Paul Hogan

Early life

Paul Hogan was born in Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia. He worked as a rigger on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Career

Hogan's first public appearance was on Australian television, the Nine Network's amateur talent program New Faces in 1971. Hogan had observed to his Harbour Bridge workmates that the program's entertainment value relied significantly on the judges ridiculing and belittling the performers, and suggested the judges deserved similar treatment. Hogan inveigled his way onto the program by claiming to be a "tap-dancing knife-thrower". Hogan appeared on stage in his work boots, holding kitchen knives; he performed a rudimentary shuffle, threw the knives onto the floor and proceeded to make a series of jokes at the judges' expense. Strong positive response from the viewing public saw Hogan invited back for repeated performances on New Faces; in another of these, he proposed to "play the shovels", which consisted of banging two shovels together a few times before making a series of jokes. Hogan's natural ability as a comedic performer attracted the attention of Mike Willesee, host of Nine's news magazine program A Current Affair. Willesee offered Hogan regular appearances on the show, during which Hogan would make humorous comment on some issue of the day. During this time Hogan befriended Current Affair producer John Cornell, who became Hogan's manager and business partner.

Hogan followed this with his own comedy sketch program The Paul Hogan Show, which he produced and wrote, and in which he played characters with Cornell and Delvene Delaney. The series, which ran for 60 episodes between 1973 and 1984, was popular in his native country and South Africa, and showcased his trademark lighthearted but laddish ocker humour. Hogan won the 1973 TV Week Logie Award for 'Best New Talent'. The early series was on Channel Seven and by 1975, it was screened on Channel Nine where it remained until the end of 1984.

In the 1970s, he advertised Winfield cigarettes in television, print and billboard advertisements in which he wore a formal dinner suit. These ads always ended with the catchphrase "Anyhow, have a Winfield". During the early 1980s, Hogan filmed a series of television ads promoting the Australian tourism industry, which aired in the United States. An advertisement with the phrase "shrimp on the barbie" which aired from 1984, was particularly successful.

In 1985, Hogan starred as an Australian World War I 'digger' named Pat Cleary in the critically acclaimed mini-series Anzacs which aired on the Nine Network. Cleary was described as the quintessential Aussie larrikin and series writer John Dixon wrote the part of Cleary with Hogan in mind. The series included a "who's who" of Australian television and film actors of the day including Jon Blake, Andrew Clarke, Megan Williams, Tony Bonner, Bill Kerr, Ilona Rodgers, Vivean Gray and Robert Coleby.

Throughout the decade, he appeared on British TV in advertisements for Foster's Lager, in which he played an earthy Australian abroad in London. The character's most notable line (spoken incredulously at a ballet performance) "Struth, there's a bloke down there with no strides on!", followed Hogan for years, and the popularity of its "fish out of water" humour was repeated with his next endeavour. In another advertisement from the same Foster's series, Hogan's character is approached in a London Tube station by a Japanese tourist who asks, 'Do you know the way to Cockfosters?' (referring to an area in North London), to which Hogan replies (with a puzzled look on his face): "Drink it warm, mate."

Hogan's breakout role was that of Mick "Crocodile" Dundee in the 1986 film Crocodile Dundee. Hogan also co-wrote the movie, which was a massive critical and commercial success in many countries. He won the 1987 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and was also nominated for Best Actor at the BAFTAs. The screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA and a Saturn Award. Along with Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn, Hogan co-hosted the 59th Academy Awards, also in 1987. Hogan again portrayed Mick Dundee in the sequel Crocodile Dundee II, released in 1988. Hogan was also executive producer and co-writer with his son, Brett. Although less popular than the first Crocodile Dundee film with critics, it was also a commercial success. The character made him popular in the United States, with phrases like, "That's not a knife...that's a knife!" entering the lexicon, though Hogan was troubled that the character was perceived as a cross between Chuck Norris and John Rambo, and turned down roles similar to those due to their violent nature, commenting:

In the early 1990s, a Paramount executive pitched a concept of a Crocodile Dundee / Beverly Hills Cop crossover movie. Hogan refused the starring role in the hit film Ghost, choosing instead to make Almost an Angel (1990). In 1994 Hogan co-produced, wrote and starred in the Western comedy film Lightning Jack. In 1996 Hogan starred in a remake of the 1963 film Flipper, a family-friendly movie about a dolphin. In 1998 he co-starred in the made-for-TV drama Floating Away, an adaptation of the Tim Sandlin book Sorrow Floats. Hogan played 'Shane', a recovering alcoholic.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he was featured in advertisements for the Subaru Outback. In 2001, Hogan returned to the role that made him famous with Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles.

