Hogan was born on 8th October 1939 in New South Wales and went on to become a rigger working on the Sydney Harbour Bridge before rising to fame in the early 1970s after a comical interview on TV.
Hogan’s first public appearance was on Australian television, the Nine Network’s amateur talent program New Faces in 1971.
Hogan had observed to his Harbour Bridge workmates that the program’s entertainment value relied significantly on the judges ridiculing and belittling the performers, and suggested the judges deserved similar treatment.
Hogan inveigled his way onto the program by claiming to be a “tap-dancing knife-thrower”.
Hogan appeared on stage in his work boots, holding elaborate prop “knives”, and proceeded to make a series of jokes at the judges’ expense; he finished by performing a rudimentary shuffle and throwing the knives onto the floor.
Photo Source: National Film & Sound Archives.
