Tony Sheldon (born 12 September 1955) is an Australian actor/singer best known for his work in theatre; he is also a writer.

Career

Sheldon comes from one of Australia's leading theatrical families: his mother is

Toni Lamond Patricia Lamond Lawman AM (born 29 March 1932), professionally known as Toni Lamond, is an Australian vaudevillian, cabaret performer, singer, actress, dancer, and comedian. She has had a successful career spanning some 80 years, both locally ...

, his aunt

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a showbusiness family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on rad ...

, and his grandmother Stella Lamond. He won the 2005 Helpmann Award, the Sydney Critics Award, the

Mo Award 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 ...

and the Glugs Award for his performance as

Roger de Bris The following are fictional characters from the 1967 film '' The Producers'', the Broadway musical based on it, and the 2005 film adaptation of the musical. Max Bialystock Max Bialystock is described as selfish, arrogant, fiery, impatient, sa ...

in '' The Producers''. He was also nominated for a Helpmann and a

Green Room Award The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne. The awards were started in 1982 when Blair Edgar and Steven Tandy formed the Green Room Awards A ...

for his work in ''

The Witches of Eastwick ''The Witches of Eastwick'' is a 1984 novel by American writer John Updike. A sequel, '' The Widows of Eastwick'', was published in 2008. Plot The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the early 1970s, follows the witc ...

'' in 2003. He wrote and directed ''The Times of My Life'' at the

Ensemble Theatre The Ensemble Theatre is an Australian theatre company and theatre, situated in the Sydney suburb of Kirribilli, New South Wales. History It is Australia's longest continuously running professional theatre group, having given its first performa ...

(2006) and the

Adelaide Cabaret Festival The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is an annual arts festival featuring cabaret held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It has been held in June each year since 2001, with the exception of 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, ...

for his mother, Toni Lamond. Sheldon played more than 1,700 performances as Bernadette in ''

Priscilla Queen of the Desert ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' is a 1994 Australian road comedy film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot follows two drag queens, played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce, and a transgender woman, played by Tere ...

'' in Sydney,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, West End (2009) and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

prior to the Broadway premiere in March 2011. He won the Green Room Award, Best Male Artist in a Leading Role, and was nominated for an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

(2010, London). He was nominated for the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

as Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in ''Priscilla'' on Broadway. As part of the tenth anniversary tour in Australia presented by Michael Cassel Group, Tony performed his 1800th performance as Bernadette in Melbourne on 7 March 2018 and hit the milestone of 1900 performances in the role on Wednesday 20 June at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. He played Dufayel in the musical adaption of ''

Amélie ''Amélie'' (also known as ''Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain''; ; en, The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain, italic=yes) is a 2001 French-language romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Written by Jeunet with Guillaume L ...

''. Starting in 2019 he played Grandpa Joe in the Australian production of

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. The story was originally ...

Personal life

Sheldon and his long-term partner, actor and playwright Tony Taylor, have been together for 38 years.

Awards and nominations

;Broadway, "Priscilla", 2011 * Tony Award-Leading Actor in a Musical (nomination) *Drama League-Outstanding Performance (nomination) *Drama Desk- Leading Actor in a Musical (nomination) *Outer Critics Circle Award-Leading Actor in a Musical (nomination) *Theatre World Award (winner) ;West End, ''Priscilla'', 2009 *Oliver Award – Leading Performance in a Musical (nomination) *What's on Stage Award – Leading Performance in a Musical (nomination) ;Australia, ''Priscilla'', 2006/7 *Sydney Theatre Critics Award – Best Actor in a Musical (winner) * Greenroom Award – Best Actor in a Musical (winner)"2007 Nominations and Recipients"
greenroom.org.au, accessed 5 May 2011 *Mo Award – Musical Theatre Performer of the Year (winner) *Glugs Award – Best Actor in a Musical (winner) *Aussietheatre.com – Best Actor in a Musical (winner) *

Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Musical The Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Musical is a musical award, presented by Live Performance Australia (LPA) at the annual Helpmann Awards since 2001. This is a list of winners and nominations for the Helpmann Award for Best Male Acto ...

(nomination) *Australian Dance Award – (nomination) ;2005, ''The Producers'' * Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical (winner) *Mo Award – Best Featured Actor in a Musical (winner) *Sydney Theatre Critics Award – Best Featured Actor in a Musical (winner) *Glugs Award – Best Featured Actor in a Musical (winner) * Greenroom Award – Best Featured Actor in a Musical (nomination) ;2003, ''The Witches of Eastwick'' * Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical (nomination) * Greenroom Award – Best Featured Actor in a Musical (nomination) ;1994 *Glugs Award – Best Actor in a Play, ''A Poor Student'' (winner) *Greenroom Award – Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, ''Falsettos'' ;1991, ''Wherefore Art Thou, Cabaret?'' *Mo Award – Performer of the Year (nomination) *Mo Award – Best Actor in a Musical (nomination) ;1985, ''Madonna and Child'' *Greenroom Award – Best Actor in a Musical (nomination) *Greenroom Award – Best Director of a Musical (nomination) ;1984, ''Torch Song Trilogy'' *Greenroom Award – Best Actor in a Play (winner) *Variety Club Heart Award – Actor of the Year (winner) *Sidney Myer Award – Contribution to Sydney Theatre (nomination) ;1977, ''Inner Voices'' *National Theatre Award – Best Actor in a Play (winner) *Sydney Theatre Critics Award – (winner)

Discography

Cast albums and soundtracks

* '' The Venetian Twins'' - original cast (1979) * ''

I Love My Wife ''I Love My Wife'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Michael Stewart and music by Cy Coleman, based on a play by Luis Rego. A satire of the sexual revolution of the 1970s, the musical takes place on Christmas Eve in suburban Trenton, ...

'' - original Australian cast (1982) * '' Once In A Blue Moon - a celebration of Australian musicals'' (1994) * '' Lift Off Live'' (1995) * ''Songs from Fame the musical'' - Australian cast (1999) * '' Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' - original Australian cast (2007) * ''Priscillla, Queen of the Desert'' - original Broadway cast (2011) * '' Man of La Mancha'' - Australian cast (2015)

Select filmography

*'' Spoiled'' (1974)

References

External links

* *
Biography, Magnormos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, Tony Australian male stage actors Australian male musical theatre actors Helpmann Award winners Australian LGBT singers Australian gay actors Gay musicians Male actors from Brisbane Musicians from Brisbane Living people 1955 births Dora Mavor Moore Award winners People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney Theatre World Award winners 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people