"Hanging In The Vatican"

Aussie media have joined the Billich Roadshow and headed off to California where colourful Sydney couple Charles & Christa Billich, owners of the Billich Gallery in The Rocks intend to take LA by storm. The town of make believe and the fabulous Billichs were always destined to collide.
The pair will launch themselves at their "good friend" Hugh Heffner's Playboy Mansion. Christa is no slouch in the publicity department and could teach Hef a few tricks. Occasionally a journalist, still wet behind the ears, trots out the Billich line like this chap in the Fairfax business publication BRW. The writer repeats the claim the Billichs have made for years : "His portrait of Pope John Paul II is hung at the Vatican."
Hung at the Vatican ?. Perhaps lying against a wall in dusty basement somewhere along with the thousands of other trinkets, bauble and gifts that flow into the Vatican, the White House ,Buckingham Palace and so on.

Billich fans (?) : Ian Thorpe and the late King of Tonga

It's one of the neatest publicity doddles in the book. Gifts are never sent back (postage !) and the sender often receives a polite, form 'thank you' letter.
Try it yourself and send Prince William and Kate Middleton a gift for their new baby to Kensington Palace.
Critics have been unkind to Charles calling his works anything but art. In 1995 the Sydney Morning Herald's art expert John McDonald labelled Billich’s painting as “a slippery form of graphic design backed with a high-powered marketing strategy". 
The BRW scoffs at their stable mate's words but McDonald's most salient point was that amateur collectors may be buying Billich works in the belief they were an investment that would increase in value.
Charles & Christa are immensely likable. The Shuttle attended one Billich extravaganza in Surfers Paradise in 2002 (another natural home for the couple). While Christa and 2 girls posed nude on the ballroom stage at the luxury Sheraton Mirage resort, Charles sat at an easel wearing a beret & smock and painted the trio. Dozens of punters formed a queue to buy their 'investments' including White Shoe aficionado and property developer Keith Williams.

Charles vs Norman

Two years ago at the Lawson Menzies Auction house in Annandale where they sell second hand furniture (their prize art auctions are held in the city) a Billich print came up for auction. There are 2 Australian artists whose works bring groans from the regular bidders:  Norman Lindsay and Charles Billich. The Billich print fetched $1.

Some 1999 words still ring in the ears of the Shuttle. At a Sydney reception for the International Olympic Committee, President Juan Antonio Samaranch the crowd parted and a Charles Billich painting was revealed by a local minor IOC official who beamed proudly . Standing nearby was the high flying solicitor and Sydney Olympic's chief Rod McGeoch (husband of the respected publicist Deeta Colvin). A look of horror spread across his face as he exclaimed to the official : "Oh no ! you are not going to give him that are you ?" . He shook his head in disbelief.

Hef waiting to greet Charles & Christa !

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Victor Lownes

The Billich action takes place at the PlayBoy Mansion home of Hugh Heffner. Hef hosts a lot of parties. Anyone can hire the Playboy Mansion for a party or event, a product launch, Barmitzvah or wedding and every now and then Hef may wander through a room to make the punters feel they are getting their money's worth.

James Hunt : Mark Hamill

The Shuttle has been to many Playboy parties in LA, New York and London. The US parties give tackiness a new meaning. The London parties at the old Park Lane Playboy Club were a tad better but the weekend parties thrown by Victor Lownes (the UK Playboy boss) at his Stocks Mansion in Herfordshire were sensational.
At one memorable party that lasted 3 days with a permanent Champagne and Dining Marquee, the Shuttle shared a hot tub with 3 Bunnies, racing car driver James Hunt (subject of the film Rush starring Chris Hemsworth ) and Star Wars actor Mark Hamill . Guests were bussed to and fro from London by helicopter and with each arrival a movie star or celebrity would alight-Joan Collins, Tony Curtis, or Rod Stewart.      Below : The Master at work :

Everything Old Is New Again

"Everything old is new again" goes the line from the late Peter Allen song. Always has been really. A great example-in the last ten years Playboy Clubs have been closing down across the USA but in London, a new Playboy Club has just opened.

It reminds the Shuttle of the heyday of the Playboy Clubs. We've only been to two.  Arriving at the New York club once with 3 friends for a party thrown by Hugh Hefner we were mistaken for Abba. We also attended a few product launches at the former London Playboy Club in Mayfair run by Victor Lownes and once visited the Playboy Mansion in LA.

Probably the biggest ever Playboy party was the 25th year anniversary party thrown by  Lownes at the Playboy mansion Stocks House in Hertfordshire. It went for 3 days and many guests were ferried in by helicopters. Victor Lownes ran the European Playboy operations for Hefner but had a falling out with him in the '90s and was fired.

He was always good at the required quips. Once asked what a playboy was he said "someone who is probably having more sex than you". It was all a fantasy of course but the whole charade worked during the Playboy hey days from the 60's through to the 80's.

Stocks in Hertfordshire

The LA Playboy Mansion which can now be rented out for corporate parties was even more of a fantasy. Hefner boldly sold a dream built on tack and the idea if you could only crack the inner circle sex was yours for the taking. Once you did get 'in' the Bunnies were very prudish and strict rules prevented them from fraternising with guests on pain of sacking.

The LA mansion was like a Disneyland  ride-looked exciting from the outside but disappointing once you got up close and the cracks were revealed. It was full of dreadful reproduction antique furniture of the worst taste. The rocks in the grotto swimming pool seemed to be fake. The whole place was tired and grubby looking.

At the UK 25th anniversary party every hotel, motel and boarding house in the surrounding area of Stocks was booked out by guests. Not that the rooms were always used. At the party there were a series of marquees- permanent food tents, a champagne bar and a non stop discotheque. They were open for the entire 3 days. Most of it passed in a blur and the Shuttle never made it back to our booked rooms. We collapsed in Stocks living room for a few hours kip at a time.

There was always a two tier guest regime at Stocks. The general party goers had the run of the house and grounds while a handful of honoured guests were entitled to visit the upstairs floor.

A Bunny Re-union

And they weren't always celebrities who made it upstairs to drink with Lownes or Playboy boss Hugh Hefner who only stayed for one day.

Amongst business cronies of Lownes, Tony Curtis and Rod Stewart would be Upstairs while Downstairs were newer stars of the day including Star Wars' actor Mark Hamil. who the Shuttle shared a spa bath with along with half a dozen bunnies !
Not very PC but who cares ?

## "The Boy From Oz " was a huge Broadway hit and made Hugh Jackman into a star. Based on the life of Australian singer Peter Allen it captured the exciting performances of Allen who was always over the top and as camp as a pink Koala Bear. A big favourite with other celebrities his shows were packed out with performers like Elton John, Barry Manilow and even Frank Sinatra who came to paid homage to one of the US top live performers. Here is his big hit 'I Go To Rio"