirical TV character performed by Australian actor and comedian Garry McDonald. Norman Gunston was primarily well known in his native Australia, and to a lesser extent, the United States during the mid to late 1970s.- Early years :...
(according to creator Garry McDonald).
He had a major Sydney hit with "Let’s Take a Walk" (penned by Leonetti and Bobby Russell) with his step-daughter Kim in 1968. Leonetti's rendition of "My City of Sydney", as used by ATN7 for nightly sign-off can be viewed on YouTube. Sydney punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
ers XL Capris
XL Capris
XL Capris were an Australian indie-punk band formed in Sydney in 1978 by Julie Anderson, Tim Gooding, Johanna Pigott and Kimble Rendall.Their best known single was a punk version of Tommy Leonetti's "My City of Sydney"...
(with lead vocalist Johanna Pigott
Johanna Pigott
Johanna Paton Pigott is an Australian musician, singer/songwriter and screenwriter. Her best known hit songs are Dragon's "Rain" which peaked at #2 on the Australia singles charts in 1983 and John Farnham's "Age of Reason". "Rain" was co-written with partner Dragon's Todd Hunter and his brother...
) provided their version in 1979 (also on YouTube), this promo includes blue-tinged portions from Leonetti's TV sign-off. Other versions were performed by yodeller
Yodeling
Yodeling is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or chest register to the falsetto/head register; making a high-low-high-low sound.The English word yodel is derived from a German word jodeln meaning "to...
Mary Schneider
Mary Schneider
Mary Schneider is an Australian performer, renowned for yodelling works of classic composers. Her daughter Melinda Schneider is also an Australian country music singer and yodeller...
, 1990s punk rockers Frenzal Rhomb
Frenzal Rhomb
Frenzal Rhomb are an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1992 with mainstay Jason Whalley on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. In 1996, Lindsay McDougall joined the line-up on lead guitar and backing vocals. Two of the group's albums have peaked into the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Chart, A...
and James Valentine
James Valentine (Australian musician)
James Valentine is an Australian journalist, musician, and radio and television presenter.As a musician, Valentine has worked with Australian artists such as Kate Ceberano and Joe Camilleri. In 1984 he joined the band Models and played with them until they broke up in 1988...
on his radio show in February 2008.
In Australian popular culture
According to Garry McDonald, the character of Norman GunstonNorman Gunston
Norman Gunston was a satirical TV character performed by Australian actor and comedian Garry McDonald. Norman Gunston was primarily well known in his native Australia, and to a lesser extent, the United States during the mid to late 1970s.- Early years :...
and his television show were initially devised as a parody of Leonetti's late-night Sydney TV variety show, "The Tommy Leonetti Show", hosted by Leonetti from 1969 to 1970.
Songwriter and music composer
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) lists 49 works credited to "Tommy Leonetti". Music for films included: Squeeze a Flower (1970), Massacre at Central HighMassacre at Central High
Massacre at Central High is a 1976 horror-thriller film directed by Dutch director Rene Daalder, a protegé of Russ Meyer. Despite its title, it is not at all a slasher film; the film is more an odd and violent political allegory, which tells the story of a series of revenge killings at a fictional...
(1976, starred stepdaughter Beck) and She Came to the Valley (1979). He also co-wrote (with Jill Williams) and sang "Cross Roads" for Massacre at Central High. TV music included: The ABC Weekend Special
ABC Weekend Special
The ABC Weekend Special is a weekly 30-minute anthology TV series for children that aired Saturday mornings on ABC from 1977 to 1997. It featured a wide variety of stories that were both live-action and animated....
episodes 1.2 "The Ransom of Red Chief", 1.9 "Soup and Me", 2.5 "Little Lulu" and 2.6 "Soup for President".
Leonetti died in 1979 in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, of cancer, at the age of 50. Gravestone name is "Nicholas Tommy Leonetti".