Tony Monopoly
Encyclopedia
Tony Monopoly was a popular Australia
n cabaret
singer and actor
who enjoyed success in the United Kingdom
.
Born Antonio Rosario Monopoli in Adelaide
, Australia
, he was a regular on the national radio show Kangaroos on Parade at the age of nine. At the age of sixteen he became a Carmelite monk
and remained in the order for five years. He was appearing at Caesar's Palace in Luton
when he auditioned for Opportunity Knocks, a British
television
talent show
, which he won on six consecutive occasions in the 1970s.
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 Eighties, his public were beginning to share his doubts, and Monopoly was frequently obliged to display his talents 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. He was headhunted for a musical while appearing in Cinderella at Hanley, near Stoke-on-Trent.
Monopoly 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 that opened to scathing reviews and promptly closed, after which Monopoly portrayed Old Deuteronomy
in a UK tour of Cats
.
Monopoly died in Brighton
, England
on 21 March 1995.
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 cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
singer 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...
who enjoyed success in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Born Antonio Rosario Monopoli in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, 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...
, he was a regular on the national radio show Kangaroos on Parade at the age of nine. At the age of sixteen he became a Carmelite monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
and remained in the order for five years. He was appearing at Caesar's Palace in Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
when he auditioned for Opportunity Knocks, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
talent show
Talent show
A talent show is an event where participants perform their talent or talents of acting, singing, dancing, acrobatics, drumming, martial arts, playing an instrument, and other activities to showcase a unique form of talent, sometimes for a reward, trophy or prize...
, which he won on six consecutive occasions in the 1970s.
In a national pre-selection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
held on 9 March 1977 at the New London Theatre
New London Theatre
The New London Theatre is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden...
, Monopoly earned 66 points and placed ninth with the tune "Leave a Little Love."
By the early Eighties, his public were beginning to share his doubts, and Monopoly was frequently obliged to display his talents 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. He was headhunted for a musical while appearing in Cinderella at Hanley, near Stoke-on-Trent.
Monopoly starred - in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
- in Moby Dick
Moby Dick (musical)
Moby Dick is a musical with a book by Robert Longden, and music and lyrics by Longden and Hereward Kaye.A mixture of high camp, music hall-style smut, and wild anachronism overflowing with double entendres, the show focuses on the anarchic and nubile girls of St...
, the inaugural production at the newly-refurbished Old Fire Station Theatre in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. The show's success prompted Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
to mount a 1992 West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production that opened to scathing reviews and promptly closed, after which Monopoly portrayed Old Deuteronomy
Old Deuteronomy
Old Deuteronomy is a character in T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and its musical adaptation, Cats.In Eliot's original poem, Old Deuteronomy is described as an ancient, wise cat who has "lived many lives in succession" and is respected by the other cats and humans in his...
in a UK tour of Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
.
Monopoly died in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 21 March 1995.