Richard Neville Farewelled

It was at the book launch in 2011 for the late film-maker Albie Thoms at the Paddington Town Hall that Whispers last spoke to Richard Neville  (pictured left at the launch)

A close friend confided that Richard had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia. He seemed fine and in good spirits but sadly this terrible scourge carried Neville off earlier this month at age 74.

It's a shame we couldn't make the memorial last Saturday morning for Richard at The Wharf  but Sydney's chronicler of personalities, photographer William Yang was there:

Richard Walsh & Julie Clarke Neville

"RICHARD NEVILLE'S memorial event was, appropriately, something of a talk fest. The speakers, each in their way excellent, created a diverse and rich tribute to Richard. Julie Neville welcomed the guests and Richard Walsh began the avalanche of memories. Louise Ferrier, once girlfriend to Richard, spoke of the time in London. George Gittoes read a message from Julian Assange. Charlie Waterstreet, Jenny Kee, Morris Gleitzman gave tributes. Bryan Brown read Richard's adaptation of Ginsberg's poem "Howl" set in a more modern corporate world. Hellen Rose and Reg Mombassa each sang songs. Richard's daughters, Angelica and Lucy. stole the show. They painted Richard as a father conflicted by his alternative, libertine past and a persona they called "The Colonel", (his father was a colonel), who had extremely conservative views when it came to raising his daughters, and who terrorised their boyfriends. The singalong of Dylan's "Mr Tambourine Man" as the finale almost worked.
The event at the Wharf was a true TRIBAL GATHERING, touched with sadness and celebration, and memorable because of the speeches.

                                             Words & Photos by WILLIAM YANG

Jenny Kee & William Yang *    Tony & Amanda Bilson *        Jill Wran & David Malouf *   Mick Glasheen

The Yartz Party

 The Federal Election is almost upon us and while arguably the most artistically inclined
prime minister Malcolm Turnbull will be fighting for his political life a new party has been launched and is hoping to pick up one million votes.
The Arts Party "exists to encourage a more creative, cultural, educated and prosperous life for every Australian.". The first candidate will be Lou Pollard who will be standing for the North Sydney seat.
And the party is now crowd-funding to raise money for the coming election. You can read more or join the party at their official website here.
And there are some real heavy weight show biz names already spruiking for the campaign including Bryan Brown, Geraldine Turner and Lex Marinos. The only thing missing is a word from Australia's Cultural Attache to the Court of St James Sir Les Patterson.

Mother of All Balls

 The Sydney Town Hall was the venue for Saturday night's Mother Of All Balls, the brain child of actor Rachel Ward. The MoAB raises much needed funds for the YWCA's mentor program for kids from broken and troubled homes and it's become a must attend event pulling in big names from the Australian film industry. In the past drop-in guests have included Sam Neill, Cate Blanchett, Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe and Quentin Tarrantino.
In our lovely snaps : Rachel dances with husband, actor Bryan Brown (currently starring in the ABC's Old School on Sunday nights) and one of Sydney's brightest and cleverest publicists Sally Burleigh looks sensational with a very handsome Mathew Collett.

Book Launch Brings out Movie Crowd

He wasn't well known by the general public but within Australian cinema the late Albie Thoms was a name to be reckoned with. He completed his memoir My Generation days before he slipped away from cancer at aged 70, three weeks ago.

Albie Thoms, Charles Higham and Frank Thring

Bryan Brown & Gillian Armstrong

Thoms was a leading figure in the revival  of the local film industry in the 1970s when he began Ubu Films inspired by the French New Wave , British and US underground film movements.

Many of today's most recognisable names came within Albie's orbit and were inspired or encouraged by Thoms to pursue their dreams at a time when their hopes of success at best may have seen them appear in an episode of an ABC drama or a commercial TV cop show, in front of, or behind the camera.

Peter Clifton & Glen A.Baker

Claudia Karvan

At the celebration to honour Albie Thoms' life and to launch his just completed autobiography, many turned up to discuss old times. Actors Claudia Karvan, Bryan Brown and Judy Davis joined directors Bruce Beresford, Jan Chapman and Gillian Armstrong along with producers Jim McElroy, Margaret  Fink and Oz Magazine's Richard Neville.

