Paul Hogan first appeared in Australia’s screens in 1971 as a tap-dancing knife thrower on TV talent show New Faces. The then father of four and Sydney Harbour Bridge rigger from Granville did it as a dare, but when the network’s switchboard lit up, he was invited back. So popular was he with viewers, Hogan became a regular on Mike Willesee’s A Current Affair.
The rest, as they say, is history. In collaboration with his business partner and best friend, John Cornell (who played his sidekick Strop), ‘Hoges’ went on to become Australia’s favourite TV comedian. His hugely popular comedy shows and appearances in unforgettable and groundbreaking ads for cigarettes, beer and tourism came to personify Australia and Australians here and overseas, helping to change the perception of who we are as a people and as a nation.
Then in 1986, Crocodile Dundee, the movie he conceived, co-wrote and starred in, became an international smash hit and earned its star a Golden Globe Award, as well as Oscar and BAFTA nominations. Despite the fact that Hoges claimed to have retired, many more successful movies followed. Yet even as his star rose ever higher, he always expected someone to grab him by the arm and say: ‘What are you doing here? You’re just a bloody rigger!’.
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