The Paul Hogan Show was a popular Australian comedy show which aired on Australian television from 1973 until 1984. It made a star of
Paul HoganPaul Hogan, AM is an Australian actor best known for his role as Michael "Crocodile" Dundee from the Crocodile Dundee film series, for which he won a Golden Globe award.-Early life and career:...
who later appeared in
Crocodile Dundee"Crocodile" Dundee is a 1986 Australian comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee and Linda Kozlowski as Sue Charlton....
. Hogan's friend (and producer of
Crocodile Dundee John CornellJohn Cornell is a film producer, actor and businessman.Born in Ballygarvan,Cork Cornell once managed Paul Hogan and often appeared alongside Hogan in his popular television show The Paul Hogan Show as Strop, a dim-witted dinkum Aussie surf lifesaver...
) also appeared in the show, playing Hogan's dim flatmate
Strop. The show also aired on the New York Tri-State area television
WWORWWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
channel 9, in the early 1980s.
The Paul Hogan Show was a popular Australian comedy show which aired on Australian television from 1973 until 1984. It made a star of
Paul HoganPaul Hogan, AM is an Australian actor best known for his role as Michael "Crocodile" Dundee from the Crocodile Dundee film series, for which he won a Golden Globe award.-Early life and career:...
who later appeared in
Crocodile Dundee"Crocodile" Dundee is a 1986 Australian comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee and Linda Kozlowski as Sue Charlton....
. Hogan's friend (and producer of
Crocodile Dundee John CornellJohn Cornell is a film producer, actor and businessman.Born in Ballygarvan,Cork Cornell once managed Paul Hogan and often appeared alongside Hogan in his popular television show The Paul Hogan Show as Strop, a dim-witted dinkum Aussie surf lifesaver...
) also appeared in the show, playing Hogan's dim flatmate
Strop. The show also aired on the New York Tri-State area television
WWORWWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
channel 9, in the early 1980s.
Episodes of the series generally opened with Hogan, playing a version of himself he called 'Hoges', presenting a stand-up comedy routine dressed in his bridge rigger's costume of boots, shorts, and shirt with sleeves cut off. The show then presented a series of comedy sketches, usually with Hogan in the lead role and playing various recurring characters, these include:
- Leo Wanker: an inept daredevil stuntman;
- George Fungus: a take-off
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of real-life television journalist George NegusGeorge Edward Negus is an Australian author, journalist, and television presenter. He previously presented 6:30 with George Negus on Network Ten, until it was axed by the Network on 19 October 2011.-Education:...
of the Australian 60 Minutes;
- Super Dag: an ocker
The term "ocker" is used both as a noun and adjective for an Australian who speaks and acts in an uncultured manner, using a broad Australian accent...
superheroA superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
complete with terry-towellingThere are two types of terry fabrics# Towell Terry is a [woven] fabric with long loops that can absorb large amounts of water. Its content is usually 100% cotton, but may sometimes contain polyester....
hat and zinc-creamCalamine is a mixture of zinc oxide with about 0.5% ferric oxide . It is the main ingredient in calamine lotion and is used as an antipruritic to treat mild pruritic conditions such as sunburn, eczema, rashes, poison ivy, chickenpox, and insect bites and stings...
ed nose. His powers include his ability to use his eskyEsky is an Australian brand of coolers. Outdoor recreation company Coleman Australia bought the Esky brand from Nylex Ltd after the Company went into administration in February 2009.The name is a reference to the association of Eskimos with cold climates....
in innovative ways;
- Perc the Wino: an old drunken derro
Derelict or dereliction commonly refers to:* Abandonment of property, then referred to as a 'derelict'* Derelict , property which has been abandoned and deserted at sea by those who were in charge without any hope of recovering it...
who starred in a series of silent, Benny HillBenny Hill was an English comedian and actor, notable for his long-running television programme The Benny Hill Show.-Early life:...
-style, sketches;
- Donger: variants of this beer-gutted character include Sgt Donger, the tough cop with a bionic beer-gut, and Arthur Dunger, a caricature of the suburban tinny-chugging Australian male.
- Nigel Lovelace: a skateboarding eleven-year old almost twelve as they say in the show;
- The Phantom: a parody of the famous comic book hero The Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
Another recurring sketch featured Hogan again playing "himself" as Hoges, depicting the character's situation of living the carefree bachelor life in a disorderly apartment with his flatmate Strop.
The show would generally end with him in his bridge painter getup trying to flip cigarettes into his mouth.
The series also regularly featured attractive female models and actors in its sketches - frequently in revealing costumes. Television actor and presenter
Delvene DelaneyDelvene Delaney is an Australian actress and television presenter.The beauty pageant winner found fame on Australian television in the 1970s, initially as a weather presenter on Brisbane television...
(who later married Cornell) was the most frequent and best-known of these. Other women to appear in the series were
Sue McIntoshSue McIntosh is a former news reader for Australian ABC News. She was known prior to the mid-1970s as Sue Donovan, from her marriage to actor Terence Donovan, which ended in divorce in 1973...
, Karen Pini, Anya Saleky, Karen West and
AbigailAbigail is an actress who emigrated to Australia in 1968 and via the media of television became one of that country's significant sex symbols of the mid-1970s. Although born in England, she was educated in France. Her mother was a Ceylonese of Dutch Burgher/Eurasian ethnicity...
.
Many sketches in the show were parodies of contemporary television shows. These included
"Thick 'Ead" (
MastermindMastermind is a British quiz show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness.Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed — four and in later contests five contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the...
),
"Pot o'Brass" (
Pot o'Gold),
"A Casual Affair" (
A Current Affair)
"Sale of the Week" (
Sale of the Century$ale of the Century was an Australian game show that aired on the Nine Network from 14 July 1980 – 29 November 2001. Tony Barber hosted an early version of Sale of the Century under the title of Temptation from 1970–1976, and was also the initial host of Sale, replaced by Glenn Ridge in 1991...
), and
"Benny Five'O" (a
Benny HillBenny Hill was an English comedian and actor, notable for his long-running television programme The Benny Hill Show.-Early life:...
-inspired take-off of
Hawaii Five-OHawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
).
Reception
The show was very popular and was compared to
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
and
The Benny Hill ShowThe Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill.There were various incarnations of the show between 1951 and 1991, and it aired in over 140 countries. The show is generally sketch-based with heavy use of slapstick, mime, parody and double-entendre...
. The series also became popular in the UK as a result of its scheduling within peak time on the new
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
on launch in November 1982.
External links