Why Paul Hogan can't call Australia home just yet
<p>Paul Hogan seems to personify everything that makes a true Aussie - kind, unpretentious and a larrikin. </p>
<p>While he is largely responsible for selling a friendly, charming image of Australia through his tourism ads and the character of Mick Dundee, the<span> </span>Crocodile Dundee<span> </span>actor admitted on ABC’s<span> </span>Australian Storyhis relationship with the beloved country became strained in the 1980’s. </p>
<p>Issues arose after the launch of Crocodile Dundee II, when he revealed he’d left his wife of 30 years for his younger co-star, Linda Kozlowski. </p>
<p>"When Paul and Noelene split, the whole image of Paul being this ordinary guy from the bridge was interrupted in people's minds," the director of<span> </span>The Paul Hogan Show and Crocodile Dundee,<span> </span>Peter Faiman said. </p>
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<p>A friend and former colleague of the star, Delvene Delay said the media wanted to ruin the 79-year-old.</p>
<p>"I remember him saying to the press, 'I'm not a tall poppy, I'm an ironbark tree. You can't cut me down.' But they tried."</p>
<p>The press coverage of Paul’s relationship with his ex-wife impacted him heavily, and said he resented the implication he’d abandoned his family. </p>
<p>"They painted this picture of these five little kids standing at the gate — 'When's Daddy coming home?'" Hogan said.</p>
<p>"They were all grown up except one, and he was 14. People forget how young I was when I started parenting."</p>
<p>The star recalled it being difficult for he and Kozlowski to navigate a peaceful relationship with the constant pressure from the press. </p>
<p>"It was awful for Linda," Delaney said.</p>
<p>"Every time she came to Byron Bay there'd be some sneaky paparazzi lurking in the bushes trying to photograph her bare bum. And not only that, she was still painted as this scarlet woman and yet she was legitimately Paul's wife.</p>
<p>"It was really unfair."</p>
<p>Hogan eventually moved on to Los Angeles in the late 1990’s and then again, permanently in 2003, where his lowkey persona gave him complete anonymity. </p>
<p>"I'm unknown," he said. "I can just put me sunglasses on or a cap or something and no-one recognises me and that's a luxury."</p>
<p>The actor admitted his homesickness dwindled once he was hit with a long investigation into his financial affairs by the Australian Tax Office. </p>
<p>While the matter was settled eventually, the damage was done. </p>
<p>"It has besmirched his reputation a bit, especially in Australia," his son Todd said. "Even mates of mine will make a crack about it."</p>
<p>Hogan agreed, saying "I wasn't charged but I've still got it attached to me.”</p>
<p>"It never depressed me or anything but it made me angry — made me want to thump somebody. I haven't really got it out of me system yet."</p>
<p>These days Hogan lives peacefully in Los Angeles, and while he misses his “home,” Australia - he hasn’t moved back just yet. </p>
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<p>"He's always missed home and he's always spent a lot more time here than people realise," Dan Murphy, friend of Hogan and Australian director said. </p>
<p>"He's back and forth all the time but he doesn't call a press conference when he comes back to spend time with his family.”</p>
<p>The reason for this not going back is simple - his 21-year-old son isn’t quite ready to go yet. </p>
<p>"I'm only living in Los Angeles because he's not ready for me to leave," Hogan said.</p>
<p>"He's got his own friends that he grew up with and his band, they're in LA. So the minute he's set, or he comes with me, I'm back here.</p>
<p>"I've had my share of Los Angeles. I'd have come years ago if he'd have come with me."</p>
<p>Todd Hogan has no doubts Australia is where his father belongs.</p>
<p>"He will come back to Australia for sure," he said. "This is home. It's always been home for him."</p>
<p>Scroll through the gallery above to see Paul Hogan throughout the decades. </p>
