Paul Hogan’s Lawsuit: What Tax Problems Did ‘Crocodile Dundee’ Face?

Do you remember Paul Hogan?

Some, if not many of you, will remember the global smash hit comedy movie “Crocodile Dundee”. Premiering in 1986, it starred the Australian, Paul Hogan – nicknamed  ‘Hoges’ – in the role of Mick ‘Crocodile’ Dundee. Paul is of Irish descent and was born on 8th October 1939 in Greater Western Sydney even though he told people he was born in Lightning Ridge, New South Wales. He attended Parramatta Marist School and his first job was a rigger on the harbour bridge in Sydney. At the age of 31, Paul was scraping by to pay the rent. His first television appearance in 1971 was on the amateur talent program, “New Faces” where he pretended to tap-danced while throwing knives, showing off his natural ability to create comedy. His audience loved him and this led to him being invited on the show for repeat performances. Little did he know that this would be the beginning of a long and successful career.

We’ll go into more detail about this, but after a ‘rags to riches’ story and an illustrious career in the film business, Paul was investigated for tax evasion by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Why and how did this come about and what was the outcome? Keep watching to find out …

Paul Hogan’s climb up the star-studded ladder

In 1971 Paul secured a recurring role to bring some humor into the Australian news show, “A Current Affair”. He became friends with one of their producers, John Cornell, who ended up becoming Paul’s business partner, friend and manager for many years. In 1973, Paul began writing and producing his own comedy series, “The Paul Hogan Show” which achieved top ratings and aired up to 1984 in Australia – John appeared on the show as a character called Strop; the show became popular in the UK and South Africa too. Paul had the gift of captivating his audiences with his refreshingly unique, coarse, unconventional and uncultured character cracking jokes in a broad Australian/English accent, which the Australians refer to as ‘ocker’ or ‘larrikin’ humor. He enamored his Australian public with his witty banter and sarcastic impersonations. In 1973 the series won him the TV Week Logie Award for Best New Talent.

Paul became the face of Winfield cigarettes in print, on television and billboards. In 1985 he played a role, written with him in mind, in the historic war drama mini-series “Anzacs” demonstrating his versatility as an actor. In that year he was also given the ‘Australian of the Year’ award for being a global ambassador for the country.

More appearances followed on British TV, until he co-wrote and performed the role of the well known and likeable outback swashbuckler, Mick in the movie “Crocodile Dundee”, which propelled Paul’s career in a big way.

Paul Hogan’s loves and marriages

Paul married Noelene Edwards on 24th June 1958. He was only 18 years old at the time, became a dad at the age of 19 and by the age of 22, already had three sons. Their marriage lasted for 23 years as they divorced in 1981. They remarried the following year, but again divorced in 1986, which was thought to be one of Australia’s most bitter celebrity divorces. They had five children together – Lauren, Clay, Scott, Todd and Brett.

After “Crocodile Dundee II” Paul left his wife for his co-star, the much younger Linda Kozlowski (born 7th January 1958). He admitted that they had flirted on the set of “Crocodile Dundee”, but whilst filming “Crocodile Dundee II” it became serious. Their affair caused a big stir and surprised people who thought he had a great relationship with Noelene. He married Linda on 5th May 1990, with the Australian public branding Linda as a ‘heartless home-wrecker’ and she felt uncomfortable living there so they moved to America. Their marriage lasted 24 years, but ended in divorce on 23rd July 2014. They have a son called Chance.

According to Linda, she felt that she’d lived in Paul’s shadow and needed to ‘feel her own light’ plus they had simply grown apart. They have kept up a friendship after an amicable dissolution of their marriage. In 2017, when Chance was 19, Linda married Moulay Hafid Baba and moved to Morocco where the couple ran an exclusive tourism business. Paul was devastated, not so much because of the marriage as he had become friends with Moulay, but because of Linda moving far away.

