If Australia has a human face in the American popular mind, it may well be the smiling, deeply lined visage of Paul Hogan. Less as an actor than a personality, this lean, tanned and weathered- looking former construction worker--nicknamed "Hoges"--represented the Land Down Under in a series of ads for the Australian Tourist Commission that enticed more than 600,000 Americans abroad. Audiences found him earnest, likeable and down-to-earth. Hogan parlayed these qualities into international stardom as the co-writer and star of "'Crocodile' Dundee" (1986), a hugely successful comedy adventure depicting the adventures of an Outback outdoorsman in New York City. This unpretentiously old-fashioned comedy was a smash hit that won Hogan a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy, an Oscar nomination for the original screenplay and a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Award nomination. It also generated a successful sequel, "'Crocodile' Dundee 2" (1988), which Hogan co-scripted and executive produced. Together the films grossed over $500 million.

Hogan's unlikely entertainment career began at age 31 when he wrote to a TV talent show representing himself as a rural tap-dancing knife thrower. Hogan was invited on by the producers, presumably to make a fool of himself. Instead, he won national attention with a blistering satire of that very show. This triumph led to numerous other appearances, including a regular stint as a comic commentator on "A Current Affair", a nightly magazine news show. Hogan boosted his exposure with "The Paul Hogan Show" beginning in 1977 and a series of TV specials filmed in England starting in 1983. He began proving his mettle as a TV pitchman with a series of award- winning commercials for Foster's Lager in the United Kingdom. Prior to the release of "'Crocodile' Dundee", Hogan displayed dramatic chops in "ANZACS", a popular Australian TV miniseries set during WWI. 5 Hogan's Hollywood career stumbled after the blockbuster success of the "Crocodile Dundee" films. The sentimental comic fantasy "Almost An Angel" (1990), in which he played a burglar slain during a heroic act and given a chance to redeem his soul, was a commercial disappointment. The genial Western comedy "Lightning Jack" (1994) also failed to register at the box-office. Hogan took a different tack with the family picture "Flipper" (1996), sharing the spotlight with the teen-aged former child star Elijah Wood and a remarkable sea-going mammal. Hogan was well cast as the colorful bohemian uncle to whom the youth is sent to spend the summer. 

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