Tommy Leonetti was an American popsinger-songwriter and actor of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. In Australia his most famous song was "My City of Sydney" and was used by the Australian TV channel ATN7 in Sydney for station identification into the 1980s. In America he achieved greater success as a songwriter for movies and Broadway plays.
Married in 1958 to Patricia Quinn and divorced in 1964. Leonetti acted in minor roles in American TV series: Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., I Spy, Hawaii Five-O, The Waltons and The Eddie Capra Mysteries. He also had a film role in The Human Duplicators a science fiction alien invasion movie.
Singer and entertainer
"Free", Leonetti's 1956 single, has been described as a US one-hit wonder peaking at number 23 on Billboard magazine's pop charts. He also had a minor hit with his version of "I Cried" which reached number 30 in 1954. Your Hit Parade, The Steve Allen Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson featured performances by Leonetti. He also hit in the US with the only charted version of the spiritual "Kum Ba Yah" in early 1969 which hit No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 while topping at No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Tommy also hit the Adult Contemporary charts on 12/16/67 with his Columbia single You Knew About Her All the Time and again on 7/27/68 with All the Brave Young Faces of the Night. On 1/4/64 Tommy's recording of Soul Dance hit the Bubbling Under the Hot 100 at No. 105 where it remained for 5 weeks. His final US chart record was "When I Needed You Most Of All", which, in 1974, reached Record World #120 in a 6-week chart run. He had a number 4 hit in Melbourne in 1968 with "Let’s Take a Walk" provided their version in 1979, this promo includes blue-tinged portions from Leonetti's TV sign-off. Other versions were performed by yodellerMary Schneider, 1990s punk rockers Frenzal Rhomb and James Valentine on his radio show in February 2008. "My City of Sydney" was usually followed by a cartoon of a kangaroo putting its joey to sleep on a bed made from the words "ATN Channel 7," and was in use until the mid-1980s, when it was replaced by animator Debbie Glasser's cartoon about Sydney.
In Australian popular culture
According to Garry McDonald, the character of Norman Gunston and his television show were initially devised as a parody of Leonetti's late-night Sydney TV variety show, "The Tommy Leonetti Show", hosted by Leonetti from 1969 to 1970.
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers lists 49 works credited to "Tommy Leonetti". Music for films included: Squeeze a Flower, Massacre at Central High and She Came to the Valley. He also co-wrote and sang "Cross Roads" for Massacre at Central High. TV music included: The ABC Weekend Special episodes 1.2 "The Ransom of Red Chief", 1.9 "Soup and Me", 2.5 "Little Lulu" and 2.6 "Soup for President". Leonetti died in 1979 in Houston, Texas. 5 days after his 50th birthday.
