Rob Guest - Biography

Biography

Rob Guest was born in Birmingham, England. The family moved to New Zealand when the young Guest was 13; they went to Canada for a time, but returned to Auckland, where he attended Mt Albert Grammar School and Avondale College.

Guest first went to Australia in 1970 with the band Cuttysark, which played at the Whisky Au Go-Go and Chequers in Sydney. However, the competition was too tough and he returned to New Zealand. He became a pop singer on the New Zealand radio charts, and starred for many years on a number of shows including Happen Inn. He also appeared in the Hamilton Operatic Society's productions of Half a Sixpence and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He won his first lead at age 22 in The Jesus Christ Revolution (which was presented as Man of Sorrows in New Zealand and which predated Jesus Christ Superstar). After performing his hit songs all around the world, Guest won the 1978 Korean Song Festival Best Male Vocalist trophy, recorded a special for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and was voted the 1979 New Zealand 'Professional Performer of the Year'.

In 1981 he moved to the United States with his first wife, Lynette Perry, where he spent most of the 1980s performing and hosting shows in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno, Nevada and Lake Tahoe. In 1985 Guest won the FIDOF Award in Los Angeles for his performance at the World Song Festival. He returned to New Zealand, opened a photographic studio, while continuing to moonlight as a performer. In 1988, he was named New Zealand's male theatrical performer of the year.

Rob Guest moved to Australia after he was cast as Jean Valjean in the Australian production of Les Misérables, following Normie Rowe's portrayal, and spent three-and-a-half years touring Australia and New Zealand in the role; Guest also received a Green Room Award for Best Male Performer in a Leading Role. He then followed Anthony Warlow in the title role in The Phantom of the Opera, and played the role from December 1991 to September 1998. Guest performed the role for a world record 2,289 shows. During this time he also hosted the game show Man O Man. In 1995, Guest was invited as one of the seventeen Jean Valjeans from around the world to perform the encore of the Les Misérables 10th Anniversary Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He later reprised the role of Valjean in 1998–99 for the Australasian 10th anniversary production.

In 1993 Guest received the Benny Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc, the highest honour available to a New Zealand variety entertainer.

Guest was appointed an Officer (OBE) of the Order of the British Empire on New Year's Day 1994, for his services to the New Zealand entertainment industry. His first marriage had ended in divorce, and in 1994 he married the singer Judy Barnes. They had two children, Christopher and Amy whom Rob cherished. Judy and Rob separated in 2001 but remained good friends.

After his appearances in Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables, Guest performed in a number of high-profile roles, including Al Jolson in Jolson, Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Rev Shaw Moore in Footloose, and Harold Hill in The Music Man. Guest also performed countless gala performances both in Australia and internationally, twice hosting Carols in the Domain and releasing four gold-selling albums.