page_title: Ted Neeley
section_title: Jesus Christ Superstar
hierarchical_section_title: Ted Neeley / Jesus Christ Superstar
caption_attribution_description: Publicity photo of American entertainers Yvonne Elliman and Ted Neeley promoting their roles in the 1973 feature film Jesus Christ Superstar.
context_page_description: Teddie Joe "Ted" Neeley is an American singer, actor, musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for portraying the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar, a role for which he was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and has reprised numerous times.
  Neeley considers himself a baritone, and is known for his extremely wide vocal range and rock screams—notably the G above high C in "Gethsemane" from Jesus Christ Superstar.
context_section_description: Neeley's work with Tom O'Horgan, the director of Hair, led to him being called when O'Horgan was hired to stage Jesus Christ Superstar for Broadway.
  Neeley originally auditioned for the role of Judas, seeing it as a great opportunity to play a character few understand. However, when Ben Vereen was chosen for the role, Neeley signed on as chorus and also became the 
  Christ understudy. This particular opportunity led to his taking on the title role in the Los Angeles stage version (which played at the Universal Amphitheatre) after receiving a standing ovation during a performance earlier in the tour. Castmate and close friend Carl Anderson was touring also as a Judas understudy.
  Having also performed the title role in Tommy in Los Angeles, Neeley was led to reprise the title role in the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar, directed by Norman Jewison, alongside Anderson as Judas. In 1974, he received nominations for his performance in the film at the 31st Golden Globe Awards for "Best Actor in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy" and "New Star Of The Year—Actor".
caption: Neeley with Yvonne Elliman in the feature film Jesus Christ Superstar (1973).
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