Simon James Pryce (born 7 March 1972) is an Australian singer and actor. He is best known for his work as the Red Wiggle of

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 ...

since 2013, and also for the children's show ''

The Kingdom of Paramithi ''The Kingdom of Paramithi'' is an Australian children's television series first screened on the Nine Network and Nick Jr. (Australia), Nick Jr. on 11 November 2008. The series is created by The Wiggles and Nickelodeon (Australia), Nickelodeon, w ...

''.

Career

Pryce, whose grandparents were

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

singers, started performing at an early age. He studied drama at the

University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network u ...

. He has performed in several

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

, including ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

'' as

Old Deuteronomy Old Deuteronomy is a character in T. S. Eliot's 1939 ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' and its 1981 musical adaptation, '' Cats''. He is a wise and beloved elderly cat, further serving as the Jellicle patriarch in the musical. The role of O ...

, ''Masterpiece: The Music of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

'', '' Witches of Eastwick'', ''Villain of Flowers'', '' South Pacific'', ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with ...

'' with

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...

, and ''The Sunshine Club'' with the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

. He also played the title role in a 2007-09 Australian production of ''

Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...

'' over 100 times. Pryce has appeared in numerous TV shows and films, including '' Water Rats'', '' All Saints'', ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

'', ''

Hunt Angels ''Hunt Angels'' is a 2006 Australian docudrama, directed by Alec Morgan, starring Victoria Hill and Ben Mendelsohn. ''Hunt Angels'' was filmed in Sydney, Australia and opened in Australia on 30 November 2006 after premiering at the Melbourne ...

'' and ''

The Masked Singer ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. Pryce joined the Wiggles organization in 2002, beginning as "one of their main voice artists" on several of their CDs. He joined their regular tour in 2009-10, as Ringo the Ringmaster and understudying for founding member

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 ...

. He also starred as King John in the Wiggles' production ''

''. In August 2012, Pryce was slated to replace Greg Page as the Yellow Wiggle. However, Page's departure was delayed until the end of that year, after Cook and Purple Wiggle

Jeff Fatt Jeffrey Wayne Fatt, AM (born 21 July 1953) is an Australian musician and actor. He was a member of the children's group The Wiggles from its founding in 1991 to 2012, and was also in the 1980s and 1990s pop band The Cockroaches. He was the old ...

decided to retire from the group then, asking Page to extend his stay until then so he would leave alongside them. Pryce ultimately replaced Cook in early 2013. In 2016, the Wiggles released ''The Carnival of the Animals'', its narration was written and performed by Pryce. The album, based on the piece by the French Romantic composer

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

and performed by the

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is a South Australian performing arts organisation comprising 75 full-time musicians, established in 1936. Based in Adelaide, South Australia, the orchestra's primary performance venue is the Adelaide Town Ha ...

, introduced children to classical music and instruments. In September 2020, Pryce was revealed to be the "Puppet" on ''

The Masked Singer Australia ''The Masked Singer Australia'' is an Australian reality television Reality competition, singing competition show hosted that premiered on Network Ten, Network 10 on 23 September 2019. Hosted by Osher Günsberg, the show is based on the intern ...

'', placing fourth on the second season of the show.

Personal life

Pryce has described himself as "always into fitness and health", but that the Wiggles' performance schedule demanded an even higher level. In early 2016, he described his workout routine and the group's competitive culture of fitness, especially among its male members, to ex-

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer

Adam MacDougall Adam "Mad Dog" MacDougall (born 8 May 1975) is an Australian author, businessman and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative ...

. In late 2015, Pryce became engaged to ex-gymnast and fitness professional Lauren Hannaford who created online fitness program FHIT. They met four years earlier, when she toured with the Wiggles. Pryce and Hannaford were married in Sydney, in January 2017. The couple have a son, born in January 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pryce, Simon 1972 births Living people Australian children's musicians The Wiggles members Australian male actors Australian male singers