Famous Like Me > Actor > K > Kamahl
Profile of Kamahl
on Famous Like Me |
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| Name: |
Kamahl |
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| Also Know As: |
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| Date of Birth: |
13th November 1934 |
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| Place of Birth: |
Malaysia |
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| Profession: |
Actor |
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From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
Kamahl (November 13, 1934-) is the stage name of an Australian cabaret/easy listening singer and recording artist who is perhaps best known for his song The Elephant Song, as well as his sensitive interpretations of standards in the repetoire of popular music.
His real name is Kandian Hamalesvaran and he is of Tamil Hindu background and was born in Malaysia. He arrived in Adelaide in 1953 to receive a higher education, however, his arrival was not without prejudice on the part of an Australia still influenced by the White Australia Policy. This experience gave bite to his well-known quote: "Why are people so unkind?"
He has been in the Australian music industry for fifty years, and throughout that time has had some memorable TV and film appearances, as well as concerts. In 2004 he appeared on the Big Day Out and the year before he had a cameo in the Australian short film Harvie Krumpet. He collaborated with the Wiggles for some of their performances, showing his inter-generational appeal.
As he made his way into the Australian music industry, Rupert Murdoch was an early important mentor. He performed in the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall, as well as all over Australian pubs and clubs, as well as many TV programmes like Hey Hey It's Saturday. In 1982 Queen Elizabeth II asked him to give a Royal Command performance in Brisbane for the Commonwealth Games there, and in 1984, he sang with Cathy Lee Johnson at the LA Variety Telethon.
Kamahl received the Australian Father Of The Year award in 1998 and the Order of Australia in 2003.
His first album was A Voice to Remember, which was released in Australia in October 1967. He has released singles and albums in the United States, Canada, England, New Zealand, South America, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Germany - this last in German - as well as the Netherlands, Belgium and all the Scandinavian nations. From 1967 onwards in Australia his records, tapes and CDs were primarily on the Philips label, but he also recorded on EMI, Mercury, Festival, Dino and Readers' Digest.
His latest album is Imagine the World in Unison as of 2005. He is also making appearances as a judge on The X-Factor and has a sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola.
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