Rhonda Burchmore

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Rhonda Burchmore

OAM
Rhonda Birchmore (19442889664).jpg
Burchmore at the 2015 Helpmann Awards
Born
Rhonda Suzanne Burchmore

(1960-05-15) 15 May 1960 (age 63)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active1982–present
Relatives Harry Lauder (Great-Grandfather)
Website rhondaburchmore.com

Rhonda Suzanne Burchmore OAM (born 15 May 1960) is an Australian entertainer, most notable as an actress, recording artist and singer in musical theatre, she has appeared in numerous television shows and briefly in film.

Contents

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 and Broadway performer Eddie Bracken. 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 as well as a role in Hot Shoe Shuffle .

In 1997, Burchmore opened Melbourne's Crown Casino starring in Red Hot & Rhonda.

Burchmore had a role of Nadine Hale in Tommy Tune's stage version of Irving Berlin's Easter Parade , slated for Broadway [1] but eventually the project stalled. [2] Burchmore later appeared in another show, Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods with the Melbourne Theatre Company (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's first show, Mame . 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 , 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's musical comedy Little Orphan trAshley with Gary Sweet. [3]

Other Australian stage credits include The Drowsy Chaperone in 2010 with Geoffrey Rush for the MTC, Song and Dance , They're Playing Our Song – as one of the alter egos, and Diana in Lend Me a Tenor . With the Victorian Opera Burchmore performed as Queen of the Fairies in Iolanthe , as Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Joan Carden, in Ruddigore 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 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 sitcom, Fam Time . [4]

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! [5] and was placed third. [6]

Personal life

Burchmore was born in Sydney, and attended Beverly Hills 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, [7] have a daughter. In 2010 she published her autobiography, Legs 11: The Rhonda Burchmore Story, [8] named after the bingo-based popular epithet for her long-legged physique.

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with selected details
TitleDetails
Rhonda Burchmore
  • Released: 1998
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Shock (SHOCK 0026)
Midnight Rendezvous
(with the Ray Alldridge Trio)
  • Released: 2001
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Shock (RB001)
Live at the Melbourne Concert Hall
  • Released: 2003
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Shock (RB002)
Together Alone
(with Bobby Valentine)
  • Released: 2006
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Sound Vault(SV0520)
Pure Imagination
  • Released: 2008
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Shock (RB003)
Cry Me a River – The World of Julie London
  • Released: 2013
  • Format: CD, digital
  • Label: ABC Music (374 3283)
A Red Hot Swinging Christmas
with The Jack Earle Big Band)
  • Scheduled: November 2022 [9]
  • Format: CD, digital
  • Label: ABC Music (ABCM0005)

Charting singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
AUS
[10]
"Hold Me Now"199355Non-album single

Honours

In the January 2014 Australia Day Honours List Burchmore was awarded a medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) "For service to the performing arts, and to the community." [11]

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), 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. [12]

YearNominee / workAwardResult (wins only)
1999Rhonda BurchmoreFemale Vocal Variety Performer of the YearWon

Filmography

TitleYearRole
The Pirate Movie 1982Kate
Melvin, Son of Alvin 1984Phillipa Stanton
The Flying Doctors (TV series)1986Carol
The Silence of the Hams (TV movie)1992Woman in Black - Bubbles
Remembering Nigel2009Rhonda Burchmore
The Wedding Party2010Cheryl
Love Child (TV series)2014Dawn
Finally Me2023Molly Able

Theatre

Sourced from the AusStage database: Rhonda Burchmore Theatre

TitleYear
They're Playing Our Song 1980/1981
The Ritz Company1983
Song and Dance 1983
Baby1986
Sugar Babies 1987
Lend Me A Tenor 1987-1991
The Marriage of Fabio1991
Iolanthe 1991
Petrov: The Musical1992
Hot Shoe Shuffle 1992/1993/1994
Annie Get Your Gun 1992
An Evening with Fred and Ginger 1993
Ruddigore 1995
Aladdin 1996
Hey, Heys It's Cindearlla1996
Red Hot and Rhonda1997
A One Night Stand with the stars of Australian Musical Theatre1997
Into the Woods 1998
Mame 1999
Guys and Dolls Concert1999
Mama Mia! 2001
Guys and Dolls 2002
Rhonda Burchmore Sings and Swings2003
Sydney Symphony2005
Urinetown, The Musical 2006
Tomfoolery 2006
Respect: A Musical Journey of Woman2007
Everybody Loves Rhonda2008
A Musical Send Off2008
Gala Concert2008
An All-Star Tribute to Peter Allen2008
Rhonda Burchmore2009
The BoyFriend2009
Eurobeat2009
The Drowsy Chaperone2010
Calendar Girls 2010
Hats Off!2010
Oz Made Musicals 20102010
Cry Me a River: The World of Julie London2012
Jerry's Girls 2015
Rhonda Burchmore on Broadway2016
Hairspray 2023

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References

  1. "Tune's Easter May Parade Through Australia" by David Lefkowitz, Playbill , 18 August 1997
  2. "Tommy Tune's Easter Parade Now Targeting Fall '99 For B'way" by Peter Szatmary and David Lefkowitz, Playbill, 27 June 1998
  3. Bochenski, Natalie (11 July 2013). "Adults-only panto too funny for Sweet to miss out" Brisbane Times
  4. Knox, David (6 June 2019) Seven announces new sitcom, Fam Time, TV Tonight. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  5. Whitehead, Mat (5 January 2020). "I'm A Celebrity 2020: Meet The Celebs Heading Into The Jungle". 10 Daily . Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  6. Whitehead, Mat (2 February 2020). "I'm A Celebrity 2020: Rhonda Burchmore The Twelfth Celeb To Leave The Jungle". 10 Daily . Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  7. Bannister, Brooke (31 May 2011). "Rhonda Burchmore's Legs 11", 720 ABC Perth. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  8. Burchmore, Rhonda (2010). Legs 11: The Rhonda Burchmore Story. New Holland Publishers. ISBN   9781742570112.
  9. "Rhonda Burchmore A Red Hot Swinging Christmas". JB Hi-Fi . Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  10. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 45.
  11. "Australia Day honours list 2014: in full". The Daily Telegraph . Sydney. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  12. "MO Award Winners". Mo Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2022.