Publisher Richard Walsh & Jim McElroy

Wendy Whiteley

Richard Neville

Over 300 guests packed Paddington Town Hall's newly decorated auditorium to take in screenings of some Albie's first movie productions like Bluto and Blunderball which were praised in their day by the late US film critic Charles Higham.
 There was also time to re-tell one of Albie's favorite stories : Thoms was commissioned to produce several episodes of the TV series Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo (still big in Eastern Europe) and the guest star was the high camp actor Frank Thring, star of Hollywood biblical blockbusters like Ben Hur.                                      
As the crew brought on yet another struggling  kangaroo in a sack for the day's shoot- Thring quipped  "If that's the star's friggin' dressing room, what's mine going to be like?"

Mother Of All Balls

Rachel Ward and husband Bryan Brown

Actress Rachel Ward's Mother of All Balls annual event has raised over $3M now for the YMCA and is becoming so popular that larger and larger premises are needed each year.

Held at Royal Randwick Racecourse this year, the huge function centre easily held the 450 guests who attended. With the theme- Shanghai Chic, a 1930s 'Paris of The East' atmosphere was re-produced.

Food by top chef Luke Mangan and excellent champagne from Nicholas Feuillatte (still the top selling champagne in Paris and billed as the "Australian champagne'-vineyard owner Nicholas divides his time between his French chateau, a Tangier palace and a magnificent Sydney harbour side penthouse) and some excellent wines from a new label, Eagle Rest.

Silverchair's Chris Joannou & Laura Csortan

Anthony Minichiello & Terri Biviano

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Earth to Channel Nine News !

The photographer Alison Jackson (who you have just discovered) as featured first on the Shuttle over 12 months ago and as recently as 4 weeks ago is not American-she is British, born in Hampshire.

here's Alison's film of Charles & Camilla's yoga session..see lots more at her youtube channel

Palm Beach shack For Sale

'Kaluha'

Every summer a flock of paparazzi set out for ritzy Palm Beach at the very furthest end of Sydney's northern peninsular where local and international celebrities spend their lazy days in the handful of mansions available in the area.

Now the most famous house that usually hosts an international star over summer is up for sale-Kalua, the magnificent property owned by businessman Ian Joye can be yours for an asking price of over $25M.

The 1920s Caribbean style beach house is actually three separate houses on about 5,500sqm in the cul-de-sac at the prestigious southern end of the beachfront, nestled among the lush vegetation of historic Cabbage Tree Boat Harbour with filtered views direct across to the beach, bordered by tall Pines.

Only HRH Prince Charles' friend Bob Rose has a better property being right at the end with commanding views over the beach.

Kalua was once owned by the Horden department store family (they all had Palm Beach houses in the 1930s-the Graces, the Lloyd Jones while the Myers opted for Sorrento in Victoria ). Gazing over the azure waters of the Pacific it's secluded amid magnificent sprawling grounds and really hearkens back to a more stylish era when Eastern Suburbs' families would motor down for the week end and jostle over who could host the smartest  garden party.

These days Palm Beach is a bit of a film colony with Oscar winning director Peter Weir, actors Bryan Brown and Racheal Ward and Sam Neil all living in the area while the North Palm Beach Surf Club is used as a set for Home &Away.

Those who have rented Kaluha for $40,000 a week include Mick Jagger, John Cleese, Bono, Nicole Kidman,Tom Cruise, Rupert Murdoch, Paul McCartney and Billy Connolly.

If you are short on cash the vendor is offering 60% finance which means you could look forward to a monthly mortgage of about $120,000.

Cate Blanchett :"You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling"

Cate Blanchett and her husband Andrew Upton gave a talk to the Sydney City Council last night and they aren't happy with our town. They reckon it's lost it's mojo.

 "Does anyone remember the Trade Union Club? Sydney in the 1980s was a city characterised as a place of live music. Every pub seemed to have gigs and everyone was trying to make music. Not only music, but comedy and poetry and stuff at the weirdest edges of performance.

The Sydney Front? It must epitomise real adventure and risk-taking and, more to our point, that sense of an organic, vibrant art-making precinct that erupted around Surry Hills and Oxford Street and down into Redfern and Newtown. All places where people lived and worked and got on with their lives.

For young adventurers from the suburbs, ''town'' was the centre. It was the magnetic attractor. It was freedom and the chance to invent and create and witness other creations. The suburbs could feel flat and dry and filled with sinister silence underneath the crickets and sprinklers. But the city was loud, crowded and dangerous.

What happened? Pubs and live music have been killed by poker machines, for a start. And gentrification of many of those areas made it less possible for the demographic range and the vitality of the shops to remain as sparky, quirky and forgiving."

