![]() Within a year, they were based in Sydney performing on the Australian music television program Bandstand. He began performing as "Peter Allen" around the same time. Assisted by Chris Bell's father Peter Bell, and inspired by the Everly Brothers, they formed a singing duo called the Allen Brothers. In 1959, Allen went to Surfers Paradise to look for work and met Chris Bell, an English-born singer-guitarist. This tale is told in Allen's 1972 song, " Tenterfield Saddler". His grandfather, George Woolnough, never understood or got over this devastating event. Soon after his father's suicide, Allen left school with an Intermediate Certificate and moved to Lismore with his mother and sister to live with relatives. In November 1958, he committed suicide by gunshot when Allen was fourteen. His father became a violent alcoholic after returning from World War II. Allen's performing career began when he was eleven, playing the piano in the ladies' lounge of the New England Hotel in Armidale. This is also where he first learned piano and dance. Allen grew up in nearby Armidale, and lived there from about six weeks of age until the age of fourteen. He had one sibling, a younger sister named Lynne. Peter Allen was born Peter Richard Woolnough on 10 February 1944, to Richard John Woolnough, soldier and grocer, and his wife, Marion Bryden (née Davidson) in Tenterfield, New South Wales, a small Australian country town where his grandfather, George Woolnough, worked as a saddler. It ran on Broadway and earned Hugh Jackman a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. ![]() In 1998, a musical about his life, The Boy from Oz, debuted in Australia. Few people knew he had HIV/AIDS, partly in fear of alienating his conservative, heterosexual fans and thinking audiences would not want to see a performer they knew was sick. ![]() I don't feel like I should be labeled." Despite Allen's outgoing persona, he was an intensely private man who shared little about his personal life even with those close to him. In a 1991 interview with the gay newspaper New York Native, he explained, "I was 'out' on stage years before anyone else. Allen remained ambiguous about his sexuality in that he did not pretend to be straight after divorcing Minnelli, but never publicly came out as gay either. Allen and Connell died from AIDS-related cancer eight years apart, with Allen becoming one of the first well-known Australians to die from AIDS. They met in 1973 and were together from 1974 until Connell's death in 1984. He had a long-term partner, model Gregory Connell (1949–1984). They met in October 1964, were engaged on 26 November 1964, married on 3 March 1967, formally separated on 9 April 1970, and divorced on 24 July 1974. ![]() Īllen was the first husband of Liza Minnelli. His patriotic song " I Still Call Australia Home", has been used extensively in advertising campaigns, and was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2013. In addition to recording many albums, he enjoyed a cabaret and concert career, including appearances at the Radio City Music Hall riding a camel. His songs were made popular by many recording artists, including Elkie Brooks, Melissa Manchester and Olivia Newton-John, including Newton-John's first chart topping hit " I Honestly Love You", and the chart topping and Academy Award winning " Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" by Christopher Cross. Peter Allen (born Peter Richard Woolnough 10 February 1944 – 18 June 1992) was an Australian singer-songwriter, musician and entertainer, known for his flamboyant stage persona, boundless energy, and lavish costumes.
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