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| Once there was a hunter of crocs | | |
- By David McMahon
Next Monday, when the school holidays come to an end, most primary school kids will be asked to do a project describing what they did on their holidays.
One eight-year-old girl will be able to say she spoke on live television. And not just to an Australian audience, either. Bindi Sue Irwin can truthfully say her live address at her father’s memorial service last week was watched by more than a quarter of a billion people around the globe.
The really curious thing about Steve Irwin is that he was famous in the United States long before he was famous in Australia, the country of his birth. The 1997 movie, The Crocodile Hunter, gave him such a profile in America that he would not have been able to walk down a street without someone shaking his hand, or asking for his autograph. But here, in Australia, most people would not have known who he was.
But the man who grabbed the attention of Americans only started making waves in Australia in 2001, when Network Ten began televising his show. And when the Wiggles, the Australian musical foursome — who in tandem with a pirate called Captain Feathersword, a dinosaur called Dorothy and an octopus called Henry have captivated children in this country for 15 years — wanted a wider audience, they sought out Irwin, who was big news in the US. The resulting DVD and video was shot in part at Irwin’s Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland and soon the Wiggles were big news in the US, Irwin’s stamping ground.
Three years ago, I was on an extended trip to South-East Asia and India and a couple of wide-eyed boys below the age of 10 asked me where I was from. I said I was going back to India, the country of my birth, but that I lived in Australia. "Ah, Australia," was the immediate reply. "So you know Steve Irwin?"
Alas, I did not know Steve Irwin. But the people around the globe who watched the one-hour televised memorial service last week certainly felt that they did.
In an era where fashion trends are more invasive than ever before, this man made a mockery of the need to be perceived as "cool." He never used gel. He never spiked his hair. He made a big statement for antiquated pudding-bowl haircuts. And he never had the problem that some slick dudes do — what to wear. It was just a khaki shirt and khaki shorts and those trusty boots.
Probably the only time we saw him not wearing a khaki shirt was when he turned up wearing a Brisbane Broncos jersey. Born a Melburnian (and therefore an Aussie Rules fan by birth) he moved to Queensland, where he became a fervent (hey, would you expect anything less of him?) supporter of the Broncos, a rugby league team.
News Ltd journalist Lincoln Archer told a great story about Irwin that I’d never heard before. Seems that Irwin lobbed at a Broncos training session. As Archer tells it, Irwin was asked to tackle front-rower Shane Webcke as the cameras began to roll. Irwin, with that trademark grin on his face, obliged, only to be sent to ground, looking much the worse for the encounter. Was Irwin worried? Naaaah. Instead, he got a lot of mileage out of re-telling the yarn — just as you’d expect.
Let’s not forget that Irwin was featured on an episode of South Park, probably long before he was recognisable on home soil. From memory, the episode featured Irwin trying to place his thumb in a crocodile’s "butthole."
Rather than shrink from becoming the um, butt of such jokes, Irwin’s natural gregariousness was perhaps his greatest asset.
On one occasion, he presented a segment at the high-profile, black-tie Logie awards here in Australia. He arrived on stage — dressed in khaki, naturally — with a snake wrapped around his shoulders. The unintentional highlight came during an ad break, when the snake slithered away and is said to have sunk its fangs into the crotch of Tim Webster, a sports presenter. To this day, no one can quite decide who was more amused by the incident, Webster or the Crocodile Hunter himself.
Having made his catchcries "Have a look at this little beauty" and "Crikey" famous around the globe, he became a regular on the talk show circuit. The favourite of US hosts, he was once asked for his opinion about the replica dolls of him and his wife Terri.
I recall the footage clearly.
As Terri watched, he responded to the question with his eyes shining. "Oh, mate," he replied, "I absolutely love ’em." Then, with a little more lustre in his eyes than might have been permissible in the situation, he added that some fans of his did "weird things" with the dolls.
Weird things? What sort of weird things?
He chuckled. Then he took one of the Terri dolls and showed exactly what he meant.
"Oh, mate, they take Terri’s pants off and and go, ‘Have a look at this little beauty’!"
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