Tony Monopoly
Tony Monopoly (1944 – 21 March 1995) was a popular Australian 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." In 1976, his self-titled album peaked at No. 25 in the UK Albums Chart.[1]
By the early 1980s, 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".[citation needed]
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,[2] which 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.
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