Peter Allen (10 February 1944 - 18 June 1992) was an Australian singer, songwriter, pianist, and entertainer whose career combined sophisticated pop songwriting with the theatrical energy of a cabaret headliner. Born Peter Richard Woolnough in Tenterfield, New South Wales, he began performing publicly as a child and developed into one of Australia's most distinctive international entertainers.
At 15, Allen joined guitarist and singer Chris Bell to form the Allen Brothers. The duo built a following in Australia and across Asia, and their career changed direction in 1964 when Judy Garland saw them performing in Hong Kong. Impressed by their act, Garland arranged for them to appear as her opening act in London and introduced Allen to her daughter, Liza Minnelli. Allen and Minnelli married in 1967, but their marriage ended in separation in 1969. The Allen Brothers dissolved the following year, allowing Allen to begin establishing himself as a solo performer.
Allen's early solo work emerged from the New York club and theater scenes. He made his first solo appearance at the Bitter End in Greenwich Village in 1970 and briefly entered Broadway with the rock musical Soon in 1971. That same year, he released his first solo album, Peter Allen, followed by Tenterfield Saddler in 1972. The latter included the reflective title song, which drew on his Australian background and became one of his best-known compositions.
Although Allen pursued a recording career, songwriting for other artists brought him some of his greatest commercial successes. With Jeff Barry, he co-wrote "I Honestly Love You," which Olivia Newton-John took to the top of the American charts in 1974. Allen and Carole Bayer Sager also wrote "Don't Cry Out Loud," later a major hit for Melissa Manchester, and "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love," recorded successfully by Rita Coolidge. His most prominent songwriting achievement came with "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)," written with Bayer Sager, Burt Bacharach, and Christopher Cross. Christopher Cross's recording topped the charts in 1981 and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
As a performer, Allen was markedly different from the introspective image associated with many singer-songwriters of the 1970s. His shows were flamboyant, fast-moving, and frequently extravagant, with colorful costumes, dance routines, comic timing, and an unmistakable gift for connecting with an audience. His Australian hit "I Go to Rio" became a signature number, while "I Still Call Australia Home" developed into an enduring expression of national identity.
Albums such as Taught by Experts, It Is Time for Peter Allen, Bi-Coastal, and Not the Boy Next Door documented his range from romantic ballads to exuberant pop. He headlined Radio City Music Hall in 1981 and later performed sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall. Allen also returned to Broadway in 1988 with Legs Diamond, a musical he co-wrote and starred in, although the production had a short run.
His final studio album, Making Every Moment Count, appeared in 1990. Allen continued performing until shortly before his death in San Diego in 1992 from complications related to AIDS. His songs and stage persona later formed the basis of the musical The Boy from Oz, first produced in Australia in 1998 and subsequently brought to Broadway, helping introduce his work to a new generation.