Veteran performer Toni Lamond, a leading figure in Australian musical theatre, cabaret, television and variety over eight decades, has died at the age of 93. 

Born in Sydney on 29 March 1932, Lamond was the daughter of vaudeville entertainers Stella Lamond and Joe Lawman and by the age of 10 she was singing on radio and touring in variety shows with her parents.

Lamond’s career took off in the early 1950s on the vaudeville and revue circuit, including a stint on the celebrated Tivoli Theatre circuit and a breakthrough leading-lady role – aged 19 – alongside the veteran British comedian Tommy Trinder in 1952. 

She toured Australia and New Zealand for two years with Trinder and, at the end of that, time married dancer Frank Sheldon. True to form, they formed a song and dance act. During a season at Chequers nightclub in Sydney, Toni and Frank were approached by a J.C. Williamson Theatres representative. In 1956, Lamond was cast as “Babe” Williams in The Pajama Game – at a time when it was customary to import an overseas star.

Toni Lamond (1932-2025)

Over subsequent decades “Lolly legs” Lamond (a nickname bestowed by Noel Ferrier) became synonymous with versatility and longevity. Her Australian stage credits include Oliver!, Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy, The Pirates of Penzance, Beauty and the Beast and many more – a testament to her ‘triple-threat’ capabilities. 

Lamond also broke ground on Australian television. In the early 1960s she became a regular on In Melbourne Tonight (IMT) and went on to host her own variety show. Over her career she won two Logie Awards for her television work. 

She exported her talents to the UK – performing cabaret, radio and television for the BBC – and later to the United States, where in her late sixties she debuted on the New York stage in Cabaret.

Moving to Los Angeles, she appeared in high-profile TV series including Starsky & Hutch, The Love Boat and The Bob Newhart Show. On her return to Australia in the late-1980s, she performed in musicals including the Australian premiere of 42nd Street and My Fair Lady.

She also endured personal hardship. Her husband Frank Sheldon took his own life in 1966. She later spoke candidly about her struggles with prescription-drug dependency.

In later years Lamond turned to memoir and cabaret: her autobiographical books – First Half (1990), Along the Way (2002) and Still a Gypsy (2007) – chronicled a life in the spotlight. In 2008 she premiered a one-woman show Times of My Life – co-written with her son, musical theatre performer Tony Sheldon – revisiting decades of her onstage triumphs and offstage travails.

Toni Lamond sings during the 2020 Sydney Theatre Awards at the York Theatre, Seymour Centre. Photo © Lindsay Kearney

Lamond was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2003 in recognition for her services to entertainment and community fundraising. She was also the recipient of the 2014 Equity Lifetime Achievement Award.

She gave what would be her final public performance at the Sydney Theatre Awards in January 2020 in a live segment paying tribute to the cast of the first Australian production of Beauty and the Beast.

Musical theatre performer Todd McKenney was among the first to offer tribute:

“I owe her so much of my career success,” he wrote. “To say Toni was just a mentor of mine would be a gross understatement. Back when I was starting out in theatre, in the musical 42nd Street, she took me under her wing and taught me how to connect with an audience and how to deliver a gag! She gave me the confidence to be myself on stage and I’ll be forever grateful for that.”

Mitchell Butel, Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company, wrote: “Vale the great Toni Lamond, truly one of the greatest stage talents in the world and an Australian national treasure. Amidst the outpouring of love for her phenomenal and blazing skill, charisma, charm, wit and power is an equal remembrance of what a beautiful, hilarious, positive, supportive friend and leader that she was to so many.”

“What a gift to have witnessed her brilliance onstage so many times and to have briefly shared a stage with her when she blew the roof off the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House as Sally in Stephen Sondheim’s Follies.”

Said Marina Prior: “Vale to the magnificent Toni Lamond. Such a star. A wonderful trailblazer in Australian show business. We stand on the shoulders of giants such as her.”