Samuel Alexander Moran (born 4 April 1978) is an Australian entertainer best known for having been a member of the children's band

the Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. The group are currently composed of Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce and Tsehay Hawkins, as well as supporting members Evie Ferris, John Pearce, Ca ...

from 2006 to 2012.

Early life

Moran was born in Sydney and raised in

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

Career

Moran studied classical voice and music education at the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the old ...

with the purpose of becoming a high school music teacher, and began performing in plays and musicals while still a student.

The Wiggles

Moran's involvement with the Wiggles began when he appeared in "Haste to the Wedding" and " Evie and the Birdman", both written by John Field,

Anthony Field Anthony Donald Joseph Field, AM (born 8 May 1963) is an Australian musician, actor, songwriter and producer. He is best known as a leader of the children's group the Wiggles and a member of the 1980s and 1990s pop band the Cockroaches. While s ...

's brother and songwriter for the Wiggles. Moran began performing with the Wiggles in 1998, hosting and touring with the "Dorothy the Dinosaur Show" throughout Australia and New Zealand, in small venues the Wiggles "had grown too big for". He played Professor Singalottasonga and Dapper Dave in the group's TV series. In 2002, Moran became Greg Page's

understudy In theater, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...

and filled in for Page over 150 times. Page was advised by his doctors not to travel, so Moran performed in his place during the group's fall 2006 US tour. Moran reported that he was asked to permanently join the Wiggles "a couple of days" before Page announced his retirement in November 2006. Moran's

shtick A shtick ( yi, שטיק) is a comic theme or gimmick. The word entered the English language from the Yiddish ''shtik'' (שטיק), in turn derived from German ''Stück'' and Polish ''sztuka'' (both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *''stukkiją'') ...

on stage was losing things. Although the transition from Page to Moran as the group's lead singer, which Moran has called "probably one of the most physically demanding roles in mainstream entertainment," was "smooth" for the young children of the Wiggles' audience, it was more difficult for their parents. Bandmate

Murray Cook Murray James Cook, AM (born 30 June 1960) is an Australian musician, actor, and Disc jockey. Cook was one of the founding members of the children's band the Wiggles from 1991 to 2012. Cook provided guitar, vocals, and songwriting in the group ...

reported that Moran did "amazingly well" as a Wiggle, and that the addition of Moran changed their sound, forced the group to "rethink things", and made the band stronger. Although Moran struggled with the spontaneity of the Wiggles' stage performances, Cook said, "We've never felt like we had to carry him or anything. He's a smart guy. But it is a bit different, just having a different person on stage." Moran's background in musical theatre was different from those of his bandmates, so the Wiggles had to change the way they recorded their music. At sound checks, their practice was to "kind of jam on things", but Moran often did not know the songs the other three used at those times. Cook reported that it took some time for Moran, but a year after Page's retirement stated, "We're slowly educating each other". Along with the original members of the Wiggles, Moran was awarded an Honorary PhD in Children’s Education and Psychology from Macquarie University in 2009. In 2011, Sam Moran and the original Wiggles were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame for the band's "20 year commitment to children’s music and entertainment." During Moran's time as the lead singer of the Wiggles, the group never lost an ARIA Award. In January 2012, and amidst a great deal of controversy, the Wiggles announced that Greg Page had regained his health and was returning to his role as the Yellow Wiggle. As part of his severance package, he was given unconditional use of Hot Potato Studios, plus royalties for any of his songs.

Solo projects

Moran released his first solo album, ''Colour of Love'', through

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

Australia in 2010. The album consists of covers of well known love songs, including a duet of

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

' "

God Only Knows "God Only Knows" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album ''Pet Sounds''. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a Baroque-style love song distinguished for its harmonic innovation and its subversion of typica ...

" with Australian jazz vocalist Emma Pask. ''Colour of Love'' track list #

You Make Loving Fun "You Make Loving Fun" is a song written and sung by Christine McVie of British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. The song was released as the fourth and final 45 rpm single from the band's 1977 album '' Rumours''. "You Make Loving Fun" was the a ...

Unchained Melody "Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the prison film '' Unchained'' (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.Robert Rodri ...

Wonderful Tonight "Wonderful Tonight" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton. It was included on Clapton's 1977 album ''Slowhand''. Clapton wrote the song about Pattie Boyd. "the hard-rock pioneer and guitar god also become a soft-rock star in the mid-1970s. He cel ...

# Fire and Rain #

(with Emma Pask) #

More Than Words "More Than Words" is a song by American rock band Extreme, released as the fifth track and third single from their second album, ''Pornograffitti'' (1990), in March 1991. It is a ballad built around acoustic guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt and ...

# Wonderful World #

Sara Smile "Sara Smile" is a song written and recorded by the American musical duo Hall & Oates. It was released as the third single from their album '' Daryl Hall & John Oates''. The song was the group's first top 40 and first top ten hit in the US, reachi ...

Hello ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the ''Norwich C ...

# The Scientist #

Baby, Now That I've Found You "Baby, Now That I've Found You" is a song written by Tony Macaulay and John MacLeod, and performed by the Foundations. Part of the song was written in the same bar of a Soho tavern where Karl Marx is supposed to have written ''Das Kapital''. The ...

