Rhonda Suzanne Burchmore OAM (born 15 May 1960) is an Australian entertainer.

Career

Burchmore appeared as Kate in the 1982 film, '' The Pirate Movie''. Burchmore gave her first Australian theatre performance in the 1988 production of '' Sugar Babies'' opposite

Garry McDonald Garry George McDonald AO (born 30 October 1948) is an Australian actor, satirist and comedian. In a career spanning five decades he has had many theatre, television and film roles, and has been listed as a National Living Treasure. He is bes ...

and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

performer

Eddie Bracken Edward Vincent Bracken (February 7, 1915 – November 14, 2002) was an American actor. Bracken became a Hollywood comedy legend with lead performances in the films '' Hail the Conquering Hero'' and '' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' both from ...

. Later that year, she had a role in the West End production of ''Sugar Babies'' opposite Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller. Whilst in the U.K, Burchmore was cast in the revival of ''

Stop the World – I Want to Get Off ''Stop the World – I Want to Get Off'' is a 1961 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. According to Oscar Levant, the play's title was derived from graffiti. Plot The show, set against a circus backdr ...

'' as well as a role in ''

Hot Shoe Shuffle ''Hot Shoe Shuffle'' is a 1992 Australian musical produced by David Atkins. A jukebox musical, the score mostly includes American big band and popular songs of the 1920s to 1940s. The musical concerns seven Tap Brothers, Spring, Slap, Buck, Wing ...

''. In 1997, Burchmore opened Melbourne's Crown Casino starring in ''Red Hot & Rhonda''. Burchmore had a role of Nadine Hale in

Tommy Tune Thomas James Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won ten Tony Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and a star on the Hollywood Wal ...

's stage version of

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russ ...

's '' Easter Parade'', slated for Broadway but eventually the project stalled. Burchmore later appeared in another show, Stephen Sondheim's ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

'' with the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

(MTC). Burchmore released her first album in 1998, the self-titled ''Rhonda Burchmore''. Further albums include ''Midnight Rendezvous'', ''Live at the Melbourne Concert Hall'', ''Pure Imagination'', and a recording of her stage show, ''Cry Me a River – The World of Julie London''. In 1999, Burchmore played the lead role in

The Production Company The Production Company was an Australian not-for-profit theatre company that staged a series of usually three musicals at the Arts Centre Melbourne each year, until its closure in 2020. It was launched in 1999 by Jeanne Pratt AC with the goal o ...

's first show, ''

Mame MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. Its intention is to preserve ...

''. She also played the roles in '' The Boyfriend'' Jerry's Girls & La Cage Aux Folles for The Production Company, and later returned in a new production of ''Mame'' in 2008. Further roles followed, including Adelaide in an Australian revival of ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

'', Tanya in the successful '' Mamma Mia!'', '' Urinetown The Musical'', '' Tom Foolery'', ''Respect: A Musical Journey of Women'', and her own productions; ''Rhonda Burchmore Sings 'n Swings, My Funny Valentines'' and ''Fever''. In 2013, she performed in

Trevor Ashley Trevor Ashley (born 27 February 1980) is an Australian musical theatre actor, cabaret and drag artist based in Sydney. He also has appeared on television in "The Very Trevor Ashley Show" Early life Ashley grew up in the south of Sydney and stu ...

's musical comedy ''Little Orphan trAshley'' with

Gary Sweet Gary Sweet (born 22 May 1957) is an Australian film and television actor known for his roles in ''Alexandra's Project'' (as Steve), '' Police Rescue'' (as Sergeant "Mickey" McClintock), ''Cody'' (as Cody), '' Big Sky'' (as Chris Manning), ''Bod ...

. Other Australian stage credits include ''

The Drowsy Chaperone ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' is a Canadian musical with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar. The story concerns a middle-aged, asocial musical theater fan who, feeling "blue", decides to p ...

'' in 2010 with

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy Award, a Primetime Em ...

for the MTC, ''

Song and Dance ''Song and Dance'' is a musical comprising two acts, one told entirely in "Song" and one entirely in " Dance", tied together by a unifying love story. The "Song" act is '' Tell Me on a Sunday'', with lyrics by Don Black and music by Andrew ...

'', ''

They're Playing Our Song ''They're Playing Our Song'' is a musical with a book by Neil Simon, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager, and music by Marvin Hamlisch. In a story based on the real-life relationship of Hamlisch and Sager, a wisecracking composer finds a new, offbeat ...

'' – as one of the alter egos, and Diana in ''

Lend Me a Tenor ''Lend Me a Tenor'' is a comedy by Ken Ludwig. The play was produced on both the West End (1986) and Broadway (1989). It received nine Tony Award nominations and won for Best Actor (Philip Bosco) and Best Director (Jerry Zaks). A Broadway re ...

''. With the

Victorian Opera Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill as ...

Burchmore performed as Queen of the Fairies in '' Iolanthe'', as Prince Orlofsky in ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original ...

'' with

Joan Carden Joan Carden AO OBE (born 9 October 1937) is an Australian operatic soprano. She has been described as "a worthy successor to Dame Nellie Melba and Dame Joan Sutherland" and was sometimes known as "the other Joan" (a reference to Sutherland and ...

, in ''

Ruddigore ''Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse'', originally called ''Ruddygore'', is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written tog ...

'' and ''An Evening with Sondheim''. Burchmore's television credits include regular appearances on '' Carols by Candlelight'', in the variety show '' Hey Hey It's Saturday'', the quiz show '' Spicks and Specks'' and also guest roles in the sitcom ''

Kath & Kim ''Kath & Kim,'' (also written as ''Kath and Kim'') is an Australian sitcom created by Jane Turner and Gina Riley, who portray the title characters of Kath Day-Knight, a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim, her self-indulgent daughter ...

'' and on the TV series '' Love Child''. In 2019, it was announced Burchmore had been cast in the role of Grandma Viv in new

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

sitcom, ''

Fam Time ''Fam Time'' is an Australian television comedy series produced by the Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven ...

''. In 2020, Burchmore entered the Jungle to compete in the sixth season of the Australian version of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' and was placed third.

Personal life

Burchmore was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, and attended

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

Girls High School. She gained a scholarship to the University of New England where she majored in Theatre Arts. Burchmore and her husband, Nick, a psychiatrist, have one daughter, Lexie. In 2010 she published her autobiography, ''Legs 11: The Rhonda Burchmore Story'', named after the bingo-based popular epithet for her long-legged physique.

Discography

Albums

Charting singles

Honours

In the January 2014

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...

Honours List Burchmore was awarded a medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(OAM) "For service to the performing arts, and to the community."

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...

), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Rhonda Burchmore won one award in that time. (wins only) , - , 1999 , Rhonda Burchmore , Female Vocal Variety Performer of the Year , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burchmore, Rhonda 1960 births Living people University of New England (Australia) alumni Australian musical theatre actresses 20th-century Australian women singers Australian contraltos Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian female dancers I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (Australian TV series) participants Actresses from Sydney Australian stage actresses