In 2016 Noelene opened up and revealed that she had felt betrayed by Paul’s infidelity, and that Paul and her hadn’t spoken for 17 years after their breakup. Noelene married Reg Stretton on 21st March 2000 and sadly he recently passed away. Paul and Noelene now have 10 grandchildren.

What transpired after Crocodile Dundee

“Crocodile Dundee” was not only the highest earning Australian film grossing $330 million globally, but also won Paul the 1987 Golden Globe Award for the Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy – and he was nominated for Best Actor at the British Academy Film Awards. Many catchy phrases including ‘That’s not a knife … THAT’s a knife’ remain etched in fans’ memories.

Just after the movie had come out, Paul suffered a brain hemorrhage and was hospitalized, which caused everyone huge concern, but thankfully he pulled through and recovered quite quickly.

Paul co-hosted the 59th Academy Awards with Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn in his usual down-to-earth and unrehearsed style. In 1988 “Crocodile Dundee II” was released, with Paul as executive producer and co-writer together with his son, Brett,. Even though it didn’t smash the charts, it was still a profitable success. Paul turned down roles left, right and centre, especially violent movies, saying that the movie scene was screaming out for the hero who doesn’t kill 75 people and that ‘Mick’s a good role model … He’s not a wimp or a sissy just because he doesn’t kill people.’

When he met the Queen in 1980 with his friend and well-known actress, Olivia Newton-John, Paul was wearing shorts and a cut-off casual short sleeved shirt which caused quite a stir and which he referred to as his ‘summer working uniform’. He also met Prince Charles and Diana in 1983 at the Melbourne Concert Hall, but then he was dressed appropriately in a formal suit.

Paul Hogan in the 1990s

Paul kept busy in the 90s. He and Linda starred in “Almost an Angel” (1990) which he produced and wrote, but was a box office flop, as well as “Lightning Jack” (1994), which fared only a little better. In 1996 he starred in “Flipper” and in 1998 “Floating Away”. Many Americans will fondly remember his catch phrases such as  ‘come down under’ so he could ‘slip another shrimp on the barbie’ which featured on the promotional advertisements for Tourism Australia. The late ‘90s and early 2000s saw him as the face for Subaru Outback commercials.

Paul Hogan in Almost an Angel (1990) pic.twitter.com/J7WEEmwja1

— Frame Found (@framefound) November 3, 2021

Paul Hogan’s career takes a downturn

Paul’s sidekick and longtime friend, John Cornell was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2001 at the height of his career, and when he pulled out of production, he turned his attention to philanthropic endeavors. After a long battle with his illness, he died on 23rd July 2021 at the age of 80.

According to IMDB ‘Paul Hogan had stated in an interview that there wasn’t going to be a third “Crocodile Dundee” film and had felt that the story of Mick Dundee had been finished and that he isn’t James Bond and he doesn’t go all over the world solving crimes.’ Nevertheless “Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles” starring Paul and his wife, Linda, and directed by Simon Wincer, premiered on 12th April 2001. In Paul’s own words, it was a flop and many didn’t even know it existed. Since then his adoring Australian fans signed petitions for another Crocodile Dundee, but Paul wasn’t interested.

In 2004 Paul featured in the film, “Strange Bedfellows“. Dean Murphy was the director and the movie made $5,000,000 at the Australian box office. The plot features Paul in the role of a theater owner, Vince Hopgood who had just been through a divorce and had ended up with major tax problems. He asks his best friend, Ralph (played by Michael Caton) to act as his lover because he had found out that there was a new tax loophole for live-in gay couples which would mean he wouldn’t lose his property. Ironically enough, the movie plot touched on an issue which was about to raise its ugly head – the tax problem he faced soon afterwards.

Dean also directed “Charlie & Boots” with Paul and Shane Jacobson (2009), the second highest grossing film in Australia that year. In 2010 he toured Australia, delighting his audiences with live standup comedy. “Hanging with Hoges” (2014), which featured Shane interviewing him about his life, followed then by “Hoges; One Night Only” (2015), “That’s Not My Dog” (2018) and “The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee” (2020), the latter being the last film Olivia Newton-John starred in prior to her death in 2022.

