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Tom Burlinson Career Outline
Tom is one of Australia’s
most popular and successful contemporary actors. After graduating from
NIDA in 1976, his early work in various productions for the Queensland
Theatre Company, the Old Tote Theatre Company, and the State Theatre Company
of South Australia included roles in ‘The Merchant of Venice’,
‘Da’ and ‘The One Day of the Year’.
He co-starred in ‘Tribute’ for Peter Williams Productions
in Sydney and Brisbane and played continuing roles in the TV series ‘Kirbys’
Company’ (ABC) and ‘The Restless Years’ (Grundy
Organisation).
In
1981 Tom was cast in the title role in the feature film ‘The
Man from Snowy River’. It became an enormous box office success,
and led to Tom being offered a succession of leading roles in Australian
and international films and mini-series over the next several years. These
included ‘Phar Lap’, ‘Eureka Stockade’,
‘Flesh and Blood’, ‘Windrider’, ‘Piece
of Cake’, and ‘The Legend of Kootenai Brown’
as well as ‘The Man from Snowy River 11’.
In 1991 Tom sang the voice of the young Frank Sinatra in the Warner Brothers
mini-series ‘Sinatra’. This was his first professional
singing engagement! Soon thereafter he returned to Australia and to the
stage to star in the Gordon Frost production of ‘How to Succeed
in Business Without Really Trying’. He was soon working on
the international scene again in the mini-series ‘The Way to
Dusty Death’, filmed in Europe.
In 1995 renowned theatre director Gale Edwards cast Tom in a leading role
in the acclaimed workshop production of the Australian musical ‘Miracle
City’ for the Sydney Theatre Company. The following year he was
given another chance to further develop his musical abilities in Stephen
Sondheim’s ‘Merrily We Roll Along’, again for
the STC.
After hosting the TV series ‘Animal Hospital’ for
the Nine Network in 1997, in the following year Tom created his stage
show ‘Frank-A Life in Song’, a celebration of the
music and career of Frank Sinatra. The initial two week booking at the
Seymour Centre in Sydney was extended to five weeks, and successful seasons
in Melbourne, Adelaide, Newcastle, Brisbane and Perth were followed by
sell-out returns at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney and the Comedy Theatre
in Melbourne. He remounted the show for the 2001 Adelaide Cabaret Festival
and another return engagement at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, playing
to sell-out houses.
At the international premiere of the show in Toronto, Canada, Tom received
standing ovations at every performance throughout the five week season
at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.
In 2003 Tom returned with ‘Frank’ to Brisbane, the
Star City Showroom in Sydney and Crown Showroom in Melbourne for highly
successful final seasons. On screen, Tom again provided the voice of Frank
Sinatra, this time for the Australian feature film ‘The Night
We Called It A Day’, starring Dennis Hopper as Frank.
Tom was thrilled to be cast in the role of Leo Bloom in the Mel Brooks’
musical ‘The Producers’ and played more than 500
performances of the show in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney during 2004
and 2005.
Click here for a link to Tom Burlinson's Australian Web Site.