The Tap-Dancing Knife Thrower

Book excerpt: The icon and legend at last tells his story his way -- without the boring bits Paul Hogan first appeared on 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 ground-breaking 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 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!' The Tap-Dancing Knife Thrower is a funny and candid account of the astonishing life of this 'lucky bastard', as Hoges describes himself. Full of stories never previously shared, and recounted in the comedian's inimitable, funny and self-deprecating style, The Tap-Dancing Knife Thrower is Paul Hogan's story told his way - 'without the boring bits'.