Tom Burlinson, a talented actor and singer, was born on February 14th, 1956, in Toronto, Canada, to English parents who had migrated to Canada after World War II. His family relocated to New Jersey in 1958, where he spent his childhood as a typical all-American youngster.
In 1962, the family moved to England, and Tom attended school with a North American accent. Just before his 10th birthday, the family transferred again, this time to Australia. Unfortunately, his parents divorced in 1965, and his mother and two younger sisters returned to England, leaving Tom with his father and older sister, Susan.
Tom's first public appearance was as Colonel Pickering in his school's production of My Fair Lady. He then moved to Bayview and attended Pittwater High School, where he became school captain in his final year. His father hoped he would become a lawyer, but Tom had other aspirations.
A friend's acceptance into NIDA led Tom to audition, and to his surprise, he was accepted into the class of '74. In 1981, he landed his career-break role as Jim Craig in The Man From Snowy River, alongside Kirk Douglas, Jack Thompson, and Sigrid Thornton.
Tom's subsequent roles included Phar Lap, in which he played the young Tom Woodcock, alongside Martin Vaughan, and Windrider, during which he had a nearly two-year relationship with Nicole Kidman.
A lifelong fan of Frank Sinatra, Tom was thrilled to learn about the mini-series Sinatra, produced by Sinatra's daughter, Tina. Although he was not selected for the main role, he was chosen to sing the voice of the young Sinatra. This led him to pursue a singing career, and he soon sang in his first musical, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, in 1993.
It was during this time that he met his future wife, Mandy Carnie, and they married in December 1996. They had their first child in April 1999 and a second in 2001. In 1998, Tom created Frank, The Sinatra Story In Song, which premiered at the Seymour Centre in Sydney, Australia, and later toured major cities.
Coincidentally, Frank Sinatra passed away around the time of the show's opening, making it a poignant and unforgettable experience for Tom and the audience.
