Colm Wilkinson Biography
Colm Wilkinson (C. T. Wilkinson) is an Irish tenor and actor. He is famously known as the originator Jean Valjean in Les Misérables. He is also famous for taking the title role in The Phantom of the Opera at the Sydmonton Festival and in the original Canadian production.
His versions of both “The Music of the Night” from Phantom and “Bring Him Home” from Les Misérables are acclaimed throughout the world. His fans insist that he perform them at all his concerts. He played in several Irish bands including The Action.
In 1972, Wilkinson was cast as Judas Iscariot in the Dublin production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar. He then sang the part of Che on the album for the musical Evita. Later on, Wilkinson launched a solo career as a singer-songwriter. He also featured as Dr. Jekyll in the original Jekyll and Hyde concept album.
By 1977, Wilkinson released his own album. The album charted in the Irish Charts for eight weeks at Number 1. Between August, 1998 and January, 1999, Wilkinson played Valjean again in Toronto at the Princess of Wales Theatre. In October–November 2007, he undertook a cross-Canada concert tour, Broadway and Beyond, along with Susan Gilmour and Gretha Boston.
Moreover, he was voted one of the five greatest singers ever in a Rolling Stone Magazine readers’ poll. He has attributed his long life to avoiding coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, and dairy products, as well as ensuring proper sleep, diet, and exercise. He is also noted as being rather soft-spoken in order to refrain from overworking his voice.
10 Quick Facts About Colm Wilkinson
- Name: Colm Wilkinson
- Age: 78 years
- Birthday: 5 June
- Zodiac Sign: Gemini
- Height: 5 Feet 8 Inches
- Nationality: Irish
- Occupation: Tenor and Actor
- Marital Status: Married
- Salary: Under Review
- Net worth: Under Review
Colm Wilkinson Age
Colm Wilkinson was born in Drimnagh, Dublin, Ireland. He was born on 5 June 1944. His current age is 78 years old as of 2022.
Colm Wilkinson Height
Colm Wilkinson stands at a height of 5 Feet 8 Inches, that is approximately 1.73 m. He has not been open on his other body measurements. We will update you soon on the same.
Colm Wilkinson Net Worth
Colm Wilkinson is a very wealthy man. He has been in the industry since 1970s. Through out his career as a tenor and actor, he has accumulated quite a lot. Moreover, he is a hardworking man and he is focused much on his career. He has a net worth of around $ 17 million.
Colm Wilkinson Wife
Colm Wilkinson is a married man. He is married to his wife Deirdre Wilkinson. They got married in 1970. They have been living a happy marriage life since then. Colm describes her as a source of constant and essential support over the past four decades. The couple has four children: Aaron, Judith, Sarah, and Simon.
Judith is a curator, Simon and Sarah are graphic designers and Aaron is a singer/songwriter. Early in his music career, Wilkinson insisted that his wife and children accompany him on tour to avoid familial separation.
The family moved to Toronto in 1989 when Colm began a run at the Pantages Theatre as the title character of The Phantom of the Opera. Currently, they live mainly in Canada but have a home in Wicklow.
Colm Wilkinson Tour | Colm Wilkinson Tour 2019
The famous tenor and actor goes on tours quite often. We do not have his next tour yet. However check on his official website www.colmwilkinson.com for more recent updates and news.
Colm Wilkinson Movies | Colm Wilkinson Phantom | Colm Wilkinson Les Miserables Movie
- 1985 Lyrics by Tim Rice
- 1995 Les Misérables: The Dream Cast in Concert
- 2009–2010 The Tudors
- 2010 Les Misérables: 25th Anniversary Concert
- 2011 The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall
- 2012 Les Misérables
Colm Wilkinson Interview
Q: “The Lady’s Got Potential” is one of my favorite EVITA songs…
Colm Wilkinson: [Laughs.] Oh, really?!
Q: Were you originally playing Che Guevara on the concept album, more or less? Especially given the lyrical content of that song, I’d assume so.
Colm Wilkinson: Yes. On the Julie Covington album – yes.
Q: In the new revival that song was not included and Che was played as an “Everyman”. What are your thoughts on that? Is it too politically volatile of a topic for a song, do you think?
Colm Wilkinson: Well, I am not sure about this, but, originally, I think Hal Prince thought that that song was too rock n roll and wasn’t quite “musicale” enough for him, so that’s why he cut it, but I am not sure what his reasons really were for doing that with it. I think it’s a pretty good song, too.
Q: It’s a very interesting subject.
Colm Wilkinson: Well, I’m not sure if you know this, Pat, but Che Guevara was actually a lab assistant – he was an assistant or technician of some kind. He had actually perfected an insecticide for flies that he was trying to get patented and the lyrics in that song mention that, obviously. So, it was definitely a tie to Guevara. Definitely. I mean, he did perfect a certain formula and he submitted it to be used, but it was turned down by the Argentinean government at the time.
Q: What fascinating history.
Colm Wilkinson: Yeah, he hated them for doing that, I think. They didn’t allow him to use it – ever. Anyway, does that answer your question about Guevara? [Laughs.]
Q: Definitely! Did you enjoy exploring that hard rock side of your voice, especially on a musical theatre concept album?
Colm: Yes, I did. I enjoyed it very much. I thought Lloyd Webber’s score was great. It was so great to do that song, too – especially because the rest of it was fairly difficult to sing [for me]! [Laughs.]
Q: It’s a perilously tricky score.
Colm Wilkinson: Yeah, the original album of that, when you saw it on the page it was like someone took a fistful of ink and threw it on the page.
Q: What a description!
Colm Wilkinson: It was all over the place! It really was. It was very, very difficult to sing – a really difficult beast. It was difficult to do that album. I thought Julie Covington was absolutely amazing on that, too, I have to say.
Q: Your contributions are amazing, as well. What was your personal favorite to do?
Colm Wilkinson: Oh, “High Flying Adored”. That’s a great, great song.
Q: Do you remember filming the music video for that for the Tim Rice special?
Colm: [Laughs.] Yeah, yeah – I remember getting dressed up as Che. Strangely enough, ABBA was there with Tim in the studio at the time – the guys from it [Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus] that he was writing CHESS with at the time.
Q: Did you ever consider playing the American or the Russian in CHESS at any point?
Colm Wilkinson: Yes, actually. I mean, I did “Anthem” as one of my songs for my audition for LES MIS and I thought about it. Tim is actually the guy who got me the job in LES MISERABLES, by the way.
Q: No way!
Colm: Yeah, absolutely. I did “Anthem” then because the album was out prior to the musical being staged, of course – it was originally supposed to be directed Michael Bennett.
Colm Wilkinson Contacts
- Youtube
- Tiktok
- Website
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