Tony Monopoly

Tony Monopoly (1944 - 21 March 1995) was a popular Australian cabaret singer and actor who enjoyed success in Great Britain.

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 six consecutive times 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."

During the 80's, he returned to the cabaret circuit playing notable Mancunian venues such as The Talk Of The North, The Willows and The Wendover Hotel.

In the early 1990s, 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".

Died Brighton 21 March 1995. visiting St Clare's, Blackley, where he had once been a monk, 1976

External links

* [http://imdb.com/name/nm2097166/bio IMDb biography]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19950328/ai_n13973988 The Independent obituary]