Anthony Lehmann (born 20 August 1969) is an Australian comedian, actor, television and radio presenter.

Career

Born in Peebinga, South Australia, Lehmo started out working as a chartered accountant before realising he did not actually like accounting and decided to give comedy a try. Later he joined Gold 104.3 in Melbourne with Brigitte Duclos making the Morning Show "Brig & Lehmo". When Brig quit, Jo Stanley stepped in and then "Jo & Lehmo" was formed. For many years they were voted best Radio Station in Melbourne.

Stand up

Lehmo is one of Australia’s most experienced and well-travelled comedians. His live work has seen him headline at comedy clubs for well over fifteen years and work all corners of the globe – USA, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand. Lehmo has also become Australia’s number one ‘combat comic’, having completed seven ‘tours of duty’ performing for our troops abroad. These tours have seen Lehmo perform in army bases in

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

and on a number of naval ships around the world. He has also performed sell out seasons at the

Adelaide Fringe Festival The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, ...

(2000, 2002 and 2004), the

Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typicall ...

(1999, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005) and the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

(1996 and 1997). His live credits in the UK include the 1996 and 1997 Edinburgh Fringe Festivals,

The Comedy Store, London The Comedy Store is a comedy club located in Soho, London, England, opened in 1979 by Don Ward and Peter Rosengard.Jongleurs – the largest chain of comedy clubs in Britain. Lehmo has also performed regular gigs at the

Boston Comedy Club The Boston Comedy Club was an American comedy club that was located at 82 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village, New York City between Thompson Street and Sullivan Street. The club was open from 1988 to 2005 and was a starting point for comedian ...

and

Gotham Comedy Club Gotham Comedy Club is a venue for stand-up comedy in New York City. The comedy club is located on 208 West 23rd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues in Chelsea. Several movies and television shows have been filmed at the club. Numerous ma ...

, both in New York City. His shows have included, "War, Marriage & Puppy Love" – about war, marriage and puppy love, "The Family Lifeboat" – about navigating life as a new father, and "Younger Than Brad Pitt" – about Lehmo accepting he is no longer 21 and time is marching on. Overseas demand for Lehmo has seen him appear on England's BBC TV

Comedy Showcase ''Comedy Showcase'' is a series of one-off comedy specials featuring some of Britain's fledgling comedy talent. Its format is reminiscent of the much earlier ''Comedy Playhouse''. The format was replaced in 2012 by 4Funnies.Khalsa, Balihar (8 Nov ...

and as a regular compere on Britain's longest-running television stand up show ''Stand up Live''. Lehmo also played himself in a series of ads for XXXX beer which were shot in India and screened in the UK. In 2021, Lehmo accused ''

RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' is a reality competition streaming television series based on the American television series of the same name produced by World of Wonder and Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand. The s ...

'' contestant

Anita Wigl'it Nick Kennedy-Hall (born 10 July 1989), better known by the stage name Anita Wigl'it, is a British and New Zealand drag performer best known for hosting ''House of Drag'' from 2018 to 2020, and competing on the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Ra ...

of stealing one of his jokes about

Prince Andrew Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...

during her appearance as

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

in the show's

Snatch Game Snatch Game is a challenge on the ''Drag Race'' reality competition television franchise. Beginning with the second season of the original American series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', the challenge has taken place on every season since. It has also o ...

challenge. Lehmo claimed he had first cracked the joke in August 2020 and that “my joke has now gone global without me.” Wigl'it later issued an apology on her

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, saying ““Oh no! I do apologise!! When I was doing research for the Queen character I knew that there was something funny about the letter writing ..riends suggested the text. Turns out they had heard it somewhere before!”

World record

In May 2005, Lehmann broke the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the most jokes told in an hour with 549, beating the previous record of 499, which was held by UK comedian

Tim Vine Timothy Mark Vine (born 4 March 1967) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter best known for his one-liners and his role on the sitcom ''Not Going Out'' (2006–2014). He has released a number of stand-up comedy specials and has wr ...

. In April 2014, the record was reassigned back to Tim Vine following a decision from Guinness World Record officials. An official spokesman said that Anthony Lehmann had breached the guidelines.

