A funeral service and musical celebration for beloved Australian entertainer Michael Falzon will take place in Sydney today
The 90-minute musical memorial, held at Sydney’s Coliseum Theatre for immediate family and close friends and live-streamed via Facebook, will include tributes from a host of Australian entertainers including Kate Ceberano, Alinta Chidzey, Samm Hagen, Kate-Maree Hoolihan, Luke Kennedy, Matt Lee, Amy Lehpamer, Ben Mingay, Emma Pask, Naomi Price and Simon Pryce.
Michael passed away on 23 June 2020 at the age of 48 following a year-long battle with a rare form of germ cell cancer.
In lieu of flowers or gifts, Michael’s family has set up a fund in Michael’s memory to raise money for clinical trials and germ cell cancer research at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse.
Donations can be made at https://donate.mylifehouse.org.au/tribute/michael-falzon.
Michael’s family wishes to advise that today’s service has been arranged in accordance with up-to-date government guidelines on the COVID-19 restrictions. Strict social distancing measures are in place for all attending guests. For more information, see here.
Michael Falzon (1972 – 2020)
Michael Falzon is widely recognised as one of Australia’s most respected and revered entertainers. Falzon’s early career saw him working throughout Australia and touring Asia in many musicals including those by Gilbert & Sullivan, Jerry Herman and Andrew Lloyd Webber, paving the way for a versatility seldom seen in stage performers. His break-through role came in 2003 when he was hand-picked by Ben Elton and QUEEN’s Brian May and Roger Taylor to star as ‘Galileo’ in the first international production of We Will Rock You. With unanimous critical acclaim Falzon, was invited to reprise the role in Japan and led the cast to break box-office records in the United Kingdom, playing the show’s first-ever arena in 2010.
He likewise received critical acclaim for his star turns as ‘Hedwig’ in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, ‘The Arbiter’ in Chess, and as ‘Stacee Jaxx’ in Rock of Ages. He was long-associated with Jeff Wayne’s arena tour The War of the Worlds, touring Australia and New Zealand as ‘The Artilleryman’, appearing again in 2010 and 2012 Arena tours of Europe and the UK (the latter released in cinemas through Universal Pictures). His modern day ‘Rat Pack’, Swing On This, of which he was a founding member, was a festival and critical favourite over the past six years.
Falzon’s screen appearances include Blue Heelers; performing live with QUEEN in both an Australian TV special and on Dublin’s The Late Late Show; as a regular guest on numerous talk shows and at Carols by Candlelight for all the major antipodean networks; and a personal highlight of singing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ before a crowd of 100,000 for an AFL Grand Final – televised to millions around the world.
Falzon passed away on 23 June 2020 at the age of 48 following a year-long battle with a rare form of germ cell cancer.