The theatrical duo have certainly done their bit to breathe some much needed  culture into this brassy, glitzy and sometimes ever so tacky town. Their stewardship at the Sydney Theatre Company has attracted international actors like John Hurt and Philip Seymour Hoffman  for little pay with sell out box office receipts. Giorgio Armani has become the chief patron and their production of Streetcar Named Desire was hailed as the best ever version when it toured the USA to critical acclaim.

They even have a production of ZEBRA! coming up starring Bryan Brown which may reveal previously never glimpsed depths of Bryan's acting abilities.

Much of what the pair said is spot on. You can read the full speech in the Sydney Morning Herald here.

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The Shuttle dined at  the Glebe Point Diner late last week at the invitation of the management and we can report the service and food is as usual up to it's first class standard. It must be one of the most pleasant restaurants in the inner city Glebe area situated as it is in a wide leafy boulevard.

Certainly one of our favourite movie stars Toni Collette thinks so as she screeched to a halt in a black 4 wheel drive and rushed in wanting a table.
Sadly for Toni the place was packed and she was turned away looking very disappointed but not before hurling a fierce glance towards the Shuttle that said "don't even think about it" as one's slim hand reached for that ever ready camera.

We have a Love / Hate  relationship with Ms Collette. We love her and she hates us. I suppose sitting at the much coveted  No.One table on the balcony didn't help.

Toni flees

The Mother of All Balls

Now in it's 8th year, actress Rachel Ward's Mother of All Balls went of without a hitch on Friday night at Royal Randwick Racecourse in the Oaks Lawn Marquee.



Bryan Brown & Rachel Ward



With A Rock The Kasbah theme it was an exotic extravaganza of Bedouin chic on a warm evening reminiscent (if you shut your eyes) of  Casablanca meets Marrakesh in a seductive swirl of colour and light with Camel racing, dancing, a Moroccan Souk for Fez hats and jewellery and a sumptuous dinner by Luke Mangan, inspired by the fragrant and tantalising spices of Morocco.



Matilda Brown



And most important, one of the Shuttle's favourite sponsors, Nicholas Feuillatte Champagne which is now the largest selling non vintage bubbles on the planet. Sadly the great man himself Nic Feuillatte failed to appear as he is ailing at his Sydney home where he is now permanently based having sold his Tangier palace.

In the past any major movie personality in town has attended Rachel's baby including Hugh Jackman , Russell Crowe and Quentin Tarrantino.

This year we had Kerri-Anne Kennerley and cricket great Shane Watson and girlfriend Lee Furlong ( see our pic from the OHLALA Mag).








Lee Furlong & Shane Watson







Rudi's shorts up for grabs

A pair of leather Rudolf Nureyev's shorts will be auctioned tomorrow night at Australia House in the Strand in London to aid the Tait Memorial Trust. Designed and signed by Yves St Laurent and presented to the ballet star in 1961, the funds raised will go to scholarships to be awarded to young Australian dancers studying ballet in the UK.

The Tait Trust was set up by Isla Baring in 1992 to honour her parents Sir Frank and Lady Viola Tait who played an important part in the establishment of theatre and the performing arts in Australia. Dame Joan Sutherland, Barry Humphries and the Countess of Harewood are patrons. Actors Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward will be at the Tait-a-Tait night which will be a celebration of Tchaikovsky ballet music with young Aussie dancers performing and a recital by distinguished pianist Leslie Howard.Tickets are £45 and can still be had by emailing info@taitmemorialtrust.org or by phone/fax to 020 7385 2719.

 Will they be these shorts ?. In the 1960's Nureyev made his first visit to Australia with Sir Robert Helpmann. Staying at Sydney's Sebel Town House, on his second night he wandered down to the notorious gay beat in nearby Rushcutters Bay park. He chose the wrong night with the "pretty police' out in force-young handsome officers sent out to public conveniences to attract gay men with gay sex highly illegal (although rampant) at the time. The following day, after much diplomatic action late into the night to suppress Rudi's name, a small newspaper article appeared under the headline: "Leather shorted Pervert arrested in Park". A week later Nureyev flew out when charges were quietly dropped, presumably with his leather shorts intact.

Friends said later Nureyev would describe the scene almost imitating an Aussie accent correctly . Apparently he really fancied the young copper who slapped handcuffs on him, and thought it was part of a sex game. As he was hauled away he announced "I am the great Nureyev ! ", to which the plod said "I don't care who the fuck you are mate, you're nicked"