Paul Hogan

Background

Hogan was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and grew up in the western suburbs, including Granville. Public accounts long associated him with Lightning Ridge, a story he later explained as part of the persona he presented when entering television. His father served in the Australian Army and later worked in army canteen procurement; his mother was described by Hogan as a steady, old-fashioned woman who lived to the age of 101.

He attended Parramatta Marist High School and entered working life in manual occupations. Before becoming a performer, he worked as a rigger on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a major Australian engineering landmark completed in 1932 and an enduring symbol of Sydney. Workmates encouraged him to enter the television talent contest New Faces, leading to his first public exposure as a comedian.

Education

Hogan attended Parramatta Marist High School in Sydney's western suburbs. The school, founded in 1820 and associated with the Marist educational tradition, is one of Australia's oldest Catholic secondary schools. Hogan did not pursue a documented university education; his early path moved from manual work into television and comedy.

Career

Hogan began his working life as a rigger on the Sydney Harbour Bridge before entering television. In the early 1970s, after appearing on New Faces and gaining recurring exposure on A Current Affair, he developed a public comic persona built around direct Australian speech and working-class humour.

From 1973 to 1984, Hogan produced, co-wrote, and starred in The Paul Hogan Show. The sketch program, made with John Cornell and other performers, ran for 60 episodes and became popular in Australia and the United Kingdom. Its characters and deliberately informal style established Hogan as one of Australia's leading television comedians.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Hogan also appeared in advertising campaigns for Winfield cigarettes and Foster's Lager. His Australian Tourist Commission advertisements, including the widely repeated “shrimp on the barbie” line, presented an accessible image of Australia to overseas audiences and became an important part of his public identity.

Hogan wrote and starred in Crocodile Dundee in 1986, playing the outback character Michael “Crocodile” Dundee. The film became an international success, and Hogan received a Golden Globe for his performance and an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay shared with Ken Shadie and John Cornell. He later starred in Crocodile Dundee II, Almost an Angel, Lightning Jack, Flipper, Floating Away, Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles, Strange Bedfellows, and Charlie & Boots.

In 1987, Hogan co-hosted the 59th Academy Awards with Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn. His later screen work included television appearances, documentary projects, and The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee. In 2016, the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts presented him with the Longford Lyell Award for an outstanding contribution to Australian screen culture.

Achievements

• Hogan created, co-wrote, produced, and starred in The Paul Hogan Show, a television sketch program that ran from 1973 to 1984 and became popular in Australia and the United Kingdom.

• He co-created the character Michael “Crocodile” Dundee and co-wrote and starred in Crocodile Dundee, an internationally successful 1986 feature film that expanded the global visibility of Australian popular culture.

• His Australian tourism advertising campaign helped present Australian travel and informal hospitality to international audiences, especially in the United States.

• Hogan co-hosted the 59th Academy Awards in 1987 with Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn.

Works

More photos

• memoir

  • The Tap-Dancing Knife Thrower: My Life (without the boring bits)

    (Hogan's memoir, recounting his working-class upbringing, ...)

    2020

• nonfiction

  • Australia According to Hoges

    (A collection of humorous stories and reflections on Austr...)

    2022

• screenplay

  • Crocodile Dundee II

    (Sequel in which Hogan reprised Michael “Crocodile” Dundee...)

    1988
  • Crocodile Dundee

    (Feature film for which Hogan was a writer and leading act...)

    1986

• TV series

  • The Paul Hogan Show

    (Australian television sketch-comedy series created, writt...)

    1973

Religion

Hogan has described himself as not religious and has rejected Scientology and supernatural explanations. His public comments place him within a secular and nonreligious outlook rather than an established religious tradition.

Views

Hogan's public humour emphasizes informality, irreverence, and the value of not taking social status too seriously. His books and interviews express affection for Australian speech, popular customs, outdoor life, sport, and the idea of a fair go, while treating national myths with comic distance.

Quotations: Hogan has been associated with the saying: “There are three Gs to accepting an award: Be Gracious ... Be Grateful ... and Get Off!”

Personality

Hogan has consistently presented a self-deprecating, informal public persona shaped by Australian working-class humour. In interviews, he has described himself as irreverent, mischievous, and impatient with pretension.

Interests

• Australian culture and humour

• Sport & Clubs

  Golf

Connections

Hogan married Noelene Edwards, with whom he had five children, and later married his Crocodile Dundee co-star Linda Kozlowski in 1990. Hogan and Kozlowski had one son and divorced after their marriage ended. His long professional association with John Cornell encompassed television comedy, advertising, and the Crocodile Dundee films.

Wife:

Noelene Edwards

Hogan's first wife and the mother of five of his children.

Wife:

Linda Kozlowski

American actor who co-starred with Hogan in Crocodile Dundee and Crocodile Dundee II; they married in 1990 and had one son.

Son:

Brett Hogan

Son:

Clay Hogan

Son:

Scott Hogan

Son:

Todd Hogan

Daughter:

Lauren Hogan

Son:

Chance Hogan

References

• Australian of the Year: Paul Hogan AM Documents Hogan's early work as a Sydney Harbour Bridge rigger, his television career, the Australian tourism campaign, and his 1985 Australian of the Year award.
• Crocodile Dundee — Screen Australia Documents Hogan's writing and acting credits for Crocodile Dundee and the film's Academy Award and Golden Globe recognition.
• Paul Hogan to be awarded Australia's highest screen accolade — AACTA Describes Hogan's career in television, advertising, film, and his receipt of the AACTA Longford Lyell Award.
  2016
• A Fortunate Life — Paul Hogan Documents Hogan's Sydney birth, western-suburbs upbringing, family background, early work, and development of his television persona.
  2019
• Paul Hogan at the AFI Catalog Provides a filmographic record of Hogan's acting appearances in Crocodile Dundee II, Almost an Angel, Lightning Jack, Flipper, and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles.