Theatre and television legend Toni Lamond was one of the true Queens of the Australian entertainment scene. She performed in everything from the big Broadway musicals which played here, Gilbert and Sullivan, cabaret and one-woman shows and television.
Toni played lead roles in the musicals, The Pajama Game, leading an all-Australian cast for the first time in a musical in 1957, Oliver!, For Amusement Only, Wildcat, Gypsy, Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun, Follies in Concert, 42nd Street, Cabaret and The Pirates of Penzance. Add to this productions of Nunsense, Hello, Dolly, Annie, Mame for various theatre companies. She was the first woman in the world to host a night-time television show, In Melbourne Tonight, as well as appearing regularly in non-hosting roles. Her American TV credits included Starsky and Hutch, Eight is Enough, Three's Company, Punky Brewster, Murder She Wrote, The Love Boat and Days of Our Lives.
Toni played her one-woman cabaret shows throughout Australia, Britain and the USA as well as her highly acclaimed autobiographical shows A Life in Show Business, Woman on the Move, Full of Life, Times of My Life and Still Full of Life.
She was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 and the Order of Australia in 2003. In 2006 she was selected as one of the Variety Club’s Entertainers of the Century and has also received the Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Green Room Awards Association, The Sydney Theatre Award and the Sydney Glugs Award.
Widow of show business dancer and producer Frank Sheldon, her son, Tony Sheldon, has had a lifetime career as one of the country's most respected performers as well.
Toni was the perfect example of Betty Pounder’s catch-phrase, “Sparkle Darlings”, something she did with great ease and flair. We lost one of the true greats on 29 November 2025.
