“Crocodile Dundee” made him rich and famous, but Paul Hogan, who is 85, also knows the dark side of life.
It is said that crocodiles hardly ever age. They always look the same, regardless of whether they are ten, 20, 40 or 80 years old. Unfortunately, this cannot be said about the man who became known and famous throughout the world as “Crocodile Dundee”. Age has bent him (slightly), his hair has become thinner, his blue eyes a little watery.
It’s no wonder, after all, Paul Hogan, who (almost) everyone only knows as Crocodile Dundee, will be 85 on October 8th.
Paul Hogan battled rare disease
He’s had a difficult time. Two years ago he became ill with retroperitoneal fibrosis, Ormond’s disease, a rare, chronic inflammation of the posterior abdominal cavity. The treatment was worse than the disease “and somehow made me shrink,” he said on Australian breakfast TV “Sunrise.” The medication caused his muscles to atrophy and he became increasingly thin. At times he was only able to get around in a wheelchair, but now he is feeling better. “I can eat anything I want, I can’t gain the weight back, but I’m strong again.”
His smile remained the same. Open, warm, with a touch of mockery or irony, whatever you like. There he is, just like his old self: Crocodile Dundee.
The role of his life
It was the role of his life, his “one-hit wonder,” as he once told the lifestyle magazine “Stellar.” The Australian from Sydney had previously muddled through with various jobs such as boxer, chauffeur or painter on the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge. Then he was discovered in a talent show on television in the early 1970s: the quick-witted young man’s dry humor was well received.
He got his own show, The Paul Hogan Show, for which he wrote the lyrics. The show aired for nine years in Australia, South Africa and England. He also produced and starred in popular commercials for, among others, beer and the Australian Tourist Board (which sparked a tourist boom in the USA).
In 1986 his first film was released, which in Germany had the strange title “Crocodile Dundee – a crocodile to kiss”. Hogan wrote the script and covered most of the $10 million production cost himself. He also took on the lead role – a blessing for the film.
It is the story of the crocodile hunter Mick Dundee, raised by Aborigines, who saves the life of a US reporter in the Australian outback, goes with her to New York City and has to survive in the jungle of the civilized world. This role was tailor-made for Paul Hogan, as he experienced this situation himself during a visit to New York. One of the most beautiful scenes in the film shows Crocodile Dundee in a Manhattan street canyon, in the middle of the stream of carelessly passing people: Mick Dundee greets everyone…
Another famous scene shows him and the reporter around a campfire in the outback. Dundee just killed a snake. Now he feeds the woman some fried food and answers her question as to why he doesn’t eat anything: snakes always give him flatulence…
Paul Hogan becomes a rich man
The film changes his life. He becomes a huge success, his “one-hit wonder”, grosses $328 million and makes Paul Hogan a rich man. He received an Oscar nomination for best screenplay and won the Golden Globe for best male actor.
He explains his success in the Australian magazine “TV Week”: “Mick is a good role model. There’s nothing malicious about the guy, he’s human. And although he doesn’t kill people, he’s not a wimp or a coward.”
A lot has also changed in his private life: Hogan fell in love with his American partner Linda Kozlowski (66) during filming. Unfortunately, he has been married to his childhood sweetheart Noelene, with whom he has five children, since 1958. Now he files for divorce in 1986, a war of the roses develops until he can marry Linda Kozlowski in 1990.
The actor is a father of six
This marriage (one son, born in 1998) lasted for 23 years, then Linda filed for divorce due to “irreconcilable differences”. It will be an amicable separation and the house they share will reportedly be sold to Chris Hemsworth (41). The die-hard Australian had long since moved to the USA and lived in Venice Beach in California.
And he makes films, of course “Crocodile Dundee II”, which is also a nice success, but not as great as the first part. This is followed by further cinema productions that are, at best, only successful, such as “Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles” in 2001, “Crocodile Daddy – A Totally Crazy Road Trip” in 2009 and “Dundee – The Son of a Legend Returns Home” in 2018, an advertising film for Australia. In 2020 he will be in front of the camera with John Cleese (84) and will play himself in “Come back, Mr. Dundee”. The film received scathing reviews, with its home paper, the Sydney Morning Herald, pointing out that Paul Hogan’s sense of humor was still “intact.”
Problems with the tax office
He has long since made other headlines: with a small war against Australian tax authorities, who accuse him of tax evasion of millions. , for his part sues (unsuccessfully) against the Australian state for destroying his “reputation” and his “earning opportunities”. In 2010, the tax authority dropped the case against Hogan.
Two years ago, Hogan announced his illness. On the Australian TV show “A Current Affair” he says he has “lost all his body fat, my muscles have all shrunk.” He also now has a pacemaker and is only “held together by a cord.” Nevertheless, he is feeling better again, he would like to spend his old age at home, and yes, he longs to go back to Australia.
And as robust as Crocodile Dundee is, he wants to continue to master the challenges of old age. He is prepared, he says, because “after 80, life is no longer for wimps.”
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