In 2004, Hogan starred in the Australian-produced comedy film Strange Bedfellows, about two firemen pretending to be in a homosexual relationship for financial benefit. Strange Bedfellows was written and directed by Hogan's friend Dean Murphy and was the highest-grossing Australian-made film of 2004. 2005 saw the release of Paul Hogan - Stand Up Hoges, a DVD compilation of Hogan's favourite live performances throughout his career. In 2009, Hogan starred in another of Murphy's films, Charlie & Boots, a road-movie concerning the relationship between a father (Hogan) and son (Shane Jacobson). It was the second-highest grossing Australian-made film of 2009, after Mao's Last Dancer.

In 2013, 2014 and 2015 Hogan embarked on live stand-up performances throughout Australia. The 2013 An Evening with Hoges tour featured capital cities only but the 2014 tour Hoges: One Night Only featured 25 locations including regional Australia. 2015's Hoges: Live saw shows in Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney only. Some of this material was shown in the 2014 documentary Hanging with Hoges, in which Hogan was interviewed about his life and career by Shane Jacobson.

In 2016 Hogan received the Longford Lyell Award for an outstanding contribution to the Australian screen. Hogan joked he'd only ever been a "one-hit wonder".

Honours

In 1985, Hogan was named Australian of the Year.

In 1986 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) "for service to tourism and entertainment".

in 1987 Hogan won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Musical or Comedy for Crocodile Dundee.

In 2016 Hogan received the Longford Lyell Award, the highest honour of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), for outstanding services to the Australian screen.

Personal life

Hogan and his first wife, Noelene Edwards, married in 1958. They separated and divorced in 1981 and remarried less than one year later. A second divorce, initiated in 1986, was considered one of Australia's ugliest celebrity divorces. Hogan married his Crocodile Dundee co-star Linda Kozlowski in 1990. He has five children with his first wife and one with his second wife. In October 2013, Kozlowski filed for divorce from Hogan, citing irreconcilable differences. He is an Australian Republican.

Tax problems

Hogan has been named as one of a group in connection to a A$300 million Australian tax fraud investigation called Operation Wickenby, investigating 23 companies for allegedly using overseas companies to hide income. In July 2008, Hogan commented to Network Ten that he had "paid plenty of tax" in Australia and that he had nothing to fear from the Australian Taxation Office investigation.

In October 2008, Hogan scored a major victory in his tax fight with the Australian Crime Commission, who were forced to pay up to an estimated A$5 million for legal bills dating back to 2006 and were required to return seized personal financial documents that they had admitted were irrelevant. Hogan has not been charged in connection with the investigation, which began in 2003.

On 18 June 2010 in the Australian High Court, Hogan lost a long-running legal battle to keep the contents of his tax documents secret, paving the way for details of his offshore accounts to be published. Earlier the same year, Australian media reported that the Australian Crime Commission was in the final stages of preparing to lay criminal charges of tax evasion against Hogan, film producer John Cornell and their accountant Anthony Stewart, who it suspected channeled millions of dollars from the proceeds of the film Crocodile Dundee and other films into offshore tax havens. The release of the documents is expected to help finalize the Tax Office's case.

On 20 August 2010, Hogan flew to Sydney for his mother's funeral. Upon arrival he was issued a Departure Prohibition Order by the Australian Taxation Office, which prevented him leaving the country until his alleged tax debt was paid or settled. The nation's tax office claims he owes taxes on A$37.5 million of undeclared income. On 3 September, Hogan was granted permission to return to the US through an agreement between his lawyers and Australian tax officials, though the terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. Hogan continues to deny any wrongdoing in the case.

In November 2010, the Australian Tax Office dropped its criminal investigation of him and his business manager for tax evasion.

In January 2011, it was announced that Hogan is suing the Australian government, his lawyer stating that Hogan's "earning potential and reputation has been decimated." Hogan has since likened the Australian Tax Office to the Taliban and referred to staff as 'a-holes'.

In May 2012, it was announced that, following mediation before an ex-High Court judge, the entities settled with the Commissioner of Taxation in an agreement "without admission". The parties have agreed that the terms of the settlement are to be confidential, but as part of the settlement, the Departure Prohibition Order has been revoked by the Commissioner. As of April 2013, Hogan's financial advisor Stewart remained in a dispute with the Australian Tax Office.

Hogan then reappeared in the media in April 2013 due to an AU$32.3 million issue with a Swiss bank run by the Geneva firm Strachans. Following the placement of the monetary sum in an offshore account for the purpose of tax avoidance, Hogan is unable to access the funds as of April 2013 and a United States court action that sought AU$80 million in damages proved unsuccessful for Hogan. Hogan publicly stated that he believes that Philip Egglishaw, the principal of Strachans and a former tax advisor to Hogan, has absconded with the money and Hogan's American legal representative Schuyler "Sky" Moore filed corresponding documents in a Californian Court based on this claim. On 18 April 2013, it was reported that Egglishaw denied the allegations of his former client.