The two part mini-series entitled “Hoges“, in which Josh Lawson takes the role of Paul, was released on 12th February 2017. It chronicles how Paul’s appearance in “New Faces” completely changed his life in a way that he would never have expected. He’d burst onto the Australian comedy scene as a vibrant novelty, and went on to wow the world.

And now about that taxation issue

In 2005 the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) started an audit and investigation into whether the profit from Paul’s movies was hoarded in off-shore investments, eventually claiming that Paul owed them $150 million in unpaid taxes and penalties.

In 2010 Paul returned from America to Sydney after his mother, Flo, who at 101 years old, passed away – the night before the funeral he was slapped with a departure prohibition notice. Paul was outraged at being stuck in Australia without his wife and 12 year-old son, and was hopeful that the matter would be resolved promptly. However, the dispute went on for eight long years during which time he was barred from leaving the country.

Paul was adamant that he’d done nothing wrong, apart from paying Australian tax for too long, when he probably should have been paying American tax earlier. The Federal Court laid charges against Paul, John Cornell and their financial adviser, Anthony Stewart. All three parties denied any violation of tax laws.

Finally a confidential settlement without admission was agreed upon. Although there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him, Paul’s reputation amongst his Oz fans was tarnished. Paul claims that it made him angry, and he hasn’t got that out of his system yet.

The financial problems didn’t end there

Shortly after the tax debacle was behind him, Paul claimed that his financial tax adviser, Philip Egglishaw, had absconded with $34 million which he had supposedly invested in offshore tax havens for Paul. Paul sued the Swiss bank, Carthage Trust for $80 million in damages, but the case has never been resolved.

The “Crocodile Dundee” series has earned Paul a substantial net worth due to the fact that he raised the budget himself for the first movie, and sold distribution rights independently, giving him an estimated 60% ownership stake of the $320 million it grossed globally. It’s estimated that Paul had amassed a net worth of around $75 million, or according to celebritynetworth, possibly even as much as $100 million. His wealth has been depleted due to the financial repercussions of his divorce from Linda, when she received $5.75 million out of the settlement, as well as the huge loss suffered at the hands of his financial advisor, and it appears Paul’s net worth has decreased to approximately $20 million, as of mid-2024.

What is Paul Hogan doing now?

Paul stayed in the US solely to be with his youngest son, Chance, but admitted that he’s been terribly homesick for years.

In October 2020 Paul, appeared on Australia’s breakfast TV show “Sunrise”, in a heartwarming long-distance reunion with his granddaughter Mylee Hogan, a 7NEWS TV reporter in Sydney. This was an opportunity for Paul to also promote his autobiography “The Tap-Dancing Knife Thrower” –  a candid rendition of his life ‘without the boring bits’. The book was published on 1st November 2020, and has achieved good ratings since.

Paul is now 85 years old and two years ago he had already quipped that he was being ‘held together with string’ after a battle with his health that had left him frail. He’d maintained great fitness levels until the age of 79, and was then treated for problems with his aorta and a kidney, after which his health plummetted.

In one of his latest appearances on 1st February 2024, Paul looked pretty good in a smart black shirt, suit and pink tie as he strolled down the Blue Carpet at the annual G’Day USA Arts Gala, which showcases the best of Australia in the US; the event took place at Skirball Center in Los Angeles, where he pulled some funny faces and got some laughs from the photographers.

Paul labels himself a ‘lucky bastard’ saying, ‘I’ve had such a gifted life. I’ve had so many wonderful things happen to me without deserving them, so I shouldn’t complain but, yeah, ideally I’d rather be back in Sydney because I miss the rest of my family there.”

Hopefully he gets back ‘down under’ to enjoy his later years as he does deserve that after all the decades of hilarity he’s given the world.