She's Got a Way "She's Got a Way" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, originally released on his first studio album, '' Cold Spring Harbor'' (1971) and as a single from that album in some countries. It was also featured as a single from the 1981 ...

Moran performed "

Advance Australia Fair "Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish people, Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, sung in Australia as a patriotic song. It first replaced "God Save the ...

" at the first game of the 2010 NRL State of Origin.

''Play Along with Sam''

In May 2013, Moran returned to children's television hosting a new preschool series, ''Play Along with Sam'', on Nickelodeon's sister channel

Nick Jr Nick Jr. (known on-air as the Nick Jr. Channel) is an American pay television channel spun off from Nickelodeon's long-running programming block of the same name. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Gr ...

. ''Play Along with Sam'' is an educational music block programme that airs every weekday morning 10:00AM until midday before ''Ready, Steady, Dance'' replaced it and also in the evening from 6:30PM to 8:00PM, wrapped around top rating programmes. Its companion album was nominated for an

ARIA Music Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...

for Best Children's Album in 2013. The show also received an

ASTRA Awards The ASTRA Awards were the annual awards for the Australian subscription television industry. According to the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA), the awards "recognise the wealth of talent that drives the Australi ...

nomination for Most Outstanding Children's Program or Event, while Moran was nominated for Best New Talent. The show was also nominated for the TV Week Logie Award for Outstanding Children's Program. In 2015, Moran won the

for Best Children's Album, beating his former bandmates,

. In his acceptance speech he said "...I've often wondered what I might say, were I ever fortunate enough to be in this position. Standing here now... with this... I realise I no longer need to say those things..." alluding to his unceremonious re-replacement in his former group. In 2018, ''GQ Australia'' included Sam Moran on their list of the Best-dressed Gents at the 32nd ARIA Awards. Moran was nominated for Best Children's Album that year.

Personal life

Before he became a professional singer and performer, due to his "love of gadgets", Moran seriously considered going into information technology as a career. He is a fan of the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

team the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

. He is also "a keen cook". He married American born

Lyn Stuckey Lyn Moran (born Lyn Stuckey; November 12, 1978) is an American entertainer best known for being a cast member of the children's performing group The Wiggles. Early life and education Moran was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. She stu ...

, a dancer with the Wiggles in 2006. They met when appearing together on the "Dorothy the Dinosaur Show", when Stuckey played

Dorothy the Dinosaur The Wiggles characters are a group of characters who perform with the Wiggles, the Australian children's music group. Aside from the four Wiggles, four secondary characters, along with a troupe of singers, actors, and dancers, appear in their tel ...

. Their daughter was born at the beginning of 2010 in Sydney. In 2020, he announced on his official social media pages that he was expecting his second child with new partner, Jessica Vergara, later in the year. The child was born on October 30, 2020.

Discography

Studio albums * ''Colour of Love'' (2010) * ''Play Along with Sam'' (2013) * ''We're Gonna Dance!'' (2014) * ''BOO!'' (2015) * ''Best. Day. Ever!'' (2016) * ''Santa's Coming!'' (2017)

Filmography

* ''Play Along with Sam'' (2013–present) – Host

Awards and nominations

, - , 2007 , ''

Pop Go the Wiggles! Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ...

'' , rowspan="5" ,

ARIA Award for Best Children's Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Children's Album is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Ind ...

, rowspan="6" , - , 2008 , ''

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" is a song credited to British singer Leo Sayer, taken from his 1976 album '' Endless Flight''. It reached No. 1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, making it his first top single in the United States, and rea ...

'' , - , 2009 , ''

Go Bananas! ''Go Bananas!'' is the 30th album released by the Australian children's music group, the Wiggles. Kylie Minogue guest stars as the pink Wiggle. This album won the 2009 Aria Award for Best Children's Album. Track listing # Introduction # Mon ...

'' , - , 2010 , '' Let's Eat'' , - , rowspan="2" , 2011 , ''

Ukulele Baby! Ukulele Baby! is the 33rd The Wiggles album release featuring guest vocalist Rolf Harris and Hey Hey It's Saturday host Daryl Somers. It was released on 5 February 2011 by ABC Music distributed by Universal Music Australia & won the 2011 ARI ...

'' , - , "The Wiggles" ,

ARIA Hall of Fame In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

, - , 2013 , ''Play Along with Sam'' ,

, , - , rowspan="3" , 2014 , Sam Moran , ASTRA Award: Best New Talent , , - , ''Play Along with Sam'' , TV Week Logie Award: Outstanding Children's Program , , - , ''We're Gonna Dance'' , rowspan="2" , ARIA Award for Best Children's Album , , - , 2015 , ''BOO!'' , , - , rowspan="2" , 2016 , ''Play Along with Sam'' , TV Week Logie Award: Most Outstanding Children's Program , , - , ''BEST. DAY. EVER!'' , rowspan="2" ,

, rowspan="2" , - , 2018 , ''Santa's Coming!''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Sam 1978 births Living people ARIA Award winners Australian male television actors Australian male singers Australian male dancers Australian children's musicians Musicians from Sydney People from Wagga Wagga Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni The Wiggles members Australian children's television series 2013 Australian television series debuts