Radio

SAFM

In 2003, Lehmo’s radio career started as co-host of

SAFM SAFM (official callsign: 5SSA) is a commercial FM radio station owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo as part of the Hit Network. The station is broadcast to Adelaide, South Australia from studios in Franklin Street. History The stati ...

breakfast show in Adelaide with Lisa "Milly" Millard. In July 2020, Lehmo returned to

to host breakfast alongside Rebecca Morse and Andrew Costello 'Cosi'.

Mix 1011 & Gold 104.3

In January 2010, Lehmo joined

Brigitte Duclos Brigitte Duclos (born 13 December 1964) is an Australian television and radio presenter. Personal life Duclos, one of three sisters, was educated at Shelford Girls' Grammar. In December 2007, Duclos announced that she had split with husband M ...

on Mix 1011 to host ''Mix Mornings'' where he replaced

Tom Gleeson Thomas Francis Gleeson (born 2 June 1974) is an Australian stand-up comedian, writer, television and radio presenter. Gleeson formerly co-hosted ''The Weekly with Charlie Pickering'' alongside Judith Lucy and currently hosts ''Hard Quiz'', both ...

. In December 2011,

Australian Radio Network ARN is a group of commercial radio stations around Australia. It includes the Pure Gold, KIIS Network, CADA, ARN Regional and iHeartRadio brands. The company operates the ARN News service in Australia, which uses international correspondents ...

announced that Lehmann and Duclos would move to present ''Brig & Lehmo for Breakfast'' on

Gold 104.3 Gold 104.3 (call sign: 3KKZ) is a radio station broadcasting in Melbourne, Australia. Gold 104.3 is part of the Pure Gold Network (which itself is a part of the Australian Radio Network) and broadcasts on the 104.3 MHz frequency. History 3K ...

replacing ''Grubby & Dee Dee''. In November 2015, Duclos resigned from

and it was announced that

Jo Stanley Joanne McFarlane (''née'' Bailey), commonly known as Jo Stanley, is an Australian television and radio presenter and comedian. Stanley was a host of ''Jo & Lehmo'' on Gold 104.3 from 2016 to 2017. She previously hosted ''Weekend Breakfast'' ...

would replace her from January 2016. In November 2017, Lehmo co-hosted the ''Jo & Lehmo Breakfast Show'' on

, which became the #1 breakfast show in Melbourne. The show was axed in December 2017 from

ABC Radio

In 2018, Lehmo joined ABC and hosted

ABC Grandstand ABC Sport, formerly ABC Radio Grandstand, is a live radio sports focused commentary and talk-back program which runs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) local radio network across Australia and on one digital-only station. History Fr ...

with

Angela Pippos Angela Athena Pippos (born 29 December 1969), is an Australian journalist, television/radio presenter, author, MC and public speaker, of Greek heritage. Biography Pippos completed an Honours degree in Politics at the University of Adelaide and ...

and Emma Race. He also hosted the summer sports ABC radio show
Grand National

Triple M

In April 2007, Lehmo joined

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to th ...

to co-host drive-time program ''

Wil & Lehmo ''Wil & Lehmo'' was an afternoon drive time radio program broadcast nationally on Triple M and was hosted by Wil Anderson and Anthony "Lehmo" Lehmann. It began broadcasting on 2 April 2007. The timeslot for this show was previously held by ''Th ...

'' which also starred fellow comedian co-host

Wil Anderson William James Anderson (born 31 January 1974) is an Australian comedian, writer, presenter, and podcaster. Early life William James Anderson was born on 31 January 1974 in Sale, Victoria, and grew up on a dairy farm near Heyfield, Victoria.< ...

. The show ended in November 2008. Lehmo has since been a regular contributor on the

Triple M network Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to t ...

Television

The former accountant is no stranger to TV, playing series regular ‘Jim’ in ABC TV’s

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...

, which has done several awards including Best Television Comedy Series at the 4th

AACTA Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...

, Equity Award for Most Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series at the

Equity Ensemble Awards The Equity Ensemble Awards (or Equity Awards) are an Australian awards system, that is an accolade presented by The Equity Foundation, the performers branch of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA). The awards have been presented annu ...

, and Most Outstanding Comedy Program at the

Logies The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

. He has been seen regularly on Network Ten’s Celebrity Name Game, The Project,

Have You Been Paying Attention? ''Have You Been Paying Attention?'' (abbreviated on social media as HYBPA? and stylised on-screen as Have you been paying attention? in sentence case) is an Australian panel game television quiz show on Network 10. The series, which is produced ...

and featured in roles on It’s A Date,

Please Like Me ''Please Like Me'' is an Australian television comedy-drama series created by and starring Josh Thomas. Thomas also serves as a writer for most episodes. The series premiered on 28 February 2013 on ABC2 in Australia and is now available on Netf ...

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

(as himself). Lehmo was a team captain on Fox Footy’s AFL-themed quiz sho
The Beep Test
and had guest roles o
Drunk History Australia

Hughesy, We Have A Problem ''Hughesy, We Have a Problem'' was an Australian comedy panel television series which premiered on Network 10 on 30 January 2018. The program was hosted by Dave Hughes, who along with a panel of comedians, attempted to solve problems of viewers ...

A League Of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena Dav ...

Can Of Worms Can of worms is an idiom referring to a slew of subsequent problems and dilemmas arising from a decision or action. The phrase may also refer to: Transportation * Can of Worms (interchange) in Rochester, New York * Can of Worms (Minnesota interc ...

Good News Week ''Good News Week'' is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and 11 February 2008 to 28 April 2012. The show's initial run aired on ABC until being bought by Network Ten in ...

Rove Live ''Rove'', also titled ''Rove Live'', was an Australian television variety show that featured live music performances and interviews with local and international celebrity guests. The program premiered on the Nine Network on 22 September 1999, be ...

, The Circle, The Glasshouse, Hey Hey It’s Saturday and Stand Up Live (UK TV). Lehmo was also a core cast member of the much loved

Before The Game ''Before the Game'' was an Australian rules football comedy panel television show which aired on Network Ten on 1 March 2003 until 27 September 2013. The show was hosted by Andrew Maher with regular panelists Mick Molloy, Dave Hughes, Anthony L ...

for over 6 years on TEN. In 2018, Lehmo hosted the ABC’s coverage of Sydney’s Invictus Games. This year, he co-hosted the ABC’s live broadcast of the 2019 Australian of the Year announcement as well as Channel 9’s AFL Footy Show.

Film

In 2009 Lehmo played a cameo role in the Australian movie ''Offside''. He appears as the character 'Leechy', a former Junior

Socceroo The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated with ...

, a soccer star – a role he says is not at odds with his public identity as an active supporter of

Aussie Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

football club

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

. In order to play the role of ''Leechy'', Lehmo flew to Adelaide for six hours on 6 February 2008. Once shooting was completed, he broadcast his afternoon drive-time radio show from a sister Adelaide radio station, before flying back to Sydney. In 2010, Lehmo was developing another script with writer/director Carlo Petraccaro. Lehmo has also had cameos the Working Dog film

Any Questions For Ben? ''Any Questions for Ben?'' is a 2012 Australian comedy film created by Working Dog Productions, directed by Rob Sitch. It stars Josh Lawson, Rachael Taylor, Felicity Ward, Daniel Henshall, and Christian Clark. It was written by Santo Cilauro, ...

and comedy That’s Not My Dog!

Other work

In 2007, he was the face of the advertising campaigns for the

Australian International Motor Show The Australian International Motor Show (AIMS) was an annual auto show held in Australia, alternating between the cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Prior to the Sydney event in 2010, both cities previously hosted separate annual exhibitions. Melbo ...

held in Sydney. He is also the face of adverts for the new

Vegemite Vegemite ( ) is a thick, dark brown Australian food spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. It was developed by Cyril Callister in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1922. A spread for sandwiches, t ...

spread '' iSnack 2.0'' which commenced airing on 21 September 2009 and during the

AFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. From its inception until 1989, it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league at that time was the Victori ...

broadcast.

Personal life

In December 2013, Lehmo announced his engagement to television producer Kelly Kearney while on holiday in South Africa. They married on 29 December 2014 in

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

. Their first child, a boy, was born on 26 July 2016.

References

External links

Official sitearchived April 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehmann, Anthony Triple M presenters Australian stand-up comedians Australian male film actors 1969 births Living people Male actors from Adelaide Australian television presenters People educated at Sacred Heart College, Adelaide